Elements of the Plot Map Educational Resources K12 Learning, Writing, English / Language Arts Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

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In the novel A Little Princess, author Frances Hodgson Burnett writes, "Everything's a story—You are a story—I am a story."

Why do you think stories are important?
Do you think that everyone has a story worth telling? Why or why not?

Maps are created to help us get from one point to another. When we read, we all have expectations that the author has created a story with a beginning, middle, and an end.

The same is true with our own writing. When we write—whether it is an essay for history class or an entry in a journal—we begin with one idea and work our way towards an ending, a conclusion.

Writers who set out to tell stories use a device known as a plot map, or diagram, to help their stories stay organized. The elements of the plot diagram are designed to help readers and writers understand how parts of a story fit together in a logical order.

Before you start learning the terms, take a moment to read the well-known children's story Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. We will use this story to help you gain a better understanding of the terms on the plot diagram.

If you would like to, you can watch Where the Wild Things Are Book Read Aloud | Children's Books Read Aloud | Bedtime Stories, from Happy Cultivated:

These are the terms you need to know:

Exposition

The exposition is the part of the story that gives the background information about the characters and introduces the initial conflict that starts the story's action.
For instance, in Where the Wild Things Are, Max acts like a wild animal, so the initial conflict occurs when he is sent to bed without any supper.

Rising Action

Rising action is a series of related events that build up to the most exciting part of the story.
For instance, Max sails to the island where the Wild Things are, and when he gets there, he tames the animals and eventually becomes their king.

Climax

The climax is the point of excitement in the story when the outcome of the conflict is decided
For instance, Max realizes that he misses home and decides to return.

Falling Action

Falling action is a series of related events that take place after the climax has occurred and the conflict has been resolved
For instance, the Wild Things try to force Max to stay ("roared their terrible roars, gnashed their terrible teeth..."), but he leaves them and makes the long journey home.

Resolution

The resolution is the conclusion of the story where the main characters are brought to the end of their map.
Usually, all of the loose ends are tied up, but sometimes the reader has to step deeper into the story and combine inferences with the given information in order to discover the conclusion for him or herself
For instance, Max sees his dinner waiting for him and realizes that his mother really loves him.

Try practicing this on your own by thinking about your favorite book or movie and organizing its plot into these sections.

In order to practice, draw a map of your main character's journey, beginning at the exposition and ending at the resolution. You can create symbols that represent the events that create the rising action, the climax, and the falling action.