Literary conflicts are often taught during ELA units. Building on prior knowledge to achieve mastery level with our students is important. An excellent way to focus on the various types of literary conflict is through storyboarding. Having students choose an example of each literary conflict and depict it using the storyboard creator is a great way to reinforce your lesson!
In the example storyboard above, each cell contains a particular type of conflict. The type of conflict is displayed, and visually represented with an explanation of the scene, and how it fits the specific category of conflict.
Jonas vs. The Giver - Jonas is upset with the Giver for not giving everyone the memories to share.
Jonas vs. Jonas the Receiver - As Jonas grows with his memories and wisdom, he struggles with "release" when he realizes that it actually means death.
Jonas vs. His Community - Jonas is completely against the community. He leaves to go elsewhere when the infant, Gabe, is threatened with being "released".
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in The Giver.
Create a common vocabulary for students by naming the main types of conflict found in novels. Person vs. Person, Person vs. Self, Person vs. Society, and Person vs. Nature are the main types of conflict found in stories. Define these for your students so they understand what they are looking for.
Giving students examples they are already familiar with will help them learn more easily. As a class, discuss conflicts in books or movies that the students already know and love. This will get them thinking about how conflicts are used in a story.
Some students will understand these ideas right away, while others will require more help to be able to identify conflicts. Scaffold for students who need it, and challenge others who are doing well.
Students can use a storyboard to describe the major conflict in The Giver. They should use a specific example from the book and create a drawing and write a description to show what they have found.
The conflict, in essence, is what moves the story forward. If there was nothing at stake, and nothing to fight for, then the story would be pretty boring. In general, the protagonist needs to solve the conflict in order to get to the resolution of the story.
The primary conflict in The Giver is Person vs. Community because Jonas is fighting against the government and their control over every little thing. He does break free at the end by running away.