![TOAFK - "The Sword in the Stone" Plot Diagram](http://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--the-sword-in-the-stone-.png "TOAFK - "The Sword in the Stone" Plot Diagram")
Activity Overview
Students can create a storyboard that captures the concept of the narrative arc in a story by creating a six-cell storyboard which contains the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell, students create a scene that follows the story in a sequence using; Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
Plot Diagram Example - “The Sword in the Stone”
Exposition
Arthur (The Wart) is a young boy who has been taken in and raised by Ector. Kay is Ector’s proper son. Arthur finds a tutor, Merlyn, who begins to teach him the importance of education and being a good leader by turning him into various animals and sending him on quests.
Conflict
Arthur’s naivete leads him to believe that becoming a knight is a wonderful and honorable thing, but because he is not Ector’s proper son, he is destined to be Kay’s squire. Merlyn tries to break him of his traditional ideas about the positives of knighthood and war.
Rising Action
Arthur is placed into the bodies of different animals, including a perch, a merlin, an ant, an owl, a goose, and a badger. As a badger, he has to make a decision whether to eat a hedgehog out of anger; he decides to leave him. He follows Kay as his squire, to a tournament in London where Kay will debut as a knight. Meanwhile, King Uther Pendragon has died without an heir.
Climax
Kay gets to the tournament, but realizes he’s forgotten his sword. The Wart, anxious to please Kay, goes back to their inn to retrieve the sword, but it’s closed. He wanders over to a nearby churchyard and sees a sword stuck upright in a large stone. His animal friends swarm his consciousness, reminding him of all of the lessons he’s learned. He pulls the sword from the stone with ease and brings it to Kay.
Falling Action
It turns out that whoever could solve the challenge of pulling the sword from the stone would be the next King of England. At first, Kay tries to take credit for removing the sword when Ector asks him, but then gives in and admits Arthur did it.
Resolution
Ector and Kay kneel before Arthur. Arthur is crowned as King of England, and the people are happy because they are tired of the unrest and violence they’ve endured under Uther Pendragon. Merlyn agrees to stay with Arthur, as his advisor for the foreseeable future.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a visual plot diagram of one of the books from The Once and Future King.
- Separate the story into the Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
- Create an image that represents an important moment or set of events for each of the story components.
- Write a description of each of the steps in the plot diagram.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 25 Points | Emerging 21 Points | Beginning 17 Points | Try Again 13 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive and Visual Elements | Cells have many descriptive elements, and provide the reader with a vivid representation. | Cells have many descriptive elements, but flow of cells may have been hard to understand. | Cells have few descriptive elements, or have visuals that make the work confusing. | Cells have few or no descriptive elements. |
| Grammar/Spelling | Textables have three or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have four or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have five or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have six or more spelling/grammar errors. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has done both peer and teacher editing. | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has either teacher or peer editing, but not both. | Student has done neither peer, nor teacher editing. | Work shows no evidence of any effort. |
| Plot | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram. | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram, but one or more is confusing. | Parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot difficult to follow. | Almost all of the parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot very difficult to follow. |
Activity Overview
Students can create a storyboard that captures the concept of the narrative arc in a story by creating a six-cell storyboard which contains the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell, students create a scene that follows the story in a sequence using; Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
Plot Diagram Example - “The Sword in the Stone”
Exposition
Arthur (The Wart) is a young boy who has been taken in and raised by Ector. Kay is Ector’s proper son. Arthur finds a tutor, Merlyn, who begins to teach him the importance of education and being a good leader by turning him into various animals and sending him on quests.
Conflict
Arthur’s naivete leads him to believe that becoming a knight is a wonderful and honorable thing, but because he is not Ector’s proper son, he is destined to be Kay’s squire. Merlyn tries to break him of his traditional ideas about the positives of knighthood and war.
Rising Action
Arthur is placed into the bodies of different animals, including a perch, a merlin, an ant, an owl, a goose, and a badger. As a badger, he has to make a decision whether to eat a hedgehog out of anger; he decides to leave him. He follows Kay as his squire, to a tournament in London where Kay will debut as a knight. Meanwhile, King Uther Pendragon has died without an heir.
Climax
Kay gets to the tournament, but realizes he’s forgotten his sword. The Wart, anxious to please Kay, goes back to their inn to retrieve the sword, but it’s closed. He wanders over to a nearby churchyard and sees a sword stuck upright in a large stone. His animal friends swarm his consciousness, reminding him of all of the lessons he’s learned. He pulls the sword from the stone with ease and brings it to Kay.
Falling Action
It turns out that whoever could solve the challenge of pulling the sword from the stone would be the next King of England. At first, Kay tries to take credit for removing the sword when Ector asks him, but then gives in and admits Arthur did it.
Resolution
Ector and Kay kneel before Arthur. Arthur is crowned as King of England, and the people are happy because they are tired of the unrest and violence they’ve endured under Uther Pendragon. Merlyn agrees to stay with Arthur, as his advisor for the foreseeable future.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a visual plot diagram of one of the books from The Once and Future King.
- Separate the story into the Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
- Create an image that represents an important moment or set of events for each of the story components.
- Write a description of each of the steps in the plot diagram.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 25 Points | Emerging 21 Points | Beginning 17 Points | Try Again 13 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive and Visual Elements | Cells have many descriptive elements, and provide the reader with a vivid representation. | Cells have many descriptive elements, but flow of cells may have been hard to understand. | Cells have few descriptive elements, or have visuals that make the work confusing. | Cells have few or no descriptive elements. |
| Grammar/Spelling | Textables have three or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have four or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have five or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have six or more spelling/grammar errors. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has done both peer and teacher editing. | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has either teacher or peer editing, but not both. | Student has done neither peer, nor teacher editing. | Work shows no evidence of any effort. |
| Plot | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram. | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram, but one or more is confusing. | Parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot difficult to follow. | Almost all of the parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot very difficult to follow. |
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