The Witch of Blackbird Pond Plot Diagram Activity

A common use for Storyboard That is to help students create a plot diagram of the events from a story. Not only is this a great way to teach the parts of the plot, but it reinforces major events and helps students develop greater understanding of literary structures.

Students can create a storyboard capturing the narrative arc in a work with a six-cell storyboard containing the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell, have students create a scene that follows the story in sequence using: Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond Plot Diagram Example

Exposition

Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler leaves her wealthy home in Barbados following the death of her grandfather. Impulsively jumping aboard the ship the Dolphin, she sets out to start a new life with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Conflict

Right away, Kit finds that she does not fit in well with the Puritan society of Wethersfield. Her wealthy upbringing and free-spirited ways make it hard for her to adjust to the hard work and strict religious practices of her family and neighbors.

Rising Action

As Kit strives to fit in with Wethersfield society, she works long hours in the kitchen and fields, attends church services, and wins the romantic attentions of William Ashby. Although the villagers begin to accept her, she feels most at home with an elderly Quaker, Hannah Tupper, who is rumored to be a witch. Kit’s best friends turn out to be Hannah, a sailor on the Dolphin named Nat, and Prudence, a young girl Kit secretly teaches to read.

Climax

When many of the villagers come down with a deadly fever, an angry mob tries to attack Hannah Tupper, believing her to be a witch responsible for the illnesses. Kit manages to get Hannah to safety, only to be accused of witchcraft herself. When Kit is put on trial, she is nearly condemned until Nat and Prudence come with evidence to prove her innocence.

Falling Action

When William Ashby fails to defend Kit during her witch trial, she realizes she can never marry him. Instead, William decides to marry Judith, and Mercy gets engaged to John Holbrook. Although Kit is happy for them, she feels unsettled and discontent. At first, she believes she is homesick for Barbados, but eventually she realizes that she misses Nat.

Resolution

Nat returns in the spring with his own ship, the Witch, named after Kit. Kit and Nat plan to get married, allowing Kit to spend her winters in the West Indies and her summers in Connecticut with those she has come to love.