68 P LOT : C ONFLICT, C LIMAX, AND R ESOLUTION- 123docz.net

A story’s plot is the chain of events that leads to the outcome. Ask yourself:

“What happens to resolve the conflict of this story?”

Think about the character, Joe, whom you met on page 105. The story plot begins as Joe faces a problem: His neighbor’s house is on fire—

but he may risk his own life if he tries to help. Think about what will happen next. How will the problem be solved? Use your imagination to come up with events that could complete the plot. The last event you list should be the climax—the high point of the story.

EVENTS LEADINGTORESOLUTION: _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

CLIMAX: __________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION: ______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Coming up with a believable solution can take imagination! Read the following problems. For each problem, fill in events, a climax, and a resolution.

1. David sees a long hunting knife in his best friend Seth’s school backpack. He knows that Seth has a terrible temper.

EVENTSLEADINGTORESOLUTION: __________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

CLIMAX:______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION: __________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

2. The warning sirens are blasting. Everyone must evacuate the town before the hurricane hits. But Selina can’t find her grandmother.

EVENTSLEADINGTORESOLUTION: __________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

CLIMAX:______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION: __________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

3. The railroad bridge near Karen’s home is washed out.

The phone lines are down. Someone must warn the

station master to stop the midnight express before it gets to the bridge! Karen jumps in her car—but it won’t start.

EVENTSLEADINGTORESOLUTION: __________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

CLIMAX:______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION: __________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Read this story opener. Then complete the activities listed below it.

Kevin T. McKay was 12 years old. His friends said the T. in his

name stood for trouble, but, actually, it stood for Thomas. One Saturday morning Kevin T. was bored. As he entered the kitchen, his eyes darted about, looking for something to do. He spied a yellow envelope on the counter and saw that it was addressed to his mother. When he saw the words “Win $1,000,” however, Kevin decided to read on! The letter inside announced a big cooking contest. It offered a cash prize for a healthful recipe using unusual ingredients.

“What luck!” Kevin said aloud. He had just finished reading an article about the high protein content of certain edible insects.

1. Describe the setting. _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

2. Write the name of the main character. ________________________________

3. Explain how you feel about the main character and why. _____________

____________________________________________________________________

4. Imagine a problem that is likely to develop. ___________________________

____________________________________________________________________

5. Suggest a possible outcome. _________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

UNIT REVIEW

Rewrite the following sentences to convey a mysterious mood.

1. The door opened. ___________________________________________________

2. The house was big. _________________________________________________

3. He stood on the beach. ______________________________________________

Plan an exciting story of your own. Make a story map on the lines below.

Conflict: ______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Setting: _______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Characters: ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Point of View: _________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Main Events: __________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Resolution: ____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

SENTENCES

The Sentence: A Complete Thought A sentence is a language unit that contains a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. A written sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point.

I have two dozen CD’s in my collection.

How many CD’s do you have?

Listen to this one!

Some complete sentences have only one word.

In sentences such as these, the subject is understood to be you.

Stop. Help!

Subjects and Predicates

The two main parts of a sentence are the subject and the predicate. The subject names what the sentence is about. It may be a word, a phrase, or a clause.

Dogs are the most loyal pets.

Losing a dog is very sad.

The predicate is the part of the sentence that tells something about the subject. It includes the verb as well as all other words that are not part of the subject.

My brother is the boy with red hair.

Is your sister meeting us in the gym?

Four Kinds of Sentences

A sentence that makes a statement and ends with a period is called a declarative sentence.

The baseball game will go extra innings.

A sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark is called an interrogative sentence.

Which team do you think will win?

A sentence that makes a request or gives a command is called an imperative sentence.

Please hand me the popcorn.

A sentence that expresses strong emotion and ends with an exclamation point is called an exclamatory sentence.

What an exciting game!

NOUNS

Recognizing Nouns

A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing.

A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing and is always capitalized. All other nouns are common nouns; they are not capitalized.

He climbed the mountain.

He climbed Mount Whitney.

That girl is a scuba diver.

Karenis a scuba diver.

If the proper noun contains more than one word, capitalize all the important words. Do not capitalize a short word such as of, and, or the unless it is the first word in a title.

Pacific Ocean The Shining Dan and Dave’s Repair Shop Abstract and Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun names something that you can see or touch.

boy, Charlie, rock, giraffe, cloud, essay An abstract noun names a thought, a quality, an idea, or a feeling.

democracy, honesty, delight, theory, pain Singular and Plural Nouns

Just about every noun has two forms. The singular form names one person, place, or thing.

A soldier marched by.

Loyalty is a virtue.

The plural form names more than one person, place, or thing.

The soldiers marched by.

His loyalties are divided.

Spelling Plural Nouns

Most nouns are made plural by adding s to the singular form.

sunflowers, oaks, porcupines

Nouns that end in s, ss, ch, sh, or x are made plural by adding es to the singular form.

bonuses, glasses, churches, wishes, taxes Nouns that end in y are made plural in two different ways. If the y ending of the singular noun is preceded by a vowel, add s to form the plural.

valley / valleys toy / toys

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