Plot stages: exposition to resolution

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.6.3CCSS RL.6.5England: KS3 Reading (narrative structure)England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q3

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Plot stages: exposition to resolution.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution)

Leads to: Types of conflict in stories

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Because the river flooded, many roads were closed. As a result, the school buses could not run, so school was cancelled. How is this text organised? (cause and effect / problem and solution / compare and contrast / description) → cause and effectPrompt: How is the information organised?
The playground was always full of litter. The pupils decided to put more bins around and take turns being litter monitors. Now it is clean. How is this text organised? (description / cause and effect / problem and solution / compare and contrast) → problem and solutionPrompt: How is the information organised?
First, the egg hatches into a caterpillar. Next, the caterpillar eats and grows. Then it forms a chrysalis. Finally, a butterfly emerges. How is this text organised? (chronological order (sequence) / cause and effect / problem and solution / compare and contrast) → chronological order (sequence)Prompt: How is the information organised?

Hook · 5 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Plot stages: exposition to resolution. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which plot stage matches this description? The turning point, when tension is highest and the conflict is faced head-on.
Step 1: Most stories follow a plot arc: exposition → rising action → climax → falling action → resolution.
Step 2: climax: The turning point, when tension is highest and the conflict is faced head-on.
Step 3: So the answer is: climax
Answer: climax
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Which plot stage matches this description? The turning point, when tension is highest and the conflict is faced head-on. (rising action / exposition / resolution / climax) → climaxPrompt: Think about where in the story each stage happens: beginning, middle, turning point or end.
Which stage of the plot does this moment from a story belong to? On a quiet island where every family keeps bees, twelve-year-old Tomas lives with his grandmother. (falling action / climax / exposition / rising action) → expositionPrompt: Is this introducing the story, building tension, the moment of highest tension, or calming things down?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Type the plot stage (in English) that matches this description. The turning point, when tension is highest and the conflict is faced head-on. → climaxPrompt: Think about where in the story each stage happens: beginning, middle, turning point or end.
Which stage of the plot does this moment from a story belong to? During the storm, Tomas climbs the cliff in the dark to rescue the last healthy hive. (climax / exposition / rising action / resolution) → climaxPrompt: Is this introducing the story, building tension, the moment of highest tension, or calming things down?

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution).
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Types of conflict in stories.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Plot stages: exposition to resolution

Name

Date

Score/ 8

1
Question 1
Which stage of the plot does this moment from a story belong to? In the final round, with ten seconds left, Priya's robot climbs the ramp as the whole hall holds its breath.
- A. rising action
- B. resolution
- C. exposition
- D. climax
Question 2
Type the plot stage (in English) that matches this description. The turning point, when tension is highest and the conflict is faced head-on.
Answer
3
Question 3
Which plot stage matches this description? A series of events that build tension as the conflict develops.
- A. resolution
- B. falling action
- C. rising action
- D. climax

The Last Lap

Ruby had trained for the school relay every morning since September, running laps of the park while her breath made clouds in the cold air. She was the fastest in her class, and everyone expected her team to win. On the day of the race, the team's second runner, Theo, tripped on the bend and dropped the baton. By the time he scrambled up, two teams were far ahead. Ruby, waiting for the last leg, felt her heart sink. When the baton finally reached her, she ran harder than she ever had. She passed one runner. The finish line rushed towards her. The crowd was roaring. Then, a metre from the tape, the leader dipped her shoulder and won by a hand's width. Theo couldn't look at anyone. Ruby walked over, still panting, and held out the silver ribbon. "Second place," she said, "and that comeback was the best part of the whole race." Later, the team hung the ribbon on the classroom wall, right next to the first-place trophy from the year before. Somehow it seemed brighter.

4
Question 4
Read "The Last Lap". Which part of the plot is the moment the leader 'dipped her shoulder and won by a hand's width'?
- A. the resolution
- B. the climax
- C. the exposition
- D. the falling action

5
Question 5
Which stage of the plot does this moment from a story belong to? After the final, the rival team shakes Priya's hand and asks how she built her robot's arm.
- A. rising action
- B. falling action
- C. resolution
- D. climax
6
Question 6
Which plot stage matches this description? The opening, which introduces the characters, setting and situation.
- A. exposition
- B. rising action
- C. climax
- D. falling action
Question 7
Type the plot stage (in English) that matches this description. A series of events that build tension as the conflict develops.
Answer
8
Question 8
Which plot stage matches this description? Events after the turning point that begin to settle the conflict.
- A. resolution
- B. falling action
- C. rising action
- D. climax

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Answer key: Plot stages: exposition to resolution

1. D. climax
2. climax
3. C. rising action
4. B. the climax
5. B. falling action
6. A. exposition
7. rising action
8. B. falling action