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5th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 1 of 11

Plot and Conflict

How stories rise and fall

What your child practices

The five parts of a plot, types of conflict (person vs. person, nature or self), and telling first-, second- and third-person point of view apart.

Alaska content standards learning standard: RL.5.5 · plot structure and conflict

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A plot has five parts: exposition (who and where), rising action, climax (the most exciting turning point), falling action and resolution.
  2. Conflict is the struggle: person vs. person, person vs. nature or person vs. self.
  3. First person uses I, second person uses you, third person uses he, she or they.

Example: “In the last second, Kenji dives and stops the final shot.” Which part of the plot is this? It is the most tense moment, when the game is decided. After this, things wind down. Answer: climax

Plot and Conflict in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 1 of 11 in 5th grade English Language Arts, before Figurative Language.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Put the events of “The Spelling Bee” in order, from the exposition to the resolution.

    • She makes it to the final round, but her mind goes blank on a word she knows.
    • Zoe puts the trophy on her shelf, right next to her flashcards.
    • She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win.
    • Zoe has practiced for the school spelling bee for months.
    • Her classmates clap as the principal hands her the trophy.

  2. Question 2

    Which part of the plot is this event? “She asks to join the lunchtime chess games, but the players tell her the boards are full.”

    Maya has just moved to a new town and doesn't know anyone at her school.

    She asks to join the lunchtime chess games, but the players tell her the boards are full.

    At the school chess tournament, Maya faces the best player in the final game and wins.

    The other players crowd around and ask her how she planned her moves.

    Maya starts a chess club, and soon it has twelve members.

    • climax
    • exposition
    • resolution
    • rising action

  3. Question 3

    Which part of the plot is this event? “At the school chess tournament, Maya faces the best player in the final game and wins.”

    Maya has just moved to a new town and doesn't know anyone at her school.

    She asks to join the lunchtime chess games, but the players tell her the boards are full.

    At the school chess tournament, Maya faces the best player in the final game and wins.

    The other players crowd around and ask her how she planned her moves.

    Maya starts a chess club, and soon it has twelve members.

    • falling action
    • exposition
    • climax
    • resolution

  4. Question 4

    In “The Storm on the Lake,” which event is the climax?

    • One morning, dark clouds roll in while they're far from shore, and the motor won't start.
    • Leo grabs the oars and rows with all his strength as the waves grow bigger.
    • That night, Leo decides to learn how to read the weather before every trip.
    • Leo loves fishing on the lake with his aunt every Saturday.

  5. Question 5

    What type of conflict is this?

    A blizzard traps Priya's family in their cabin until the roads are cleared.

    • person vs. person
    • person vs. nature
    • person vs. self

  6. Question 6

    Which part of a plot builds tension as the problem grows?

    • resolution
    • rising action
    • exposition
    • falling action

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