Grade 5 Plot and Conflict worksheet
from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
How to explain it
- A plot has five parts: exposition (who and where), rising action, climax (the most exciting turning point), falling action and resolution.
- Conflict is the struggle: person vs. person, person vs. nature or person vs. self.
- 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
Question 1
Put the events of “The Storm on the Lake” in order, from the exposition to the resolution.
- Leo loves fishing on the lake with his aunt every Saturday.
- 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.
- At last, the boat bumps against the dock, and his aunt ties it up tight.
- One morning, dark clouds roll in while they're far from shore, and the motor won't start.
Leo loves fishing on the lake with his aunt every Saturday. → 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. → At last, the boat bumps against the dock, and his aunt ties it up tight. → That night, Leo decides to learn how to read the weather before every trip.
Hint: Start with the event that introduces the characters. End with how things turn out.
Question 2
Which part of the plot is this event? “A monarch butterfly comes out, and the class releases it in the school garden.”
Sam's class is raising monarch caterpillars in a tank by the window.
One caterpillar stops eating and hangs upside down, and the class worries that it is sick.
As the class watches, its skin splits open and a green chrysalis appears.
Every day, the students check on the chrysalis as it slowly darkens.
A monarch butterfly comes out, and the class releases it in the school garden.
- exposition
- climax
- falling action
- resolution
resolution
Hint: The resolution comes last. It shows how things end up once the problem is solved.
Question 3
Which part of the plot is this event? “One caterpillar stops eating and hangs upside down, and the class worries that it is sick.”
Sam's class is raising monarch caterpillars in a tank by the window.
One caterpillar stops eating and hangs upside down, and the class worries that it is sick.
As the class watches, its skin splits open and a green chrysalis appears.
Every day, the students check on the chrysalis as it slowly darkens.
A monarch butterfly comes out, and the class releases it in the school garden.
- rising action
- falling action
- resolution
- exposition
rising action
Hint: In the rising action, a problem appears and the tension builds.
Question 4
In “The Spelling Bee,” which event is the climax?
- She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win.
- Her classmates clap as the principal hands her the trophy.
- Zoe puts the trophy on her shelf, right next to her flashcards.
- She makes it to the final round, but her mind goes blank on a word she knows.
She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win.
Hint: The climax is the turning point: the most exciting or tense moment of the story.
Question 5
What type of conflict is this?
Maya wants to try out for the play, but she's afraid of forgetting her lines.
- person vs. self
- person vs. person
- person vs. nature
person vs. self
Hint: The struggle happens inside the character's own mind: a fear, a feeling or a hard choice.
Question 6
From which point of view is this sentence told?
I grabbed my backpack and raced to catch the bus.
- first person
- third person
first person
Hint: First person uses I, me, my or we. Second person speaks to the reader as “you.” Third person uses names and he, she or they.
Question 7
What is the conflict in a story?
- the person telling the story
- the place where the story happens
- the main problem or struggle the characters face
- the lesson the reader learns
the main problem or struggle the characters face
Hint: Every story has a problem to solve. That struggle is the conflict.
Question 8
Put the events of “The Spelling Bee” in order, from the exposition to the resolution.
- She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win.
- Zoe puts the trophy on her shelf, right next to her flashcards.
- Her classmates clap as the principal hands her the trophy.
- She makes it to the final round, but her mind goes blank on a word she knows.
- Zoe has practised for the school spelling bee for months.
Zoe has practised for the school spelling bee for months. → She makes it to the final round, but her mind goes blank on a word she knows. → She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win. → Her classmates clap as the principal hands her the trophy. → Zoe puts the trophy on her shelf, right next to her flashcards.
Hint: Start with the event that introduces the characters. End with how things turn out.
Question 9
Which part of the plot is this event? “Maya starts a chess club, and soon it has twelve members.”
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.
- exposition
- climax
- resolution
resolution
Hint: The resolution comes last. It shows how things end up once the problem is solved.
Question 10
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.
- exposition
- resolution
- climax
climax
Hint: The climax is the turning point: the most exciting or tense moment of the story.
Answer key
- 1. Leo loves fishing on the lake with his aunt every Saturday. → 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. → At last, the boat bumps against the dock, and his aunt ties it up tight. → That night, Leo decides to learn how to read the weather before every trip.
- 2. resolution
- 3. rising action
- 4. She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win.
- 5. person vs. self
- 6. first person
- 7. the main problem or struggle the characters face
- 8. Zoe has practised for the school spelling bee for months. → She makes it to the final round, but her mind goes blank on a word she knows. → She takes a deep breath, pictures her flashcard and spells the word correctly to win. → Her classmates clap as the principal hands her the trophy. → Zoe puts the trophy on her shelf, right next to her flashcards.
- 9. resolution
- 10. climax
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback.