Focus Skill: Plot

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Focus SkillPlot
Created By Agatha Lee October 2009
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What does that mean?
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Everything that happens in a story is the plot.
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As you read a story, you should be thinking about
what is happening.
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That means you should be thinking about the
events that happen in the beginning of the story,
the middle of the story, and the end of the story.
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In the beginning of the story, the setting and
characters are given. The beginning also tells
the storys problem.
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The middle of the story tells how the characters
try to solve the problem.
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The end of the story tells how they solved the
problem.
Problem Solved!
Yahoooo!
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Remember, most stories have a problem that needs
to be solved. That problem and the solution are
part of the storys plot.
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Lets be a detective. Well read some stories
and decide what the plot is.
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The Lion and the Tortoise Once upon a time,
there was a greedylion. The lion would chase
all the animalsaway from the water. One day a
bravelittle tortoise crept up. Go away or I
will eat you! the lion roared. The tortoise
just laughed. The lion gobbled up the tortoise
but the tortoise got stuck in his
throat. Help! roared the lion. I will get
out, said the tortoise. But first you must
agree to share the water with everyone! The
lion agreed. All the animals cheered.
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What happened at the beginning of that
story?A. The lion ate the tortoise.B. The
tortoise crawled out of the lions mouth.C. The
greedy lion chased all the animals away.
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What was the lions problem ?A. He liked to
play in the water.B. The tortoise was stuck in
his throat.C. The lion liked to eat animals.
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What happened at theend of the story ?A. The
lion chased all the animals away from the
water.B. The lion agreed to share the water
with the other animals.
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The Tale of the Milky Way Long ago, the people
of a Cherokee village pounded corn into cornmeal.
They stored it in large baskets. One morning
a woman noticed that a lot of the cornmeal was
missing. She saw huge dog prints nearby. She
thought of a plan and told the villagers. Late
that night, the villagers saw a giant dog fly
down from the sky. Right away, he started eating
the cornmeal. The villagers banged on their
drums and shook their rattles. The huge dog got
scared and flew into the sky. He moved so
quickly that he spilled cornmeal. It spread
across the night sky. Each piece of cornmeal
turned into a star. From then on, the stars were
called where the dog ran. Today,we call the
stars the Milky Way.
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What happens in thebeginning of the story?A.
The villagers notice all the stars in the sky.B.
The dog flies down from the sky.C. The
villagers notice that cornmeal is missing.
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Why was it a problem that the cornmeal
disappeared ?A. The villagers needed cornmeal
for food.B. The villagers needed cornmeal to
make toys.C. The villagers needed cornmeal to
sleep on.
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What happens in themiddle of the story ?A.
The villagers talk to the dog.B. The villagers
see a dog from the sky eating their
cornmeal.C. The villagers make drums.
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What do the villagers do to scare the dog away ?
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What happens in theend of the story ?A. The
dog drops pieces of cornmeal, which become
stars.B. The dog tells the villagers the
cornmeal will turn into stars.