Focus Skill:

PlotCreated By:Agatha Lee

October 2009

What does that

mean?

Everything that happens in a story is the

plot.

As you read a story, you should be

thinking about what is happening.

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.

In the beginning of the story, the setting and characters are given.

The beginning also tells the story’s problem.

The middle of the story

tells how the characters try to solve

the problem.

The end of the story tells how they solved

the problem.

Yahoooo!ProblemSolved!

Remember, most stories have a problem that

needs to be solved. That problem and the solution

are part of the story’s plot.

Let’s be a detective. We’ll read

some stories and decide

what the plot is.

The Lion and the TortoiseOnce upon a time, there was a greedy

lion. 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.

What happened at the beginning of that story?

A. The lion ate the tortoise.B. The tortoise crawled out of the lion’s mouth.C. The greedy lion chased all the animals away.

The answer is “C.”

What was the lion’s

problem ?

A. He liked to play in the water.

B. The tortoise was stuck in his

throat.

C. The lion liked to eat animals.

The answer is “B.”

What happened at the

end 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.The answer is “B.”

The Tale of the Milky WayLong 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.

What happens in the

beginning 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.

The answer is “C.”

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.

The answer is “A.”

What happens in the

middle 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.The answer is “B.”

What do the villagers do to scare the dog away ?

The villagers scare himaway by banging on their

drums and shaking rattles.

What happens in the

end 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.The answer is “A.”