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Encyclopedia Brown
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Literary Elements: Character and Plot
• A character is a person or an animal who takes part in a story. You can learn about a
character through the character’s words, actions, and thoughts.
• A plot is the series of related events in a story. The plot includes a problem or conflict,
the rising action, the climax, and the resolution, or outcome.
• A story may be written in the first person, which is indicated by the narrator’s use of the
words I, we, or our. It may also be written in the third person, indicated by the words he,
she, or they.
Directions Read the following passage. Complete the plot chart below. Then answer
the question.
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© Pearson Education, Inc., 4
ecky burst into the kitchen. “Quick,
there’s a UFO!” she shouted. We
hurried outside. “Where?” I asked. Becky
pointed up. I saw nothing and was not
convinced. “Really,” she insisted, “I saw
this bright, tiny light speed past. Whoosh!
And it was gone!” Becky’s claim was both
silly and exciting.
Conflict
1.
Rising Action
2.
Climax
3.
Resolution
4.
Deciding to investigate, I went online
to research the night sky where we lived.
One Web page had a recent video clip of a
meteor shower. We watched it together.
“That’s the UFO!” Becky exclaimed.
“It’s a shooting star,” I reminded her.
She was disappointed. “Next time make a
wish.”
5. Is the story told in the first person or third person?
Home Activity Your child read a short passage and identified whether it was written in first or third person
and the elements of its plot. Read a story with your child. Afterward, ask your child to identify whether it was
written in first person or third person and to name the elements of the plot: the conflict, rising action, climax,
and resolution. What does the resolution tell you about the characters?
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