Kōkiri Learn

Week 3 of 5

Plot, tension and theme

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Session 1 · AUTHOR: Techniques

The story mountain

  1. 10 minPlot structure: orientation, complication, rising action, climax, resolution.
  2. 20 minMap a short story (School Journal or Snake and Lizard) on a story mountain. Where does the tension peak?
  3. 15 minTension graph: plot the novel so far, chapter by chapter. Label the moments that made you want to keep reading.
  4. 5 minWhat techniques create suspense: short sentences, cliffhangers, questions left unanswered?

Session 2 · AUTHOR: Hear Voices

Whose story is this?

  1. 10 minWhat is the story really about? Theme statements: not 'friendship', but 'real friends forgive each other'.
  2. 20 minCompare two texts from different cultures or times (for example a Māori, Pasifika or Pākehā author with a global one). Whose voices are heard in each?
  3. 15 minLiterature circles: which character's point of view is missing? What might they say?
  4. 5 minWrite one theme statement for the class novel and one piece of evidence.

Getting started

Choose a theme statement from a list and find one quote that supports it.

Stretch

Find a theme that two texts share but treat differently, and explain the difference.

Checkpoint

Each student can map the plot of a short story and state a theme with evidence.

Activities for this week

Useful this week