RL.6.3: How a Plot Unfolds in Episodes and How Characters Respond or Change

Overview

Lesson Procedure

55-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Think of a movie or book where a character starts out one way and ends up different. Name the character, then write: 'At first, ___. Then ___ happened. By the end, ___.'"

   Take three or four answers. Point out that each answer has a middle, "Then ___ happened," and that the change needed that event. Tell students that today they will split a story into its steps, called episodes, and track how the characters react to each step.

2. Direct Instruction15 minutes

   Teach six words and leave them on the board:

   • Plot: the events of a story, in the order the story tells them.
   • Episode: a connected group of events that happen in one stretch of the story, a bit like a scene in a movie. Each episode moves the plot one step, and a new episode often starts with a new time, place or problem.
   • Conflict: the main problem the characters face.
   • Turning point (also called the climax): the episode where the conflict comes to a head and things start to go a new way.
   • Resolution: the end of the plot, where the conflict is settled.
   • Respond and change: a character responds to an event with words, actions or feelings. A character changes when the way they think or act at the end is different from the beginning.

   Introduce the text: Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish writer who wrote fairy tales for his own sons. "The Selfish Giant" was first published in 1888. Words to know for Parts 1 and 2: ogre (a giant, often a scary one, from folk tales; "Cornish" means from Cornwall, in England), gruff (rough and unfriendly), trespassers (people who go onto land without permission), prosecuted (taken to court), slates (flat stone tiles on a roof). Read Parts 1 and 2 aloud.

   1EVERY afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant’s garden.

   2It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. “How happy we are here!” they cried to each other.

   3One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

   4“What are you doing here?” he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.

   5“My own garden is my own garden,” said the Giant; “any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.” So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

   6TRESPASSERS
   WILL BE
   PROSECUTED

   7He was a very selfish Giant.

   8The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. “How happy we were there,” they said to each other.

   1Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. “Spring has forgotten this garden,” they cried, “so we will live here all the year round.” The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. “This is a delightful spot,” he said, “we must ask the Hail on a visit.” So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

   2“I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,” said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; “I hope there will be a change in the weather.”

   3But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant’s garden she gave none. “He is too selfish,” she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

   • Finding an episode

     Where does the first episode end and the second begin in Part 1?

     Result: Episode 1 (paragraphs 1-2) is the children's happy afternoons in the garden. A new episode starts at paragraph 3 with a new event and a new problem: "One day the Giant came back." The words "One day" signal the change. Episode 2 runs through the wall, the notice-board and the children left on the dusty road (paragraphs 3-8).

   • How one episode causes the next

     How does the wall in Part 1 lead to the winter in Part 2?

     Result: In Part 2, paragraph 1, "The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom." The garden stays in winter because the children are gone, and they are gone because of the wall. The word "as" (meaning because) shows the link between the two episodes.

   • A character's response

     How does the Giant respond to the winter that will not end, and what does his response show?

     Result: He sits at his window and says, "I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming" (Part 2, paragraph 2). He treats it as a weather problem. His response shows that he has not changed yet: he does not connect the winter to what he did to the children.

   • Response or change?

     In Part 1 the children cry "How happy we are here!" and later say "How happy we were there." Is this a change in the children?

     Result: It is a response, not a change in who they are. The children still love the garden; what has changed is their situation. Moving from "are here" to "were there" shows the loss the conflict has caused. A character change, like the Giant's later in the story, means the character's own way of thinking or acting is different.

   Model the thinking with Diagram 1. Show the seven episodes and ask after each one: "What does this episode cause?" Then show Diagram 2 and ask: "Which episodes happen between these two sets of words, and why do the words change?" Stress that a description of a plot says how the events connect, not only what they are.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Read Parts 3 and 4 aloud. Words to know: linnet (a small songbird), casement (a window that opens on hinges, like a door), crept (moved slowly and quietly), stole up (moved up quietly, so as not to be noticed) and companion (a friend who spends time with you).

   1One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King’s musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. “I believe the Spring has come at last,” said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.

   2What did he see?

   3He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. “Climb up! little boy,” said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.

   4And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. “How selfish I have been!” he said; “now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s playground for ever and ever.” He was really very sorry for what he had done.

   1So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant’s neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. “It is your garden now, little children,” said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o’clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

   2All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.

   3“But where is your little companion?” he said: “the boy I put into the tree.” The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.

   4“We don’t know,” answered the children; “he has gone away.”

   5“You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow,” said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.

   6Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. “How I would like to see him!” he used to say.

   1. Split Parts 3 and 4 into episodes. Pairs draw a line wherever a new episode begins and give each episode a short title. Teacher key: Part 3 is one episode (a bird's song wakes the Giant, and what he sees from the window changes his mind). Part 4 holds two: the Giant goes out and gives the garden to the children (paragraphs 1-2), then the small boy cannot be found and the Giant misses him (paragraphs 3-6).
   2. Link the episodes. For each line they drew, pairs write one "because" sentence joining the two episodes, with a paragraph number for each side.
   3. Track one response. Pairs pick one moment where the Giant says or does something new in Parts 3-4, copy the words, and write what the words show about him. Discuss two or three answers as a class, then ask: at which moment does the Giant stop responding the old way?
4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read Part 5, the ending, on their own. Words to know: feeble (weak), merely (only), marvellous (the British spelling of marvelous), hath, thee and thou (old words for "has" and "you"), slay (kill), awe (a feeling of deep respect and wonder) and Paradise (heaven).

   1Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. “I have many beautiful flowers,” he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”

   2One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

   3Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.

   4Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, “Who hath dared to wound thee?” For on the palms of the child’s hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

   5“Who hath dared to wound thee?” cried the Giant; “tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.”

   6“Nay!” answered the child; “but these are the wounds of Love.”

   7“Who art thou?” said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.

   8And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, “You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.”

   9And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

   On the handout, students (1) write one sentence for each episode in Part 5; (2) explain how the ending settles the conflict that started with the wall in Part 1; (3) choose one quotation from Part 1 and one from Part 5 that show the Giant before and after, and explain what changed and which episode caused it. The quiz uses all five parts of the story.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) In your own words, what is an episode? (2) Name one episode that caused another, and write one "because" sentence joining them.

   Teacher note on language and content: the story is printed exactly as it appears in a 1910 London edition, so it keeps British spellings ("marvellous," "grey") and old forms such as "to-morrow," "hath" and "thou." The ending uses Christian imagery: the child's wounds and the word "Paradise" point to Jesus. Students do not need to know this to follow the plot or the Giant's change; if it comes up, treat it as a detail of the story the author chose, as you would any other allusion (a reference to another well-known story or figure).

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In a short story, Lena borrows her friend's bike and breaks it, hides it in her garage, is found out when her friend sees it, and finally says sorry and helps pay for the repair. Which event is the resolution?

   ALena breaks her friend's bike while riding it. BLena hides the broken bike in her garage. CLena's friend sees the bike in the garage. DLena says sorry and helps pay for the repair.

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does the Giant come home at the start of Part 1?

   AAfter seven years, he has run out of things to say. BHe hears children laughing in his garden from far away. CThe Cornish ogre sends him away after a quarrel. DHe wants to be home before the winter weather comes.

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How do the children respond once they are shut out of the garden?

   AThey build a garden of their own beside the dusty road. BThey wander round the high wall and talk about the garden. CThey write a letter to the Giant asking to come back. DThey tear down the notice-board when the Giant is asleep.

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Part 1, "The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly." In Part 3, "The birds were flying about and twittering with delight." What does this pair of details show about how the plot unfolds?

   AThe birds have left the garden for good by the time Part 3 begins. BThe Giant has bought new birds while the children were away. CThe plot circles back: what the wall took away returns. DThe birds prefer the Giant to the children, so they sing for him.

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Part 2, why does the Autumn give the Giant's garden no fruit?

   AThe Hail has broken the branches of all the peach-trees. BThe birds have eaten the fruit before the Giant can pick it. CThe North Wind has blown the fruit over the high wall. DShe says the Giant is "too selfish" to be given any.

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which event in Part 2 shows the problem starting to hurt the Giant himself, not only the garden and the children?

   AA flower slips back into the ground and goes to sleep. BThe Hail rattles on his roof and breaks most of the slates. CThe children try to play on the dusty, stony road. DThe birds stop singing because there are no children.

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The Giant first thinks the music he hears is "the King's musicians passing by," but it is "only a little linnet." Why does one bird's song seem so beautiful to him?

   AHe has always loved music more than anything in his castle. BThe bird is singing a song that the King's musicians taught it. CIt is so long since a bird has sung in his garden. DThe children have trained the bird to sing outside his window.

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How do the children get back into the garden in Part 3?

   AThe Giant opens the front gate for them early in the morning. BThey climb over the high wall on a ladder they brought. CThe North Wind knocks down one side of the high wall. DThey creep in through a little hole in the wall.

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why is the small boy in the farthest corner important to the plot of Part 3?

   AHe is left out and crying, and seeing him moves the Giant. BHe is the Giant's own son, who has come home after seven long years away. CHe is the child who first found the hole in the wall and led the others in. DHe shouts at the Giant, which makes the Giant angry enough to chase him.

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Part 4, when the Giant comes into the garden, why does the small boy not run away like the others?

    AHe wants to be the first child to play with the Giant. BHis eyes are too full of tears to see the Giant. CHe is stuck at the top of the tree and cannot climb down. DThe Giant calls to him and tells him not to be afraid.

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    What makes the other children come running back in Part 4?

    AThe Giant calls out that the garden now belongs to them. BThey hear the birds singing again from the road. CThey see that the Giant is not wicked any longer. DThe small boy runs to fetch them from the road.

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Part 4 the Giant "took a great axe and knocked down the wall." How does this action connect to earlier episodes?

    AIt shows that the Giant wants to build a bigger and stronger wall. BIt is the first time in the story that the Giant has used any tool. CIt happens before he sees the children in the trees in Part 3. DIt undoes the wall he built in Part 1, which started the conflict.

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    How does the Giant respond when the small boy is never seen again?

    AHe stays kind to the children but misses his first friend. BHe builds the wall again because he is angry at the other children. CHe forgets the boy quickly once the other children come to play. DHe goes to look for the boy at his old friend the ogre's castle.

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Part 5 the old Giant "did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep." How does this sentence show that he has changed?

    AHe now loves the Winter more than any other season. BHe now thinks the winter is his own fault each year. CHe now sees winter as a rest, not a punishment. DHe now stays inside so he never sees the seasons.

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Explain how the children's return in Part 3 leads to the events of Part 4. Use one detail from each part.

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16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Choose one character other than the Giant, such as the Tree, the North Wind or the Autumn. Describe how that character responds to an event in the plot, and explain how the response moves the plot forward. Quote the text.

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17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Part 4 the small boy "flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him." How does the boy's response affect the Giant, both in Part 4 and later in the story?

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18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    At the very end, the children find the Giant "all covered with white blossoms." How does this last image connect to Part 2, and how does it help settle the story's conflict?

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19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    A classmate describes the plot of "The Selfish Giant" this way: "A giant is mean, and then he is nice." Explain what this description leaves out about how the plot unfolds. Name at least three episodes in your answer.

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20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Part 5 the Giant's "face grew red with anger," and he offers to "take my big sword and slay him." Does this mean he has gone back to being the gruff Giant of Part 1? Explain with evidence.

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These standards connect to RL.6.3: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.