A story isn't a list of events, it's a climb. Find where each of Rikki's fights sits on the way up and down.
Not started yet.
Students will learn the four parts of a plot (basic situation, complications, climax, resolution), meet suspense, and place the events of Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on the plot triangle. There's no new story, since the class read it in the first two lessons.
The basic situation introduces the main character, the setting and the conflict. The complications are the stretch where problems pile up and the suspense grows. The climax is the most emotional or suspenseful moment, the point where the main conflict is decided. The resolution settles what's left and shows life afterward.
In Rikki-tikki-tavi the basic situation is Rikki washed into a garden with two cobras. The complications are Karait, the plan overheard in the bathroom, Nag's death and the eggs. The climax is the standoff on the veranda and the chase into the rat hole. The resolution is the Coppersmith's announcement and the family's thanks.
Students put the loudest event at the top of the triangle. Nag's death comes with a shotgun blast, so it feels like the climax, but Nagaina is still alive and the main conflict is undecided. Ask what is still unsettled after the event; if something is, it's a complication.
Another slip is calling every fight a climax. Only one moment decides the main conflict.
Have the student draw the triangle on paper before answering the questions, then write two or three Rikki events under each part. The drawing is the work; the questions only check it. If he can say why Nag's death is a complication, he has understood the climax.
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Before You Start
The words this lesson uses. Tap a card to see what it means, then come back to them whenever a question uses one.
Part One
Questions about the story you just read. Pick your answer straight off, or press Find it in the story if you would rather hunt for the sentence first.
Part Two
The word cards are at the top of this page. Look back at them as often as you need, then answer.