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Literary Analysis: Analyze Plot
Academic Vocabulary

  • • series (sear-ēz) noun A series is a group of related things that are put in a certain order.

What Is Plot? A plot is the series of events that make up a story. A plot usually has a problem and a solution. Most stories tell the problem at the beginning. They tell the solution, or how the problem is fixed, at the end. This passage shows the problem in “The Secret Water.”

Shu Fa lives with Uncle and Auntie in a village by the mountain. The land is dry and dusty. There is no water available for the villagers.

Every day, people must walk over the steep mountain to get the precious water. They fill their buckets with the water and carry it home.

Practice Together

Read and Discuss You can use a Problem-and-Solution Chart to keep track of what happens in a story. Look at the chart.

Problem-and-Solution Chart

Problem-and-Solution Chart

Begin a Chart Copy the chart above, but add several more “Event” boxes. Fill in the boxes as shown.

Try It!

Finish the Problem-and-Solution Chart as you reread the story. Use as many “Event” boxes as you need. Be sure to add the solution. Then share your chart with a partner.