Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mister Young and it is great to see you again on another lesson in this "Twisted Tree" sequence.

So today's lesson is going to be a really interesting one indeed where we look at narrative arcs in relation to "The Twisted Tree".

So what we mean by that is kind of looking at all the fantastic things that Rachel Burge does to structure her story in such an interesting and suspenseful way.

So just as a reminder, you will need a copy of the text, "The Twisted Tree" by Rachel Burge for today's lesson and we are using the 2019 Hot Key Books version.

So shall we get started? So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to walk away doing the following thing which is, "I can understand the arc of a narrative "and how the plot of 'The Twisted Tree' "fits within it." And just as in any English lesson, we have some very important words, our keywords.

So I do always encourage you just to pause the video, jot these words down and their definitions, particularly if they are new to you because we are going to be using them quite a bit in today's lesson.

Let's take a look at what they are.

So firstly, narrative arc.

The structure and sequence of events in a story.

Exposition, the beginning part of a story where characters, setting and the main conflict are introduced.

So we see this in "The Twisted Tree" when we are first introduced to Martha for example.

Action, events in a story that move the plot forward.

They can be divided into rising action and falling action.

So every story will have action of some kind.

In fact, that's what makes it so interesting to us as a reader.

The climax, the most intense and exciting part of a story where the main conflict reaches its peak and finally, resolution.

The end of a story where the conflicts are resolved and the story concludes and we are left with a sense of kind of finality as a reader.

So our lesson today has two very clear parts.

Our first learning cycle is going to be all about narrative arcs.

Kind of unpicking what we mean by narrative arcs and potentially, why they can be useful for us to plot stories and then secondly, we are going to be focusing on that fantastic story we have been reading throughout this sequence which is "The Twisted Tree" and we are going to try and plot Rachel Burge's fantastic work onto a very typical way of structuring a story, a narrative arc.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So I would like you to have a quick discussion.

So when thinking about the events of a story, what shape comes to mind? There's no right answer to this and no wrong answer to this.

I'm just really interested to hear what your version of a shape would be depending on the events of a story.

So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic effort on that.

A really fantastic start to the lesson.

I'm really enjoying those conversations where people are talking about maybe you know, lines in a shape going up to represent action and then coming down again potentially to represent a fall in the action.

I think that is a really insightful comment and something that is really going to be seen as we move throughout today's lesson.

So let's just make that a little bit more challenging then.

So I have three shapes on the board for you now.

So the first one is a kind of oval on its side, this kind of egg-shaped oval.

The next one is kind of two parts of a triangle, just a line straight up and a line straight down and then we've also got this kind of more squiggly line, it kind of goes up a little bit, down a little bit, it is a bit more varied.

So my question for you is as follows.

So look at these shapes that you can see on the board.

If they were stories, what kind of stories might they be? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, jot down some ideas if you're working independently and then do push play when you'd like to move on.

Again, fantastic work on that.

I'm really hearing some really high level discussions taking place across the class today which is what I love to hear as an English teacher and I'm really kind of enjoying those different comments that apply to different shapes.

I'm hearing people say that for the kind of oval, this might mean like a circular story of some kind potentially where the beginning is very similar to the end.

I've also hearing lots of comments about the two sides of the triangle as a very intense story where there's a very kind of clear peak of action which very quickly descends and then again, for the more kind of squiggly line, I'm hearing people say, "Well that might be quite a complex story "where there's kind of rises and falls "in the action as the story moves on." And I think they are all really, really fantastic comments that you can make about these shapes.

So really, really well done.

So a common way to plot a story is by using a narrative arc and this allows us to plot a story and identify its key elements.

So let's take a look at what I mean by that.

So it has the following parts.

So we would have what is called exposition.

So introducing the characters, background and the setting.

So who the story is going to be about, where it's taking place, all of those kind of things are in the exposition.

Then all of a sudden, we have something that makes our story interesting.

It starts to interest us as a reader and this is the rising action.

So in this part of the story, the tension grows as it leads to a conflict.

We become progressively more on edge as an audience.

This then leads to the top part of the narrative arc which is known as the climax.

So this is the turning point in the story where the tension is the highest.

The conflict is addressed here.

So this might be a kind of battle scene potentially in a story or it might be some other way of presenting the tension at its highest point.

Then the arrow starts to go down, the line goes down and we have what's called the falling action.

So the story shifts to action that happens as a result of the climax.

So the tension is starting to be reduced.

That's why the line is going down and then finally, we have what's known as the resolution.

So the resolution is where the conflict is resolved and the loose ends are tied up.

This is sometimes called the ending.

Where we get some sense of kind of finality or resolution about what has happened to the characters in the story.

So when taken together, it looks just like this.

We've got all of these different elements, all doing different things on the narrative arc.

So my check for understanding for you is as follows.

Which of the sections is missing from the narrative arc below? So hit that pause button, complete the task and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, great job to everybody who identified the climax.

The climax is at the top of the narrative arc.

It is the moment of highest tension in any story.

So when I look at the narrative arc, I can sometimes find it a little bit confusing but what really helps me is to start to plot famous stories or stories that I know within that narrative arc.

It helps me kind of understand those different elements.

So let's take a look at an example now.

So we have an example on the board which is the story of "The Hare and The Tortoise".

A hare is a kind of rabbit-like mammal that moves really fast and a tortoise is a reptile that moves very, very slowly.

So when we think of that story, we could potentially plot it in the following ways.

So we can plot that famous fable like this.

So we could say the exposition.

A hare and a tortoise are enjoying a sunny day.

Then all of a sudden we get some kind of tension as a reader which is the hare challenges the tortoise to a race.

He races ahead into the distance.

Then we reach the climax of the story.

The hare falls asleep before the finish line.

He is so kind of arrogant that he thinks he's gonna win.

He takes a quick nap and slowly but surely, the tortoise builds up an unbeatable lead and overtakes the hare and then finally, the falling action.

The tortoise wins the race, the hare cannot catch up and the other animals cheer and we are introduced to the resolution of that story which is the hare realises that slow and steady can win the race.

So that is a very kind of simple story plotted on the narrative arc.

We can see all of those key elements within that narrative arc structure.

So we have reached our practise task of today.

Our first practise task of learning cycle one.

So what I would like you to do is to have a quick discussion.

So we have looked at this concept of a narrative arc but I would like you to tell me or discuss in your class why is it important? Why do you think we should plot stories in this way.

So using the prompts below, I would like you to discuss why narrative arcs might be useful tools for writers and you have the following prompts.

I think it is important that exposition comes at the beginning because.

In my opinion, the rising action needs to be longer than the falling action because.

And finally, it is important that events are resolved at the end of the novel because.

So I would like you to have that quick discussion but then also try and develop your responses further.

So I would like you to attempt to develop your responses further by challenging or supporting other comments with the following prompt.

So I agree or I disagree because.

So really excited to see how you get on with this classroom discussion.

So hit that pause button, complete the task and then do push play when you'd like to move on to some feedback.

Okay, fantastic efforts on that.

What a wonderful practise task to kind of end learning cycle one.

I'm really enjoying all of those conversations I'm hearing and I'm hearing some really kind of insightful, intelligent comments and I'm particularly enjoying all those kind of groups and individuals that are linking that narrative arc structure to recent things that you yourself may have read.

Kind of drawing on direct examples from your own reading.

So Jun said the following in response to this task and Jun said, "I think it is important that the exposition "comes at the beginning "because it introduces the characters and setting, "helping us understand the story better.

"In my opinion, the rising action needs to be longer "than the falling action "because it builds up excitement "and keeps us interested in the story." Fantastic comment there from Jun and I'm hearing some very, very similar comments to that actually across the classroom today.

So really well done.

So a quick self-assessment, a quick discussion task to end learning cycle one.

So do you agree with this statement and crucially, do you think this could apply to "The Twisted Tree"? Do you think what Jun is saying here could apply to "The Twisted Tree"? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion and then do push play when you'd like to move on to learning cycle two.

Okay, we have reached learning cycle two already and I think you can probably work out where we are going to go with this learning cycle.

So we have really done some fantastic work on developing our knowledge of narrative arcs and now of course, we're going to apply that to "The Twisted Tree".

We're gonna see the extent to which Rachel Burge's "The Twisted Tree" kind of meets or conforms to that narrative arc that we looked at in learning cycle one.

So two Oak pupils discussed their view of the climax of "The Twisted Tree" and they said the following.

So the first pupil said, "For me, the climax of the story is clearly "when Martha kills the draugr." The second pupil said, "I disagree, I think it is when Martha visits the underworld "and returns with both Stig and Gandalf." So really, two really insightful comments here and it is really important to remember that narrative arcs are a helpful guide to stories only and not all stories will fit perfectly onto them.

So it's really important to remember that not every story you come across will exactly fit that kind of rigid narrative structure but they can certainly be a helpful guide.

So some stories will have an additional climax, so we could say that "The Twisted Tree" certainly has two climaxes.

It has kind of two moments of really, really high tension running throughout the story.

So quick check for understanding for me then please.

All stories can be perfectly plotted onto the narrative arc structure.

Is that true or is that false? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, great job to everybody who identified that was false.

It was absolutely false.

We can't plot them all perfectly on a narrative arc but how could you justify that? Why, why is that the correct answer? So once again, hit that pause button.

Have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas to justify your answer if you're working independently and then push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Well we could say that is false because it is a helpful guide only.

Some stories may have multiple elements from the narrative arc.

So for example, "The Twisted Tree" has two climaxes.

So great job if you identified that in your own justification.

Second check for understanding for me then please.

So in "The Twisted Tree", the story opens with an introduction to Martha, a young girl blind in one eye heading to Norway.

What is this an example of? Is it A climax, is it B, exposition or is it C, rising action? So once again, hit that pause button, complete the task and then do push play when you'd like to see the right answer.

Okay, superb effort.

If you identified B as the correct answer, it is of course exposition.

What is going on here is that we are being introduced to the character which is Martha and we are also being introduced to the setting which is Norway.

So that is exactly what an exposition is there to do.

It's to introduce the kind of key elements before the story starts to progress further.

Great job if you picked up on that.

Okay, we have reached our final task of today's lesson and you've guessed it, yep, we are going to be plotting the events of "The Twisted Tree" on a narrative arc.

So my task for you is as follows.

So I would like you to plot the events of "The Twisted Tree" on the narrative arc structure below.

So remember, the key parts of the narrative structure for "The Twisted Tree" are as follows.

We've got exposition, we've got rising action, we've got climax one, we've got climax two, we've got falling action and then we have resolution.

So we are kind of saying for "The Twisted Tree" that there might be more than one climax here.

More than one kind of moment of real high tension in the story.

So my task for you please is to plot each of these elements onto this structure.

So you can use kind of quotes from the novel or key plot points, whatever you choose to do.

As long as you are covering the key narrative structure of "The Twisted Tree" on this diagram.

So super excited to see how you approach this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task and then do push play when you'd like to see how you could've approached it.

Okay, fantastic effort on that task.

It certainly gets a lot more challenging doesn't it when we kind of start using a much kind of longer novel like "The Twisted Tree" and it's reasonably easy to spot these elements in a kind of short fable like "The Hare and the Tortoise" but when we kind of look at a novel of over kind of 200 pages, it becomes a lot more challenging to isolate these key elements doesn't it.

I'm super impressed at all of your effort on this task.

So let's take a look at how we could've approached it.

Well firstly, we could talk about the exposition as being when Martha runs away from home to visit her grandmother Mormor.

We have the rising action which is where Martha and Stig start to be haunted by evil spirits they come to know as the draugr.

Again, we have a multitude of climaxes here.

We have number one which is, with the help of the ravens, Martha is able to kill the draugr and our second one is that when Stig and Gandalf are alive, they are rescued by Martha from the underworld.

So those are two kind of key moments of high tension that could definitely both be considered as climaxes in the story.

And then we have our falling action which is where Martha and her mother begin to reconnect.

So they were quite distant weren't they? Certainly at the beginning of the novel but the kind of action of the preceding part of the novel certainly brings them back together and then we have the resolution which is Martha and her mother decide to remain and tend to the twisted tree.

To kind of continue the role that Mormor had with the twisted tree.

Great job if you identified anything similar in your own work.

So a quick discussion question for me then please.

Are there any major plot points missing here? Where could they potentially go on the narrative arc.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas and then do push play when you'd like to bring today's lesson to a close.

Okay we have reached the end of today's lesson and my goodness, we have learned an awful lot haven't we? We've learnt an awful lot about narrative arcs.

So let's just recap exactly what we have focused on in today's lesson.

So firstly, lots of stories, particularly fables and fairytales fit into a traditional narrative arc.

A narrative arc starts with an exposition.

A story's rising action leads to its climax.

After the climax, falling action leads to a resolution and finally, "The Twisted Tree" mostly follows this traditional structure.

However, there are arguably two climaxes.

As always, it's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this Twisted Tree sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.