Types of Conflict in Short Scenes

Start with Exposition, Climax and Resolution so students learn the five parts, then map Playing in the Dark. Use the conflict scenes for quick partner talk.

Name the conflict type in 8 scenes, from a blizzard to a runaway robot vacuum, and copy the proof. A conflict is the struggle in a story. A character can struggle against another character, against himself or herself, or against nature, society or technology. The directions on the page read: Read each scene. Circle the type of conflict it shows. Then copy the words from the scene that show the conflict. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade story elements, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with character, setting & plot. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

It is the turning point, where the main conflict comes to a head. In Playing in the Dark, the climax is when Diego keeps playing the piano from memory after the power goes out.

Falling action is what happens right after the climax, and the resolution is how the story ends. In The Final Word, Marcus gets the trophy, then decides to enter the county spelling bee.

It is a struggle inside a character's own mind. In Types of Conflict in Short Scenes, Owen finds a twenty-dollar bill and is unable to decide whether to keep it.