Mapping Story Turning Points

Overview

In this second lesson of Spider-Verse: Stories on Screen, students examine how Miles Morales’s journey is shaped by plot structure and conflict. Building on prior viewing and character work, they sequence key events, distinguish internal from external conflict, and explain how a turning point changes the direction of the story.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax and resolution in a film narrative
• distinguish between internal and external conflict
• explain how a turning point changes a character’s choices and the direction of the story
• support structural interpretations with specific evidence from the film

Success criteria

• I can place key events from Miles’s journey in a logical story structure.
• I can identify an internal and an external conflict and explain each one.
• I can explain why the climax is a turning point.
• I can use a film event or quotation as evidence for my ideas.

Curriculum links

• Text complexity: analysing complex plots, abstract ideas and structural choices that shape meaning.
• Creative texts: explaining how structural features such as conflict, resolution, tone and varied pacing convey ideas.
• Visual and digital texts: developing detailed planning to enhance coherence and depth.
• Audience and purpose: selecting planning strategies such as story maps to clarify and organise ideas.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and retrieval. Display a still or brief recap of Miles standing between two worlds using the hook and retrieval slides. Ask: “When does a story stop being ordinary and become difficult for its main character?” Students silently recall one important event from the previous lesson, then share it with a partner; invite two or three responses.

2. 5–13 min · Direct teaching: story structure. Use the story structure slides to introduce the five stages: exposition (setting up the world and character), inciting incident (the event that disrupts normality), rising action (complications and choices), climax (the major turning point) and resolution (what happens afterwards). Model a simple non-film example, then briefly place Miles’s early story events into the stages. Emphasise that reasonable interpretations may differ if they are supported by evidence.

3. 13–20 min · Modelling conflict. Show the conflict examples on the conflict teaching slides. Think aloud using Miles: the external conflict includes threats such as the collider, Kingpin and the need to stop the collapse of the dimensions; the internal conflict includes fear, self-doubt, grief and uncertainty about becoming Spider-Man. Students classify two displayed examples as internal or external and justify their choices using “This is ___ conflict because…”.

4. 20–35 min · Collaborative story mapping. Distribute the partially completed story structure and conflict map. In groups of three or four, students arrange and discuss key events from Miles’s journey, filling the missing stages and recording one internal and one external conflict. They must add a short explanation of how the turning point changes Miles’s actions. Encourage groups to check the film evidence rather than relying only on memory. Circulate, prompting: “What changes after this event?” and “What choice does Miles make because of the conflict?”

5. 35–44 min · Evidence discussion and refinement. Use the discussion and evidence slides to display the question: “Is Miles’s leap from the skyscraper the climax, or does the final battle contain the climax?” Pairs compare their maps, select one structural decision to defend, and write an evidence-based response using: “We placed ___ as the ___ because ___; this changes the story by ___.” Invite contrasting answers and reinforce that interpretation requires precise evidence.

6. 44–50 min · Plenary and exit check. Return to the plenary slides and ask students to complete the final box on their worksheet: “The most important turning point is ___ because it changes ___.” Students share with a partner, then hand in their maps or photograph them for review. Remind students that next lesson they will examine how visual and sound choices make these structural moments powerful.

Resources

• the complete story structure and conflict slide deck
• the partially completed story structure and conflict map
• Film or selected scene clips from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Whiteboard and markers
• Projector or interactive display
• Pens or highlighters
• Access to students’ prior viewing notes

Assessment

• During retrieval and classification, listen for accurate use of exposition, climax, internal conflict and external conflict; correct misconceptions promptly.
• Check group maps for logical sequencing, an identified turning point, and evidence connected to Miles’s choices.
• Use the final written response as an exit assessment: students should name a turning point and explain its effect on the story, not simply retell the event.

Differentiation

• Provide the partially completed map with stage labels, event prompts and a small bank of key terms for students who need structure; allow students to refer to prior notes or a replayed short clip.
• Use mixed-readiness groups with defined roles: reader, event sorter, evidence finder and reporter. Read instructions aloud and display them visually for students with literacy, attention or processing needs.
• Offer sentence starters such as “The external conflict is…”, “Miles feels… because…” and “This event changes the story by…”. Accept oral rehearsal before written responses.
• Challenge confident learners to defend an alternative placement for the climax, compare two turning points, or explain how pacing and visual emphasis guide the audience towards their interpretation. Support EAL learners with paired discussion, clear definitions and opportunities to draw or verbally explain ideas before writing.