Conflict and Resolution

Lesson Overview

Unit: Writing Adventures in Aru
Lesson Number: 5 of 10
Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 15 students
Age Group: Year 6
Curriculum Area: English (Writing)
UK National Curriculum Links:

• Writing Composition: Plan, draft, write, edit, and improve writing.
• Reading Comprehension: Identify themes and key elements in fiction.
• Vocabulary, Grammar, and Punctuation: Use descriptive language effectively.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Identify different types of conflict in Aru Shah and the End of Time.
• Analyse how conflict drives a story forward.
• Plan and write a short conflict-oriented prompt for Aru and her friends.

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter Activity - Conflict Countdown (10 mins)

Objective: Engage students in identifying different types of story conflict.

• Write these five types of conflict on the board:

  1. Character vs. Self (Internal conflict)
  2. Character vs. Character
  3. Character vs. Nature
  4. Character vs. Society
  5. Character vs. Supernatural

• Ask: Which type of conflict do you think is the most exciting? Why?

• Give students 60 seconds in pairs to come up with an example from books or films.

• Take quick responses from 3–4 students before moving on.

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2. Whole-Class Discussion - Conflict in Aru’s Story (15 mins)

Objective: Analyse the existing conflicts in Aru Shah and the End of Time.

• Display an excerpt from the book showing a moment of conflict (e.g., Aru struggling with responsibility, an argument with Mini, or a supernatural threat).
• Ask guiding questions:
  • What type of conflict is this?
  • How does this conflict make the story more exciting?
  • What would happen if this conflict didn’t exist?
• Write key ideas on the board under "Conflicts in Aru’s Journey".

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3. Modelling a New Conflict (10 mins)

Objective: Demonstrate how to introduce a new conflict in a story.

• Use a simple scaffold: Setting + Character Goal + Obstacle = Conflict
• Example: Aru and Mini enter an ancient temple (setting), searching for a magical key (goal), but the temple's walls begin to shift like a maze (obstacle).
• Ask students: What type of conflict is this? How could this challenge Aru and Mini further? (Take 2–3 responses).

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4. Independent Task - Create Your Own Conflict (15 mins)

Objective: Students create their own short conflict-based story prompt.

• Hand out "Create a Conflict" prompt sheets with scaffolded sentence starters:
  • Aru and her friends arrive at…
  • Their goal is to…
  • But suddenly…
  • Now, they must…
• Students complete their conflict prompts using descriptive language and suspenseful details.
• Support students who need help developing ideas.

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5. Pair Share & Feedback (10 mins)

Objective: Develop peer reflection and improve writing.

• Each student reads their conflict scenario to a partner.
• Partners provide one piece of positive feedback and one improvement idea.
• Select 2–3 students to share their conflicts with the class.

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Assessment/Plenary

• Ask: How do conflicts help make stories more exciting?
• Use the "Fist-to-Five" method (closed fist = not confident, five fingers = mastered) to gauge confidence in recognising conflict in stories.
• Collect conflict prompts and check if students successfully introduced a conflict with clear stakes.

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Differentiation

• Support: Use sentence stems and provide picture prompts.
• Stretch: Ask higher-ability students to include dialogue or inner thoughts to show how conflict affects a character emotionally.

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Teacher Reflection

• What went well? Did students grasp the link between conflict and story progression?
• What needs improving? Were students able to generate varied conflict types, or did they struggle with originality?
• Next Steps: How can we build on this in Lesson 6?

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This lesson immerses students in storytelling by making conflict an exciting, hands-on concept. By the end, they won’t just identify conflicts in Aru’s story—they’ll create their own! 🚀