Virginia SOL 6.RL.1.E
The Standard
Explain the role of the protagonist and antagonist on plot events.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Key Ideas and Plot Details
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify who pursues the central goal and who or what blocks that goal. They explain how those roles and choices cause specific plot events.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly identify the character pursuing the central goal and the character or force creating opposition. They cite plot events and explain how each role causes conflict or changes the outcome.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume the protagonist is always good and the antagonist is always evil. They may confuse the narrator with the protagonist or name characters without explaining their effects on events.
How to Assess It
- Use a shared short story and ask: Who pursues the main goal, who or what blocks it, and what event does each cause?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs plot event cards to sequence, then label each event as caused by the protagonist, antagonist, or both.
Ask students to write: How would the plot change if the opposing character helped the main character instead?
Play Plot Cause Match by pairing character decision cards with the events that result from those decisions.
Choose a familiar movie and create a three-step cause chain showing how its main opposing figures shape the ending.
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Printable 6.RL.1.E Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 5.RL.1.C
Explain how events from the plot cause the character(s) to change or evolve and how the development of character(s) or settings impact the plot.
- 6.RL.1.D
Explain how static and dynamic characters impact the plot.
- 3.RL.2.A
Discuss how an author uses characters and settings to advance the plot.
- 7.RL.1.C
Explain how static and dynamic characters and the roles of protagonist and antagonist influence plot events.
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