Conflict is a plot element that creates action in a story. Conflict can exist between characters—they can fight with each other, fear each other, make each other nervous, or just not get along. Conflict can also exist inside a character—someone can be uncertain what to do, or doubt himself or herself. Conflict in a story usually has a resolution—a way that it is solved and ended.

In this lesson, you will watch a narrative film—a made-up story—about Moises, a Spanish-speaking immigrant. Immigrants leave their home country to live in another country. Moises came with his family to America to have a better life. His parents and his brother work hard so that he can go to school. Moises knows how important it is to work hard and do well. But suddenly having to speak only English at school—he's in a language immersion program—is difficult for him. At school, Moises experiences conflicts that stand in the way of his success. In this lesson, you will learn about the conflicts in Moises's life and how they affect his story.

Goals
Here are the big ideas you will learn about in this lesson:

• Conflict is a part of human life.
• Conflict in a story creates action and moves the plot forward. Characters experience internal and external conflicts.

Strategies
You will be using many reading and writing strategies to complete this lesson. The key strategies that you will focus on are:

• Determining important information
• Making inferences
• Constructing summaries
• Comparing and contrasting ideas

• internal
• resolution

In this video, Moises is in a language immersion class, where he learns all school subjects in English. The teacher only speaks English, and his textbooks are written in English. Because he is unable to fully understand what people are saying and gets confused about the meaning of words in the math story problem, he becomes frustrated. Watch how this leads to conflicts.

Click "View" on the left to watch the video. Note that when you hear the teacher talking, it is the way that Moises might hear it, where the words are not all understandable.

List at least two of the conflicts you see in this video.

These videos show Moises's external conflict with the kids at his school, particularly Enrique, the bully. Enrique tries to insult Moises and his brother, Luis, who works as a janitor at the school. Watch the first video, and then ask yourself, how will Moises react to this insult?

Then watch the second video to see the resolution—how Moises and his brother respond to the conflict with Enrique.

Click "View" on the left to watch the videos.

How did Moises and Luis respond differently to Enrique's insults? What did Moises learn from Luis’s response?

These videos show Moises’s internal conflict as he faces a math test. Moises knows he understands the math in the test, but he doesn't want to take it because he can't understand the English in the story problems. His friend offers Moises a way to skip the test. Watch the first video, and then ask yourself, what will Moises do, skip the test or keep trying?

Then watch the second video to see the resolution—the decision Moises makes about the test and his future. As Moises is deciding what to do, he remembers the danger he and his mother faced when they crossed the U.S. border.

Click "View" on the left to watch the videos.

As you've seen, Moises experiences both external and internal conflicts, caused by his immersion into an all-English-speaking school. The external conflict (being teased and not understanding the lessons) creates his internal conflict (wondering if he should give up trying to learn). These conflicts are plot elements that drive his story.

Which conflict—internal or external—do you think is more difficult for Moises to resolve? Why do you think so?

In this lesson, you have learned about the internal and external conflicts at work in Moises's life. Now you will read about conflict as a plot element and learn more about how it works to create action and move a plot forward.

Click "View" on the left to read the passage.

In your own words, explain the two types of conflicts that you might find in a story.

The videos you have watched showed the internal and external conflicts Moises is facing.

Now, show what you have learned so far about conflict as a plot element by answering these three multiple-choice questions. Be sure to save all your answers before you go to the next screen.

You will now check your understanding of the vocabulary words for this lesson by placing them in sentences. Click "View" on the left to begin the activity.

Before moving to the next screen, choose two words from the vocabulary list and write a new sentence for each word.

Vocabulary words: conflict, external, immersion, internal, resolution

As the videos and the reading passage have shown, internal and external conflicts are powerful ways of creating action in a plot. In this activity, you will compare these two types of conflict.

Click "View" on the left to begin the activity. Your teacher will review the answers with you.

Then, before moving on to the final assignment, you may want to watch this lesson's videos again or reread the passage.

English Only

Video: 2m 46s

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External Conflict, part 1

Video: 0m 53s

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External Conflict, part 2

Video: 0m 34s

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Internal Conflict, part 1

Video: 0m 57s

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Internal Conflict, part 2

Video: 1m 07s

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Conflict: Making Things Happen

Document

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In this lesson, you have learned about Moises's struggle with conflict, both internal and external. You will now write an essay that shares what you have learned and what you think about it.

Begin by reviewing your notes. Click "review my work" above and view or print out the screen that pops up.

Final Assignment Instructions

• Download Character Conflict: Language Immersion—Final Assignment (PDF).
• Choose one of the topics in the PDF and write an essay.
• Organize your response so that it includes at least three supporting details that you have learned from the reading passage, video(s), and other materials in this lesson.
• Use at least three vocabulary words (or a form of the words) as part of your supporting details. For example, for the word jump, you could use jumps, jumped, or jumping.

If you would like to watch the entire video story about Moises, click "View" on the left. You will need to watch the full film if you choose essay topic 2 for your assignment.