Story Map for Book: The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland

I created a lovely little story map as an exercise for my Children's Literature class. The book I chose is The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland.

A little about Story Maps:
A story map is a visual aid to help students understand a little more about the different mechanisms of books. There are 5 items that should be included in a story map (though you don't have to be limited by these items). They are: title/author (these are two items, but should be viewed as one), characters, plot, setting, and theme.
The title/author is just what it seems. When creating the story map, students should know that the title and author are two very important parts of the book.
Students don't have to list all the characters, just the main ones. To go further, students can categorize the characters into those with major roles and those with minor roles.
The plot is really three parts, though only two are really required for a story map. These are the conflict and resolution. Be sure to ask the students what the problem in the book is instead of just telling them. For example: "What happens in the book that is not so good?" "What goes wrong?" or simply, "what is the problem?" are good questions to ask. Another element to add to the plot is the event. What event sets the story into motion? In the book The Lotus Seed, the event is the emperor losing his golden dragon throne.
The setting is where the story takes place. Is it, for example, in a park, a classroom, or a basement?
The theme is always inferred, told straight out. This means that it is obvious. It is the big idea, moral or importance of the story. It recurs throughout the story. Some common themes are family, friendship, and life lessons.

Here is the story Map I created for the book The Lotus Seed. 

This isn't set up like a lot of story maps. I didn't title the plot, but instead put in the conflict and resolution. Also, I realize too late that I did not include a setting.  This is OK. The setting is not the most important element of a story map.

Here is a cut-out of the leaves I used for the Lotus flower. It folds in the middle so that it can open up.
I cut a bunch of these out and glued the tabs to the paper. DO NOT glue the whole back of the leaf to the  paper. 

The words do not have to be type-written. The can just as easily be written on the leaves. This is just how I did my story map; you can do whatever you want to change or improve it.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to story maps. If there is something I forgot to add or anything I did that needs improvement, let me know! Also, if you would like to leave links to your own education blogs or websites, feel free to do so (I am hoping that any links will be HELPFUL so if you post a link just to get more traffic and your website really has nothing to do with crafts or education, I may remove it). 

Some other resources:
Story Map
Mrs. Goff's PreK Tales