Write the definitions of an external and internal conflict on the board.
Relate the conflicts to a book read in class, such as "The Scarlet Letter," which tells a tale of an external conflict; a woman versus society.
Provide an example of an internal conflict to highlight the difference. In "Lord of the Flies" there are internal struggles of power.
Choose a story with a variety of conflicts, such as Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" where the external struggle is the couple versus their families and the internal is reconciling their love for each other and their desire to also please their families.
Instruct the students to draw a circle on a piece of paper to represent the character.
Label the character, for example, Juliet. Inside the circle, write all of her internal conflicts.
Instruct the students to draw squares next to the circle. Draw one square for every external conflict. In this case the student could draw a square and within it write "Romeo." In another square, the student could write "family." This will add a visual element to the learning of the concept.