Curated OER
The Effects of Character Decisions
Learners explore characters' decisions. They play a card game in which they match a decision card with a direct effect card. Then they examine characters from The Wizard of Oz, record important decisions that they make on index cards,...
Curated OER
Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
Curated OER
Making Good Choices: A Role Play Activity
Role play is a great way to get kids thinking about a wide variety of topics. Have them explore  making good choices. Here, they are presented with several scenarios and then must work in groups to develop a short role-play describing...
Curated OER
Searching for Stars
Positive character traits in literature are explored in this character development and literacy lesson. Learners listen to Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Little Gold Star by Robert D. San Souci, followed by a discussion comparing the...
Curated OER
Got Character?
Students create an advertisement promoting good behavior. This character-development lesson plan from Boys Town High School involves students studying the history of the Got Milk?advertising campaign. After a discussion of marketing...
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Columbus: Hero or Villain?
Students explore Christopher Columbus's motives. In this character education lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the life and actions of Christopher Columbus in order to write essays that his actions as the...
Curated OER
Scrambled Stories II
Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...
Curated OER
Character in a Bag
Develop a mystery character using clues from a bag. This engaging activity will help learners understand character traits. They develop a list of the items from the bag, discuss and develop the character with a partner, and create a...
National Association of Writers in Education
Character and Situation
Delve into narrative writing that puts choice in the hands of the writers. Kids pick their own characters, emotions, items, and places from a list and tie them together in the exposition. Several questions help guide the writers toward...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin and Learning a Lesson
Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...
Curated OER
Quiet on the Set!
In pairs learners perform a silent skit portraying relationships between two known characters from a popular book or a play for their classmates. Next, the class will read and discuss a NYTimes article about a film school in the Bronx...
Curated OER
Character Development Project
Read Dangerous Minds with your language learning disabled pupils to identify characteristics and connect to literature. This is a specific activity intended for use with the suggested book. The class uses a character map  as a way to...
Curated OER
Stop, Think, Go!
Show this presentation to your students at the beginning of the school year and they'll know just what to do when they are having a hard time making good decisions. This resource asks students to remember to use their own personal...
Novelinks
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers: Literary Mandala
Explore the concept of yin and yang with this resource. On the first page, learners study a picture of George Bush. Then, have learners choose a character from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. After brainstorming adjectives and choosing...
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Curated OER
How Writing Strategies Create a Character: Parrot in the Oven
Identifying specific writing strategies while reading fiction helps to increase understanding of character development. This handout provides a template on which readers can record examples of figurative language and explain how it...
Curated OER
Co-Operation: Drama
For some schools, character-counts lessons are a big part of the curriculum. This resource focuses on following directions and the importance of being a cooperative team player. Learners role-play a variety of situations by being...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
Curated OER
Character Map
A character map worksheeth as this would be handy for your class to support characterization study for any text. It is completely adaptable: your learners choose a character, write three traits in ovals and identify two instances that...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 10: Writing Really Good Dialogue
Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...
Curated OER
Examining Character Traits through Character Mapping
Some of what we know about a character is directly stated. Some of what we know is inferred by events in the story. Character maps help primary learners recognize the difference. After modeling with a story your class has read, pupils...
Curated OER
Managing Conflict: Channeling Anger
Help kids learn how to cope, manage, and channel their angry feelings. This slide show provides space for learners to discuss how they feel when they are angry, ways they can channel their anger, and several alternative strategies for...
Curated OER
Someones Else's Shoes
Build a caring and empathetic classroom community. This presentation provides several scenarios to discuss. It focuses on how each scene makes a person feel, then how someone else might feel. A great way to start a discussion or to build...
Curated OER
Making Friends
Whether it's the first day of school, or there's a new kid in the class, it's always great to talk about ways we make new friends and be a good friend. Younger learners are presented with several scenarios to discuss and think about....