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...

Characters often change over the course of a story or novel. Use the sample graphic organizer provided here to track how the narrator has responded to the sequence of events in chapter four through six of The Cay. In addition to this...

Young scholars explore the meaning of character and why positive character is important. They explain the difference between character and personality. Students determine the difference between right and wrong character. They explore the...

Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...

Make a study of Timothy and his development as a character over the course of the first half or so of The Cay. This idea focuses in particular on chapters 10 through 12. Learners start out by working on double-entry journals created in...

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...

Sixth graders examine character traits. In this character education lesson, 6th graders set goals to strengthen particular personal character traits. Students watch their instructor model the character trait journaling strategy prior to...

Learners create a chart with two columns. In one column include good and bad character traits of historical figures in biographies and historical fiction. In the second column include good and bad character traits of current famous...

Use this worksheet to help your learners reflect on their work on a characterization assignment. They answer five questions about personality traits of the character of their choice as supported by the poem.

Explore character traits using this resource. After reading the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, learners fill in a graph identifying character traits. Then, they write and put on a skit. This resource provides a motivating way to...

Invoke creativity by using this resource on writing techniques. Learners create a description of a character they could use in their writing, focusing on the proper use of adjectives, similes, and metaphors. It's a great presentation for...

After your class finishes reading Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, they use the Venn diagram here to compare two characters from the novel, in this case Bud and his grandfather Herman E. Calloway. Examples of qualities on which...

Students use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...

Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...

Third graders work in pairs to choose two characters and find their similarities and differences.  In this character lesson, 3rd graders compare characters by their actions and attributes.  Students individually complete a...

As a class, young writers learn how to develop a strong supporting character. They think and discuss a good friend they know, they use that friend as a basis for a potential supporting character. They create a supporting character as a...

Partners choose, research, and analyze fictional or historical characters and design character life boxes to represent them. They also compose a rhyme royal, which they understand inductively by deconstructing examples. Based largely on...

Learning how to draw inferences from text is a key reading comprehension skill. Here's a worksheet that gives readers a chance to practice by offering 20 descriptive sentences and asking kids to identify the inferred character...

Create ID cards for characters.  Provide readers with a template that asks them to affix a photo, identify character traits and list evidence from the text to support this analysis. They indicate changes the character experiences at...

Bring the imaginative spark in every Dr. Seuss book to your reading lesson with a book report worksheet. After they read the story, learners write a short summary of the tale and include an illustration of their favorite character.

Introduce your class to characterization. Familiar story characters are sorted into "good" and "bad" categories based on the characters' personalites and actions in the story. The class discusses and describes characters they have read...

In this character development story map worksheet, students complete a flow chart about a character in a book. Students fill in the name of the character and write how the character feels and acts before and after a character change in...

Kids love to pretend. Use this imaginative energy to develop their understanding of characterization. Class members dress up as a character from their novel-writing project and sit for a filmed interview. In responding to questions about...

Middle schoolers read a novel and discuss character personality. First, they analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script...