Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
When We Are A Story
Drama and story elements go hand-in-hand. Have the class dive into a dramatic play to show character intention, conflict resolution, main events, and the dialogue in a Hawaiian folk tale. They read the story, then group-up to...
Curated OER
Who am I?
Students develop their writing skills by creating a character sketch about themselves. Students read character sketches, view portraits by famous artists, select one personality traits, and affix a mug shot of themselves into a famous...
Curated OER
Cold Sassy Tree: Multicultural Strategy
Analyze the characters in Olive Ann Burns's Cold Sassy Tree with this assignment. After reading the majority of the novel, class members choose a character and make a visual representation of the character, including any important...
Curated OER
Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 4
Scholars analyze words Robert Browning used in My Last Duchess to give readers insight into the Duke. Pupils review homework and form groups to study lines 31-35 closely. They then respond to guided questions and complete a brief writing...
EngageNY
Language Analysis: “I Have a Dream”
Middle schoolers look closely at Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and use a language analysis sheet to determine if King's sentences use active or passive voice. They then move their attention back to A Mighty Long Way to...
Curated OER
Character Education Podcasts
Learners study character traits. In this character education instructional activity, students create podcasts highlighting a particular character trait. Learners broadcast one podcast per week.
Curated OER
"Split" Character Studies in Crime and Punishment
Students write an essay evaluating split character traits on major characters in Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. In this lesson students are guided through discussion questions, group assignments, and vocabulary work. The lesson...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Magical Musical Tour: Using Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements
Language arts learners don't need a lecture about poetry; they listen to poetry every day on the radio! Apply skills from literary analysis to famous songs and beautiful lyrics with a lesson about literary devices. As...
Curated OER
Character's Motive
Why do people commit crimes? Middle schoolers investigate characters' motives for committing a crime in a character analysis lesson. First, they read the book Chasing Vermeer and identify the suspects. They then record the details about...
Curated OER
Character's Motive: Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy
Sixth graders explore language arts by completing a reading comprehension worksheet. In this character study lesson, 6th graders read a crime story and investigate which character they belive committed the crime. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Stories
Learners read literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing the main characters in the two stories. In this character analysis lesson, students read the stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil. Learners...
Curated OER
Who Will Help?
Learners analyze the characters in the book The Little Red Hen. In this character study lesson, students discuss the behavior of the characters and write about positive ways to work together for a common goal.
Curated OER
Literary Analysis - Young Goodman Brown
Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Character Analysis Using "Twelfth Night"
Eighth graders complete a six-week unit on character analysis for the play "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. They conduct research and write a report, participate in a book talk, and create a character analysis assignment to...
Curated OER
Character Development Through Song
Learners 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...
Curated OER
Body Biography: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 9
Find the central idea in an excerpt from Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a literary analysis lesson plan. As your class analyzes a section of the story, they determine how the author forms the central...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 3
Just like in real life, characters in short stories show their true personalities through their words and deeds. Decipher the character development in Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a set of activities...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
What Ben Read
Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...
EngageNY
Inferring about Character: Analyzing and Discussing Points of View (Chapter 2)
Readers engage in discussion with partners to answer questions about A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Next, they complete exit tickets, writing about how the author creates different points of view for her characters.
EngageNY
Inferring about Character: Analyzing and Discussing Points of View (Chapter 2)
Welcome to the World Café! Readers discuss A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They circulate throughout the classroom, stopping at different tables to answer a discussion prompt with their classmates and record their ideas on a chart.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Exploring Character Development in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
How did the Civil Rights Movement affect young people in the United States? Scholars read Christopher Paul Curtis' novel, The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. Next, they write compare and contrast essays showing how the main...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Identifying Points of View through Character Responses in R.J. Palacio's "Wonder"
Readers examine the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio to determine how characters respond differently to situations and events. Readers annotate and analyze the text and carry out group discussion using accountable talk. They work in small...