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Three 50-minute sessions plus reading time
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| Overview |
In this lesson, the students will be introduced to a character from a literature
series. The class will critically look at the character and his or her development
over the course of the story. Students will read critically to learn about
the character’s growth, challenges, and successes. In a guided activity,
using an online interactive, students will assist in mapping out the character
throughout the story. Finally, on their own, students will read another book
from the same literature series and create their own graphic map, including symbols
and descriptions of the character’s life.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Serial books such as Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events,
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and Avi’s Tales from
Dimwood Forest are useful additions to the classroom reading list because
the consistencies from one book in the series to the next provide support
for readers. As Lucy McCormick Calkins explains, “Kathy Short . . . has helped
us realize that it can be easier for children to read books from within the
same series than to hop between separate books, because each new book in a series
contains the same characters and the same general characteristics as other books
in that series. Reading the second or third book in a series is rather like
rereading a familiar book, and this means that reading within a series can often
give the reader extra support” (36).
Further, series books allow students to
focus their attention on the ways that authors work. Because of the familiarity
of the setting, characters, and plot in serial books, the reader is released
from “figuring out” each book anew. Instead, as students read more
and more titles in a series, they can consider how the author works—how
does the author work? what does the author change? how does the author keep
readers coming back? This lesson capitalizes on both of these benefits of series
books
by engaging readers in reading serial books with particular attention to the
ways that the author builds characters. The knowledge that they gather about
the author can then be used to support them as they read other titles in the
series or move on to other authors.
Further Reading
Calkins, Lucy McCormick. The
Art of Teaching Reading. NY: Longman, 2001.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- discuss characters and character development
- critically read several books
in a series
- create a Graphic Map of a character through a book series
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
Preparation
Instruction and Activities
Session One
- To begin this lesson, ask the students to think about a character in a
book that they really enjoy. Ask students to share the reasons that they
like the character and the things that that author did to make the character
likable.
- In turn,
ask students if they have encountered a character that they
did not like and to talk about what reasons they dislike these characters.
- Share the following information with the students:
When authors create characters, they consider the character’s
- Physical characteristics
- Interaction with other characters
- Interaction with the world around him/her
- Thoughts and feelings
- Behavioral Traits
- Speech and speech habits
- Past, present and future
- Ask students to name examples for each of these characteristics for the
characters they have identified.
- Together, share the handout What
is Character? and discuss the idea of who a character is further, connecting
to the examples and characters students have already identified.
- Again, ask the students to think about a favorite character, but this
time, ask them to choose a character who appears in a series
of books. Ask students to share what they notice about the character
from one book to another—Is there a big difference? What makes the difference?
Does the character stay the same? Why or why not?
- Explain that for this project, students will map out the
life of a character through a series of books. See the related list
of book series.
Reading the First Book in a Series
- Through teacher read aloud, or literature groups, the students should critically read book one of a book series.
- Ask students to pay special attention to one or more of the characters
as they study the book.
- To structure students’ consideration of the character, ask them to take
notes on the actions, thoughts, and feelings of the character at your stopping
points. Notes can be taken in writer’s notebooks individually or the full
class or small groups can track notes on chart paper after each reading session.
- If desired, share specific questions to guide students’ notetaking:
- What was the most important thing that the character did in this section?
- How would you describe the character’s feelings in this section?
- Did anything about the character change in this section? If so, what?
- Choose a sentence or two from the section that is significant for this character.
Why is it important?
Session Two
- When the first book in the series is completed and a character has been
studied, conduct a class discussion about one of the characters.
- Ask guiding questions about the character’s development and growth,
successes and failures, life events, and so forth, focusing on the full course
of the story. Students can refer to the notes that they have taken section-by-section
for details as needed.
- As students make observations, take notes on the
board or on chart paper.
- If desired, fill in an online
character map, which asks guiding questions about a character.
- If the students need additional support as they discuss the character
development, do a think-aloud, using passages from the
book, to connect the details in the story to the conclusions that can be
drawn about the character.
- After the class discussion, distribute the Directions
for Graphic Map and demonstrate the Graphic
Map, using one of the chosen characters. Incorporate
students’ comments and insights. Whenever possible, also model
looking back into the book or writer’s notebook for clarification
or further information.
Reading the Second Book in a Series
- Assign the students additional books in the series to study, through teacher
read aloud, or literature groups.
If desired, a new book series can be started here to provide more options, and
the students could create two or more graphic maps from this series.
- Ask students to pay special attention to the same characters they followed
as they read the first book in the series.
- Again, ask students to
take notes on the character in writer’s notebooks
or on chart paper after each
reading session.
- If desired, share specific questions to guide students’ notetaking:
- What was the most important thing that the character did in this
section?
- How would you describe the character’s feelings in this section?
- Did anything about the character change in this section? If so, what?
- Choose a sentence or two from the section that is significant for
this character. Why is it important?
Session Five
- When the students have completed the next book in the series, ask them
to complete a Graphic
Map on their own, outlining the events in the life of the character
whom they followed over the course of the series.
- To get students started, brainstorm a list of events in the characters’s
lives that can be mapped using the online tool. Items to include might be
birth, marriage, death, schooling, travel, careers, successes, failures,
etc.
- Remind students to use
the Directions
for Graphic Map if they need help while they are working.
- This activity can be repeated for all of the books in a series, if desired.
- Once the Graphic
Map is completed for the second book in the series, ask students to compare
the map of events from the first book in the series to this second map and
to draw conclusion about how the character grows and changes over the course
of the series—or alternately, how the character stays the same.
- Return to the notes from the first session on authors and character development,
using the following list:
When authors create characters, they consider the character’s
- Physical characteristics
- Interaction with other characters
- Interaction with the world around him/her
- Thoughts and feelings
- Behavioral Traits
- Speech and speech habits
- Past, present and future
- Ask students to use their notes and maps to think about how the author
of the series created the character over the course of the series. To structure
the discussion, ask students to suggest which of the items on the list were
important for this character’s development and which remained unchanged.
For instance, does the character’s physical characteristics change?
What do the changes tell the reader about the overall development of the
character?
- Conclude the session by asking students to write an informal journal entry
on what they’ve noticed about how writers develop characters over the course
of a
series. Urge them to include specific details from their notes or maps that
explain their observations. If desired, ask students to think about how their
knowledge will guide them as they read additional books in the series. In
other words, based on what they have learned about the way that the author
develops characters, ask students to think about the things that they will
look for as they read other books in the series and how they think
that
the
character
may
change
or
develop
as the series continues.
Extensions
- While this lesson focused on a character, this activity can also be done looking at a setting over the course of a story or series.
- Have students use the Profile Publisher either in place of or in addition to the Graphic Map as a means of representing the character in that particular book in the series.
Web Resources
- Graphic Map
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/graphicmap/
- This is like a road map, but the landmarks along the road are important events in the life of the character.
- What is Character?
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson59/characterhandout.pdf
- This handout discusses not only who a character is, but what a character is.
- Literary Links
http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/weblinks/literary/childrens.html
- Links to many authors’ Web pages and other related literature pages.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
In addition to observing students as they read and discuss the development
of
the characters in the series, collect the artifacts from the lesson (Graphic
Map printouts, reading notes in journals, and so forth) to examine students’ understanding
of character and character development.
As you explore students’ notes,
look for specific details that indicate engagement with the reading. Notes
should focus on the particular character and how that character interacts with
others
over the course of the series. Stronger readers will look more deeply and analytically
at the character to hypothesize about motivations and implications for actions
and thoughts while reading, and they will draw conclusions about how the character’s
actions and changes affect the overall story and its themes. Pay attention
to strong details and critical thinking rather than accuracy of predictions
as
you explore
the
notes—guessing the wrong outcome of events is an acceptable response
as long as the hypothesis is tied to details in the story that support the
conclusion.
Review Graphic
Map printouts and students’ final journal entry for accuracy to the
detail of the series and an understanding of the ways that the series’ author
develops characters. Students should be able to identify which characteristics
are more important to the author and should be able to identify specific techniques
to watch for as they read additional books in the series. Stronger readers
will make clear connections between the details about character from the books
that
they have read and the predictions that they make for future books in the series.
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1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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