Develop a narrator and/or characters

General

Before starting this lesson, students should already have picked a big idea for their narrative.

In this lesson, students will discuss internal and external character traits. They will read a passage and show how the language, actions, and dialogue contributed to developing the characters. Then, they will think of character traits for two example stories. At the end of the lesson, they will continue from their big ideas to develop characters in their own stories. A downloadable worksheet with T-charts is available on Slide 1 of the lesson.

Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3a
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3a

Learning objective

Students will be able to develop the characters in my story by creating their internal and external traits.

Introduction

Students will get in pairs and talk about characters from their favorite television show, movie, book, or game. They will describe the characters and justify why they chose to use those descriptions. They will then discuss and name examples of internal and external traits. Show students how writers develop their characters with descriptive language, actions, and dialogue.

Instruction

Students will read a passage titled Stuck in the Woods and highlight details that reveal character traits. Next, they will read a completed T-chart with internal and external traits to write a story about a student who stands up to a bully at school. Next, they will brainstorm character traits for a story about someone who helps a friend accomplish a task. They will write short stories using those character traits.

Quiz

Students will answer ten questions in which they answer true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and multiple drag questions about internal and external character traits.

Closing

Students will recall what they learned about developing entertaining and relatable characters in their writing. To close out the lesson, students will use their big ideas to fill out a T-chart about their own story's character traits. They will meet with partners to discuss their characters.