Focus Lesson: Building a Character
FOCUS LESSON: BUILDING A CHARACTER
GRADE LEVEL: 4th
Unit of Study: Building a Character
Descriptive Title: Explaining the importance of building a character and showing various techniques to make the character memorable.
TEKS: (16).(A) write imaginative stories that build the plot to a climax and contain details about the characters and setting
Mentor Text:
Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf
What is Being Taught:
I will show the students examples of various characters from the mentor text, Wonder, and explain various ways to make characters memorable through different techniques throughout their story.
Script for the Lesson:
“Today, we are going to read a few parts of Wonder and analyze the characters of the story. After we read these sections, we are going to discuss some of the techniques that the author, R.J. Palacio used to make them unique and memorable. Then, you will practice building your own character using some of the techniques that we will be talking about.”
Why it’s Appropriate:
Writing stories that contain details about the characters in their process of writing literary texts is a 4th grade TEK (16).(A) write imaginative stories that build the plot to a climax and contain details about the characters and setting.
Script for the Lesson:
“A major reason why we find ourselves falling in love with a story is because of its character. There are many ways that we can bring life to the character of our story; we can offer details about his or her personality; describe what they look like and what they wear. There are so many techniques that we can use to draw the reader into our character. Connecting our character to his setting is another way to make him feel real and bring the reader into the story with him.”
Materials:
The students used giant notepad papers to design anchor charts to utilize as reference for their nonfiction story assignment. Using giant notepad and markers they included information that they learned from the lesson and hung them on the walls of the classroom.
Image Sources:
“Understanding Characters – Teacher Trap.” , 24 Oct. 2017,
www.teachertrap.com/2014/10/understanding-characters.html/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed: TeacherTrap (Teacher Trap)#_AEKRId.
Instructions:
Read book
Identify character traits and how the character interacts with the setting
Build a character
Script for the Lesson:
“After we read come sections of Wonder, we will analyze characteristics that the author used to allow us to see the characters in our minds. We will also notice how the author relates the characters to the settings that she has created for them. Then, you will get a chance to design your own character and decide how you will make him or her come to life in your story.”
How students will use this lesson and what evidence will they provide that will show learning:
The students will have the opportunity to build their own character based on what we have learned. They will give their character a name and offer physical and personality traits to bring their character to life.
Script for the Lesson:
“Now, you will be able to create your very own character in your writer's notebook. Remember, our writer's notebook can be used as reference when you are writing your nonfiction story, so make sure that you include both physical and personality traits and don't forget to give your character a name.”
