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Character Connection

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Lesson Plan

Character Deep Dive

Students will be able to identify key character traits, analyze character motivations, and understand how characters contribute to the plot of a story.

Understanding characters helps us connect with stories on a deeper level and makes reading more engaging. It also teaches us about human behavior and empathy.

Audience

5th Grade Class

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Through discussion, analysis, and creative writing, students will explore characters.

Materials

Character Connection Slide Deck, Character Trait Web Worksheet, and If I Were Them... Journal

Prep

Review Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Who Am I?

5 minutes

  • Display a picture of a well-known fictional character (e.g., from a popular book or movie) without revealing their name.
  • Ask students to shout out words that describe the character's personality or actions. Write these on the board.
  • Introduce the lesson: "Today, we're going to become character detectives, looking closely at how characters make a story come alive!"

Step 2

Introduction to Characters

10 minutes

  • Use the Character Connection Slide Deck to introduce key concepts: character traits, motivations, and relationships.
  • Facilitate a brief discussion using the questions on the slides.
  • Guide students through identifying internal and external traits of characters.

Step 3

Character Trait Web Activity

15 minutes

  • Distribute the Character Trait Web Worksheet.
  • Instruct students to choose a character from a story you've recently read together (or the one you brought).
  • Students will complete the worksheet, mapping out character traits, motivations, and relationships.
  • Circulate and provide support, prompting students with questions like: 'What does the character say or do that shows this trait?'

Step 4

Journal Reflection: If I Were Them...

10 minutes

  • Distribute the If I Were Them... Journal.
  • Explain that students will imagine themselves as their chosen character and write a short journal entry from that character's perspective, focusing on a dilemma or decision.
  • Encourage students to think about the character's motivations and traits when writing their entry.
  • Provide a prompt: 'If you were [Character's Name], facing [dilemma from story], what would you do and why?'

Step 5

Share and Discuss

5 minutes

  • Invite a few volunteers to share their journal entries or their completed character trait webs.
  • Facilitate a brief class discussion on the different perspectives and insights gained from analyzing the characters.
  • Conclude by reiterating the importance of understanding characters in reading comprehension.
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Slide Deck

Welcome, Character Detectives!

Today, we embark on a mission to understand the fascinating people (or creatures!) in our stories!

Welcome students and introduce the idea of becoming 'character detectives.' Ask them what they think that means. Use the warm-up activity from the lesson plan here.

Who Are Characters?

  • The people, animals, or imaginary creatures in a story.
  • They drive the plot and make the story interesting!
  • Think about your favorite story. Who is your favorite character and why?

Explain that characters are the 'who' of the story. They can be people, animals, or even objects with personalities.

What Makes Them Tick? Character Traits

  • Character Traits: Words that describe a character's personality.
    • Internal Traits: What's on the inside? (e.g., kind, brave, shy, sneaky)
    • External Traits: What do they look like? (e.g., tall, blonde, wears glasses)
  • How can we figure out a character's traits?

Introduce the concept of character traits. Ask students to share examples of traits from characters they know.

Finding Clues: How Do Authors Show Traits?

  • What they say: Do they speak kindly or rudely?
  • What they do: Are they helpful or mischievous?
  • What they think: Do they have secret fears or big dreams?
  • How others react to them: Do other characters trust them or avoid them?

Discuss how authors reveal traits through actions, words, thoughts, and how other characters react to them. This will lead into the Character Trait Web Worksheet.

Why Do They Do That? Motivations

  • Motivations: The reasons why a character acts, thinks, or feels a certain way.
  • It's like the engine behind their actions!
  • Example: A character helps a friend because their motivation is loyalty.

Explain motivations as the 'why' behind actions. Provide a simple example, like 'Why did the character run? (Motivation: They were scared.)'

Playing Together: Character Relationships

  • Characters don't live in a bubble! They interact with other characters.
  • Relationships: How characters connect to each other (e.g., friends, family, rivals).
  • These connections can change throughout a story and affect the plot!

Discuss how characters interact and how these relationships influence the story. Ask students for examples of strong or changing relationships in stories they know.

Your Turn: Become the Expert!

Summarize the key takeaways and bridge to the independent activities (Character Trait Web Worksheet and If I Were Them... Journal).

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Worksheet

Character Trait Web

Directions: Choose a character from a story we have recently read. In the center, write the character's name. In the surrounding bubbles, write down their key traits, motivations, and relationships. Use details from the story to support your ideas.

Character Name:




Character Traits (Internal & External):

  • What kind of person are they? (e.g., brave, kind, shy, grumpy)






  • What do they look like on the outside?



Character Motivations:

  • Why does your character do what they do? What drives their actions?






Character Relationships:

  • Who are the important people (or characters) in their life? How do they interact with them?






Evidence from the Story:

  • What specific words, actions, or events from the story helped you determine these traits, motivations, and relationships?











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Journal

If I Were Them...

Directions: Imagine you are the character you analyzed in the Character Trait Web Worksheet. Write a journal entry from their perspective. Choose a specific moment in the story where your character faced a challenge, made a decision, or had an important thought. How would you feel? What would you do? Why?

Think about:

  • Your character's personality (their traits).
  • What they want (their motivations).
  • How their relationships with other characters might influence them.

Journal Entry by [Your Character's Name]:

Dear Diary,






























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