One of my favourite activities to do during a short story or novel unit is to dig deep into the characters. Who are they? What are their motivations? What are their significant character traits? What is their role in the story?
Cartoon clips or a movie can be a fun way to start off a unit on characterization. If you have the time, a great film to watch is The Breakfast Club - it's a great way to talk about stereotypes, and each of the main characters provides plenty of content for a character analysis.
Old vintage cartoon clips can be fun too - check out Tom & Jerry and have students compare and contrast the two characters. What are their defining characteristics? How do they learn about each character?
Character Development Graphic Organizer By Laurenashley23
Brainstorm as a class the character traits of the cast of Sesame Street. What words would they use to describe Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Big Bird... how are these characters developed? Or you could use the characters from The Simpsons.
Pixar movie shorts are also fantastic - analyze the old man inGeri's Gameor compare and contrast the mentor and the student inLifted.
I like to use pairs of shoes as a starting point for students to develop a character. You can use images you collect from an internet search, or if you are really feeling ambitious, you can gather some shoes from home or from colleagues. Search for a selection of shoes to represent people of all ages and walks of life. A shoe from a child, a sneaker, a fancy shoe, a well-worn shoe... the more varied and eclectic, the better! Post the pictures or display the shoes and then have students pick a pair to analyze.
Character Analysis Activities For Middle School
Ask students to create the character that the shoe belongs to - here are a few questions you could use to get started.
The list is endless - have students brainstorm more questions as they are working. Compare the characters that students created for each of the types of shoes. This is always a favorite activity with my students!
While reading a novel, I often ask students to pick a character to analyze and really explore as we read. Using the acronym S.T.E.A.L, students look for what the character SAYS, what they THINK, their EFFECT on others, their ACTIONS, and their LOOKS. It's an easy way to keep track of the ways we learn about characters. Grab a FREE copy of this S.T.E.A.L Reference Page and Graphic Organizer to help your students with a character analysis.
Character Development Worksheet Character Building Activity
For a more detailed and longer look at a character, why not complete a full CHARACTER ANALYSIS OR CHARACTER STUDY? Using this set of graphic organizers and templates, students will critically look at a specific character while reading a short story or novel. As they read the novel, they will apply the elements of STEAL to help figure out the character's main personality traits. The resource includes organizers to help your students write a paragraph or a full essay - clickHERE to check out my comprehensive resource!
Have your students create something to represent a character in a short story or a novel. Here are just a few of the fun activities I have seen done:
For a more detailed and longer look at a character, why not complete a full CHARACTER ANALYSIS OR CHARACTER STUDY? Using this set of graphic organizers and templates, students will critically look at a specific character while reading a short story or novel. As they read the novel, they will apply the elements of STEAL to help figure out the character's main personality traits. The resource includes organizers to help your students write a paragraph or a full essay - clickHERE to check out my comprehensive resource!
Have your students create something to represent a character in a short story or a novel. Here are just a few of the fun activities I have seen done:
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