6.

12F - Analyze characters, including their traits, motivations, conflicts, points of view, relationships, and changes they undergo.  (the MAIN tek)

13A - form and revise questions for investigations, including questions arising from readings, assignments, and units of study.

13F - produce reserach projects and reports in effective formats for various audiences.

13I - present organized statements, reports, and speeches using visuals or media to support meaning.

15A - write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve.

15C - write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate.

18A - generate ideas and plans for writing by using prewriting strategies such as brainstorming, graphic organizers, notes, and logs.

20E - present information in various forms using available technology.

24A - select, organize, or produce visuals to complement and extend meanings.

Objective 2 - The student will apply knowledge of literary elements to understand culturally diverse written texts.

In this lesson, students will conduct an interview with a classmate to analyze their characteristics as if they were a character in a story.  It is relevant to students because the ultimate goal of the activity is to help students develop questions in their mind about who the characters are…the character's traits, motivations, conflicts, points of view, relationships, and changes they undergo. 

Understanding characters in a story is one of the main goals in reading comprehension. By doing this activity students will learn how to properly question the author and their own reading.  The product that will be created by the students will give them real-life experience with questioning, interviewing, organizing information, and creating a Powerpoint presentation...AND...will improve their reading comprehension.

What is a character?  Are characters ALWAYS human beings?

What is a trait?  What kind of person are you...happy, sad, etc.?  Eye color, hair color, skin color...who did you inherit these from?

What does motivation mean?  What motivates you to do something fun, wild, crazy?

What is a conflict? What kinds of conflicts can someone have?  Can someone have a conflict with someone else, or themselves, or nature?

What is a point of view?  How do you feel about issues such as dress codes, ID cards, and other school rules?

What is a relationship?  What kinds of relationships can someone have?

Does the author of a story always give us these details about a character?  Why?

Why is it important to understand characters in a story?

Why do childrens' books have illustrations? (To show you what the Author interprets the characters, setting, etc., to look like.)

Why do higher leveled reading books NOT have illustrations?

Imagine your favorite character from a book.  Imagine that they were sitting next to you.  What would you ask them?  Would you be surprised at what they look like?  How they talk?  Etc...

Can characteristics change through the course of the story, or the life of the character?

What types of questions do we need to ask our partner to understand each of their characteristics?

How will you organize your information into paragraph form for readers and viewers to understand and get the clear message?

Authentic Learning

The culminating task is students having an interview with a classmate to analyze their characteristics as if they were a character in a story.  At the 6th grade level, students are expected to analyze characters when reading.  In order to analyze a character, the student must be able to recognize the traits, motivations, conflicts, points of view, relationships, and changes that a character in a story posesses.  In order for students to master this skill, first and foremost, the student MUST simply understand what these terms mean. 

In a round-table setting, students and I will sit and discuss these 6 main aspects of a character.  We will talk about what the students already know and clarify any misunderstandings.  Students will take notes in list form, writing down the 6 main aspects and the definitions. 

After the definitions are clear I will introduce the activity: student interviews to characterize their classmate.

I will begin by having the students imagine their life as a character in a story...their own life story...and how they, too, have traits, motivations, conflicts, points of view, relationships, and changes JUST AS ANY CHARACTER in a story does.  I will then ask a series of questions that will force the students to think about HOW to figure out these characteristics in someone else. 

With their partner, an interview will be held.  Students will be briefed on how to ask proper questions and students will be advised to not ask questions that might be too personal.  As a class, students will comprise a list of interview questions for each of the 6 character analysis topics.  In addition, students may choose not to answer any question that they feel is too personal.  If this issue surfaces, students can modify their interview questions.  Students will need to record the answers for all questions asked.

After the student interviews are conducted, students will return to their seat to organize all of their notes.  They will create a mini-biography for each of the 6 character aspects by writing a short paragraph based on the information given from their partner.  These notes will become their "blueprint" for entering in the information in Powerpoint.

In the computer lab, students will use all of their notes to create a powerpoint biography on their classmate.  Students will use a predetermined number of slides with each slide covering one character aspect.  In addition, there will be a cover slide with basic information such as the interviewer, interviewee, etc.  Students will be encouraged to use several pictures throughout the powerpoint to give added interest and aesthetics.  In addition, the students will have previously "sketched" their slides and all writing on paper for easy transfer into the Powerpoint program.  This powerpoint will be presented to the class.

In the outcome of this lesson, students will be able to understand and recognize characters' traits, motivations, conflicts, points of view, relationships, and changes they undergo.  Doing this interviewing, organizing, and presenting activity takes students through a very thorough character analysis.  This activity is great practice for future reading and comprehension and helps students actively be aware of their own understanding of characters.

KNOWLEDGE:  Students and I will discuss characteristics.  I will test their knowledge by asking them to define/describe what the terms mean...traits, motivations, point of view, relationships, changes. 

COMPREHENSION:  Students must explain why it is important to know and understand characteristics and why they are important in reading comprehension.

APPLICATION:  Students will apply their knowledge to make interview questions in order to reveal their partner's characteristics.  Then, they must organize the information into a "report" in order to produce their Powerpoint slides.

ANALYSIS:  Students must analyze the information collected in their interview to determine which information is best going to describe their classmate and represent each characteristic.

SYNTHESIS:  Students will develop and design their Powerpoint presentation with pre-determined guidelines to make the information clear and aesthetically pleasing.

ADJUSTED QUESTIONS:  I will appropriately ask the questions so that students are successful in understanding and answering all questions.  I will modify the questions to adjust to each individual students' learning styles.

FLEXIBLE GROUPING:  I will adjust grouping as needed to accomodate the students' abilities, IEP's, etc.

INTEREST BASED INVESTIGATIONS:  Although students create interview questions based on traits, motivations, relationships, etc., students are able to create the questions that they want to ask of their partner...they are able to focus on what they WANT to know and tap into things that interest them.  Also, when creating their powerpoints, students are able to make it their own through the use of color, fonts, backgrounds, etc.

The technology that will be used is the school's computer lab.  Students will use Microsoft Powerpoint and possibly Microsoft Word (incase students want to type, copy, and paste).  Students will then present their Powerpoints to the class using the LCD projector.

Students will be given a brief overview of the Powerpoint program to refresh their memories.

Resources needed, other than ones already mentioned, include paper, pen or pencil, student's mind, and my help when needed.

To direct the students on the discussion of analyzing characters, I referred to a TAKS study guide whic fully explained each aspect of character analysis.