Character Analysis Teacher Resources

At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath...

Who was Lorenzo de Zavala to the Texas Revolution, and how did he change the Alamo? Find out using an educational resource that asks learners to fill out graphic organizers and respond to short-answer questions to further solidify their...

How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty...

This art lesson also incorporates a study Mexican and South American cultures and art. Students then create Nichos, which are small, decorated boxes commonly found in homes and public places, or displayed on walls or pedestals.

Looking for a great activity on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...

Planning an adventure with ol' Tom Sawyer? Revist Mark Twain's classic tale with a review crossword puzzle on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...

An online worksheet bases on chapters 45-50 from the Louis Sachar favorite, Holes. Fifth and sixth graders respond to 12 short answer questions regarding each chapter.

While the preparation for this instructional activity is extensive, the results are well worth the effort. Prior to the instructional activity, Xerox the pictures from Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, collect the...

Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...

Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...

High schoolers read London's "To Build a Fire" and Crane's "The Open Boat" and compare and contrast the authors' style as they explore the genre known as American literary naturalism.

After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...

How would Jean-Etiénne Liotard paint the characters from "The Little Mermaid?" What would the main character from "The Little Match Girl" look like from Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes' point of view? After examining various paintings...

Students are introduced to literary elements and definitions in the worksheet Understanding Character but reading through each of the elements and definitions aloud. They read the story, "La Bamba" and identify examples of the literary...

Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.

In this literature instructional activity, students respond to 12 short answer and essay questions about Bradbury's Farenheit 451. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Students imagine that they are casting directors for a student story-turned-movie, and assess considerations for making the book's characters as accurate, interesting, and fun as they are in the original piece.

High schoolers examine stereotypes of women from The Good and the Badde in juxtaposition with the female characters in The Taming of the Shrew. Through this exercise, students locate evidence from the text of the play to support or...

Students research the ideas that people had of African people during Shakespearean times and examine Othello's descriptions of himself as written by Shakespeare.

Second graders complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Frog and Toad are Friends. In this reading lesson plan, 2nd graders complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short...

Students examine the history of the Romanov family and the claims made by Anna Anderson. They watch and discuss the video, "Rasputin," complete a WebQuest, develop a Romanov family tree, write a petition and fact-finding paper, and...