Read Dangerous Minds with your language learning disabled pupils to identify characteristics and connect to literature. This is a specific activity intended for use with the suggested book. The class uses a character map  as a way...

Students explore the concept of character development. In this character development instructional activity, students watch a video segment regarding a family's struggle with cancer. Students examine the personality, situation,...

Delve into narrative writing that puts choice in the hands of the writers. Kids pick their own characters, emotions, items, and places from a list and tie them together in the exposition. Several questions help guide the writers toward...

Students complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem using...

Students write dialogue. For this character development lesson students use direct or indirect speech to include a confrontation between two characters in their story. Students portray the emotions of the characters in addition to what...

Positive character traits in literature are explored in this character development and literacy lesson. Learners listen to Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Little Gold Star by Robert D. San Souci, followed by a discussion comparing the...

Seventh graders examine words of Greek origin and discuss character development in fiction. They read a list of Greek word parts and create words on a worksheet. Students then read and discuss an informational handout about character...

A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...

Students explore Christopher Columbus's motives. In this character education lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the life and actions of Christopher Columbus in order to write essays that his actions as the...

The second lesson plan in a historical fiction series encourages pupils to develop a character profile of a colonial person using research acquired in the previous unit. Learners prepare their historical fiction narrative by responding...

Students examine the ways a character changes throughout the course of a story.  For this literary analysis lesson, students discuss a story that spans three years in a young girl's life.  Students analyze the changes the girl...

Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process, pupils...

Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...

Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

Students read and analyze the novel, The Prince and the Pauper. They examine character development, discuss opinions using text, and develop and present a slide show demonstrating the development of a character from the beginning to the...

Read and analyze the novel, Ransom of Redchief. They identify the elements of character development, and participate in a mock trial, creating the witnesses through the use of character development.

Middle schoolers identify the characteristics of a hero. In this character development and writing lesson, students listen to music with a hero theme and discuss the common traits of heroes. Middle schoolers explore individuals and...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Students read a variety of Cinderella tales from different cultures. They discuss the differences in character, plot, and conflict resolution in the stories from different countries.

Analyze characterization in literature. Readers use "Three Shots," from The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway and complete classroom activities that require them to apply literary analysis techniques. They write their own short...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...

Partners choose, research, and analyze fictional or historical characters and design character life boxes to represent them. They also compose a rhyme royal, which they understand inductively by deconstructing examples. Based largely on...

Learners examine the regions of the world, and identify the basic characteristics of industrialized and developing countries. They conduct Internet research on the economic and population characteristics of industrialized and developing...