Students discover service learning and how it can help them build character.  In this community lesson, students brainstorm ways they can assist their classmates with problems, and write about it in their journal.  Students...

Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a...

Get to know more about the characters of the novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis by comparing and contrasting their character traits using a Venn diagram.

Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...

Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.

Is your class familiar with the tale of Peter and the Wolf? If they are, they will have fun testing themselves on how well they can identify each character by listening to the piece. This presentation acts as a quiz where the class works...

Students analyze a book's characters and create a scrapbook to print and save. In this on line interactive characterization lesson plan, students identify character traits and gain a deeper understanding of a book's characters.

Young scholars use their creativity to build character homes. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop creative-thinking, social, language, math, and motor skills as they work together to create buildings for characters from...

Second graders discuss the personality traits of a character. In this character lesson, 2nd graders read Lilly's Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes and describe Lilly's personality based on her actions, feelings, and thoughts. The students...

This Fun Trivia quiz poses 15 multiple choice questions about the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. It addresses basic reading comprehension and simple recall, so it will be a quick assessment to see who completed the...

Students write about main characters. In this dramatic writing lesson, students brainstorm character ideas. Students create actions and give the character a voice. Students act out the scene in groups and create a final draft.

High schoolers discover characterization techniques and methods. In this characterization lesson, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. High schoolers then describe a family member or...

Invite your pupils to create original Greek characters and myths for their characters to star in. Similar to a traditional Greek myth, the story must explain a natural phenomenon, depict a struggle between good and evil characters, and...

Enter the fantastical world of  "Dungeons and Dragons" and other role-playing games with this lesson from The New York Times. Middle schoolers create the outline for a role-playing game based on their own community. Then, they...

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. In this perspective lesson, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity has pupils write...

Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...

Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...

Contrary to the title, William Shakespeare did not include vampires in his plays, but this quiz covers the untimely deaths that many characters do meet. Match characters to their dying words in a multiple-choice format.

High school freshmen craft their own definition of honesty. They provide an example from their lives and reflect on the outcomes of their honest behavior. They also identify a time when they may have been dishonest in a relationship and...

An excellent, 3-activities-in-one worksheet goes along with the book, Rescue Josh McGuire. Learners complete short answer, vocabulary, and crossword puzzle activities. A great literary resource!

As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...