Writers’ Workshop – Lesson 2                                                  Writing

–Developing a Character Analysis          Communication / Social Skills

 

At a Glance

Students will:

 

ü discuss and write ideas about various characters to be used later in essay writing

 

ü analyze characters

 

ü develop skills in communication and teamwork

 

    Purpose:  to use character analysis to develop material for a                     basic essay.

 

    Materials:  1 hand-out:  Interview Questionnaire

   

    Preparation:  10 minutes (to copy hand-out)

 

    Time:                                 60 – 90 minutes

 

 

Teacher’s Notes

 

Procedure  

1.     Choose a short story or book that the students have finished reading, which will be the basis of individual essays, or essays written in small groups.

 

2.     Elicit a list of the main characters and write responses on the board. Have an equal number of students take on the role of each of these charters.

 

3.     Handout the interview questionnaire for students to fill in. Students will need a while to finish the interview sheet (you might want to introduce this lesson over two lessons with students preparing the interview sheet for homework).

 

4.     Create small groups of students with one student per character. Have students interview each other about the questions, encourage the students to ask for further explanation.

Example: - What is your favorite hobby?

- Tennis

- Why do you like tennis so much?

- I like the individual nature of the game.

Writing                                                   Writers’ Workshop – Lesson 2

Communication / Social Skills          - Developing a Character Analysis

 

Teacher’s Notes

Lesson Extension

1.     A short story  - George Orwell’s Animal Farm works well.  (see Writer’s Workshop – Lesson 1 – The Outline)

 

2.     A finished reading – see The Multiple Choice Challenge for ensuring students read assigned material. (At a glance: Students will read assigned material; create and answer multiple choice comprehension questions; work as a team and compete for points)

 

 

 

 

Follow-up / Transfer Activities:

1.     Have students take notes of other students' responses for a follow-up class session.

 

2.     Do a class session talking about the variety of responses and write down a broad selection of answers.  Photocopy the answers and give to the students for study/review notes when writing an essay or preparing for a test.

Additional Resources