Basic comprehension skills can be challenging enough. When teachers ask students to dig deeper into text and develop skills for character analysis, it can be even more so. It doesn't have to be. With just a few poignant strategies you can get your students digging deeper into text and having more than a cursory understanding of the most complex characters ever written.
Characters Traits Mat
These might be my most favorite thing - ever! The basic set up involves presenting students with a character trait such as "bravery", "perseverance", or "clever" and then challenge them to find evidence in the text where a character demonstrates (through their words or actions) that trait.
I often assign students a mat that has 3 spaces the size of a sticky note. They write text evidence (with page number) on the stickies and place them on the mat. As they move through the novel, they continue to place notes on the mat while determining which evidence is the strongest. When students have acquired more than 3 stickies, they must arrange their notes with the strongest evidence on the top.
I love the flexibility of these mats. They are especially useful when more than one character displays a character trait. The discussions are richer and more complex. It also leads to discussing motives behind words or actions; and we also discuss when a character demonstrates a trait, if that is a core trait of the character or is it done with a bigger purpose?
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| Character Traits Mats Completed on Paper with Sticky Notes |
When we moved to remote instruction, I redesigned the mats to be computer- friendly. Instead of 3 spaces, students now had 4. In the example above, The Tale of Despereaux was a read aloud. When we completed the mat as a group, during remote instruction, students did not have the novel in their hands. Thus, page numbers were not cited. With a later novel, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, students had a novel in their hand and page numbers were expected.
Association Triangles
If you like Venn diagrams, you'll love Association Triangles. The main difference is that this organizer allows for the comparison of 3 characters (topics) and has a "sliding scale". Students cite text evidence that demonstrates a connection between the characters. If it applies to one character more than the other, the evidence will be closer to that character. If it applies to all three, the evidence is placed in the middle of the organizer.
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Association Triangles Completed Digitally
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I rarely expect students to cite page numbers for this response. Students are using a more global lens to consider the connections between characters/topics so pages numbers can be challenging. When appropriate, it's fun to place the students within the triangle (see Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing example) and offer them an opportunity to determine what, if any, similarities they have with the novel's characters.
FASTs
For deep character analysis, FASTs give students the direction to consider four different ways a single character presents themselves within a novel.
F = Feelings
A = Actions
S = Saying
T = Thinking
Character Mats and Association Triangles have students exploring multiple characters at once. However, FASTs challenge students to hone in on a single character and develop a deeper understanding of that character's behaviors and motivations.
Students can start a FAST after the first chapter or two and build evidence as the novel progresses. They are an excellent tool and reference point for cumulative writing assignments at the end of a novel. They are especially helpful when students need to cite evidence while discussing or writing about characters.
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Character FASTs Completed on Paper
(Top: Because of Winn-Dixie, Bottom: The One and Only Ivan) |
You can read about other strategies to use during your ELA instruction by clicking a link below:
Best Vocabulary Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom
Best Comprehension Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom
Grab your own set of editable character analysis activities (along with other reading responses) to use with your students from my TpT store here: Reading Response Worksheets or by clicking the image below.
Your download will include:
Google Slides
• Cover Slide
• 3 Vocabulary Slides
• 5 Comprehension and Character Study Slides
• 5 Author's Craft, Summary/Sequence Slides
• 3 Theme Written Response Slides
PDF Printables
• Pre-Reading Activities
• Vocabulary
• Literary Devices
• Comprehension
• Character Analysis
• In-depth Analysis
• Summary & Sequence of Event Responses
• Theme Written Response
• Organizers & Rubrics