I mentioned in a this post and this post how we have been just knee deep in character study. We were reading the novel Rules, which my students absolutely loved! After all of our talk about characters, character traits, character conflicts, and character change, I was trying to encompass all of those things into a final project. Now that they are turning them in, I think it was a pretty cumulative assessment, which was my goal!
There were three parts to the project, covering character traits, character conflict, and character change.
favorite characters. They drew the characters
based on the descriptions in the book.
Then, they surrounded the picture with character traits that describe the
character.
On the four outer flaps, the students had to write an example of how each of the
four types of conflict was demonstrated in the book. The paragraphs included the following:
- A description of the conflict
- An explanation that describes the significance of the
conflict - How the character responded to the conflict
In the big middle flap, they wrote a three paragraph essay describing how the main character changed throughout the novel. We began by identifying several character traits
and feelings at the beginning of the book and choosing one or two that they wanted to focus on as a main point of change. They started each paragraph…
“At the beginning of the book…”
“Toward the middle of the book…”
“Finally, at the end of the book…”
I really loved how they turned out, and they gave me a great picture of not only the student's comprehension of the book, but also of how well the students could identify each of these topics that we studied. I highly recommend it!
You can download the assignment sheet and grading rubric (nothing too fancy at all) for free HERE.
Enjoy!
If you are looking for more resources for your character study, stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I have a huge bundle of Character Study Task Cards that would fit the bill! It covers character change and development, tons of character traits, character conflict, and more!
Character Study Task Cards Bundle |
{The frames I used are from Mr. Magician, who also has a WONDERFUL Rules novel study guide! His amazing wife, Kimberly Geswein, made all of the fonts you see on the paper.}