ALEX Learning Activity

Students explore what makes a character interesting through the examination of physical objects. What do objects say about us? What assumptions do we make about people based on what they carry with them?  Students will explore the items in a bag you have created that has been left in your classroom. The students will infer what type of person the bag belongs to based on the objects found inside. The class will work together to create a personal history for this character. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Learning Targets

I can:

• interpret a character based on objects and apply what I have learned to create a character.

• Before your class enters you will need to prepare a bag to place somewhere in the room. (See notes in Advanced Preparation for an explanation of how to make your bag.) 
• Present this activity as a "dramatic moment". Ask your class if they recognize the bag or know who it belongs to. Suggest they go through the bag to see what they can learn about the bag's owner.
• Take out each object from the bag one at a time. Lead the students in a discussion on what each item suggests.  Examples: A camo hat could represent a guy that enjoys hunting. Lip gloss might belong to a girly girl. A can of spray paint might belong to a troublemaker who likes to tag the school or a graffiti artist. A sketchbook could indicate an artist. A calendar with kids' names and activities written in it could belong to a mother. Ask the students what they can learn about the owner of the bag.
• Using a whiteboard or poster board, write down everything the students say about the contents of the bag and what they can infer from the items.
• Have the class decide on whether the owner is male or female and assign them a generic name such as "Johnny" or "Katelynn".  
• Place a large sheet of paper on the wall and draw an outline of a body. This can be very simple. You do not have to be an artist!
• Outside of the body, have students use markers to write what they think about "Katelynn" or "Johnny".  
• Inside of the body, have the students write what they perceive "Katelynn" thinks about herself. 
• Lead the class in a discussion of how the items from the bag shape their knowledge of Katelynn's personal history. Discuss how the items we carry on a daily basis tell the rest of the world a lot about us. Discuss how carefully deciding what props a character will carry during a play inform the audience about the character's personal history.

You will assess your students based on your observations of their participation in this activity.  

• Students actively participated in Character Bag Discussion.
• Students were able to write on the body outline both things Katelynn thinks about herself as well as things they assumed about Katelynn.
• Students were able to work together to create a personal history of Katelynn based on the items found in the bag.

In preparation for this class, you will want to create a character bag. The bag could be a duffel bag, backpack, designer bag, or grocery bag with items that suggest "Katelynn's" or "Johnny's" character.  For example:

• To present "Katelynn" as an athlete you might include a softball mitt and a bottle of Gatorade.
• Identify what kind of student she is by the condition of school materials (a ratty binder with few notes or a well-organized binder with completed homework).
• Is "Katelynn" a healthy eater (apple and granola bar) or a junk food eater (chips and cookies)?
• If Katelynn is in the school band, perhaps there is some sheet music.
• Is there a badge that suggests an after school job?
• There should be one unusual object that shows an interesting side to the character. Something that doesn't quite fit with the other objects. Perhaps a weird key chain, can of spray paint, very old family photo, or a strange news article.
• Think about how objects provide a lot of information about who we are. There should be at least five objects in the bag that suggest different aspects of "Katelynn's" life.  

• This lesson could be presented simply as it is written and cover the Proficient learning standards.
• Take this lesson to the Accomplished level by having senior students (from other classes) prepare the bag as a character activity. How do they create an interesting character based solely on objects?
• Use this activity with your cast to create an Accomplished or Advanced level lesson. Each cast member could create their bag based on the character they are playing in the show. This would be a good time to explore the elements the script provides about the character in addition to what the actors have to create on their own.