Picture Perfect Character Summaries
A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively
engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.
You may save this Learning Activity to your hard drive as an .html file by
selecting “File”,then “Save As” from your browser’s
pull down menu. The file name extension must be .html.
This learning activity provided by:
Author:
Samantha Wallace
System: Limestone County School: Cedar Hill Elementary School
General Activity Information
Activity ID:
2434
Title: Picture Perfect Character Summaries
Digital Tool/Resource: Character Images Slide
Web Address – URL:
Overview: Students will look at stock images of different people as an introduction to developing interesting characters in a piece of narrative fiction writing. The students will brainstorm to establish character traits and backgrounds that are interesting and then write a short character summary.
This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
Associated Standards and Objectives
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts 34. Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
34.
Personal narratives
Fictional narratives
Literary elements
Characters
Plot
Setting
Conflict
Dialogue
Voice
Event sequences Knowledge:
34. Students know:
A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story.
A personal narrative tells about an event that was personally experienced by the author, while a fictional narrative tells a made-up story.
A narrative story describes a sequence of plot events in a logical order (beginning, middle, end).
Narrative writing includes text elements, like characters, setting, and conflict.
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters in a text. Skills:
34. Students are able to:
Write a personal narrative that recalls a personal experience or a fictional narrative with a made-up story.
Write a narrative with a logical sequence of plot events.
Incorporate literary elements into their narrative writing, like characters, setting, and conflict.
Include dialogue in narrative writing.
Use a strong voice in writing by developing a personal writing style. Understanding:
34. Students understand that:
Narrative writing includes predictable elements, like a logical sequence of events and characters, setting, and conflict.
Incorporating dialogue between the characters can add details to their narrative writing.
Narrative writing can be used to tell about something that happened to them personally or it can tell a story they made up.
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to introduce a character in a piece of narrative fiction writing.
Strategies, Preparations and Variations
Phase: Before/Engage
Activity: Ask the students to think of a favorite character from a book, TV show, or movie. As the students name each one, ask them to consider why the characters are so memorable. Make a list of the traits as students list them -- they might come up with things like brave, funny, etc. Tell the students these are the same traits that they should try to include in their writing.
Show the slide with the stock images of different people. The students will pick one that they might see as a character in a story. They should first name the character and then come up with a list of character traits. Students can also add biographical details to the list (job, family, etc.). After making the list, students should draft a brief character summary.
The teacher can do an example as a model for the students. Also, you can choose a few students to share their ideas aloud with the class for more examples.
Assessment Strategies: The teacher can evaluate the students' written work. The teacher should check to see if the character introduction includes descriptive details and character traits.
Advanced Preparation: The teacher will need to be able to display the slide to the class. Students can write/draft on loose paper or in a writing journal.
Variation Tips (optional):
If students finish early, they can complete another character summary.
Students can also extend the use of their character summaries by writing a piece of narrative fiction and including the character.
Students could compare/contrast their characters with other students, especially those who chose the same stock image.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):
Keywords and Search Tags
Keywords and Search Tags:
character, character summary, narrative
