Using Characters from Children's Novels to make Character Trait Connections
An activity that I have had a lot of success with is making character trait posters. I use the classic children's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- First we either read the novel, or if you prefer you can show the video to save time. Go over character traits as you normally would.
- I have my class take notes and we discuss the traits of each character. I discuss mood, personality, etc. and how they differ from traits such as weight, appearance, etc. I call it external traits versus internal traits.
- We then brainstorm other characters from movies, cartoons, novels, etc. that have the same traits as a character or all the characters from the Charlie movies.
- Students then will need to give reasons from the story that leads them to believe they have matching traits. I use quotations to do this. For example, I have them write things that each character both said in their respective movies/books. The traits should match.
- Finally, we make posters. I have the main "Charlie" character in the middle, and the other characters in each corner. I assign a corner to each child in order to give individual grades. The whole group is responsible for making the center character.
- I assess their abilty to list traits correctly. I only want internal traits. I also assess quotations, and spelling.
