Characterization Weekly Lesson Plan- 5th Grade

Week’s Focus / Day / Mini-lesson Title / Teaching Points
Deep Readers analyze the characters in the stories they read to help them understand what they read. /
1 / I can identify traits of characters in stories I read and use evidence to support my claim. / • Display a picture of yourself on the smartboard with your character traits webbed around the picture. Discuss what the students notice about the words that you used to describe yourself.
• Hand out traits list. Have student highlight with a yellow marker the traits that best describe themselves. Then, have them transfer it into a web (formative assessment). Have table groups or partners share their traits with one another.
Trait list sheet is at the end of this document.
During independent work times have students either doing Daily 5 components or other independent work. While students are reading independently one option is to give them a blank trait list and while they are reading they can highlight character traits for a character in their story just as they did for themselves during the mini-lesson.
Week’s Focus / Day / Mini-lesson Title / Teaching Points
Deep Readers analyze the characters in the stories they read to help them understand what they read. /
2 / I can identify traits of characters in stories I read and use evidence to support my claim. / • Review character trait work from yesterday. Perhaps as one student to share their character trait highlights and web work from yesterday with the whole group.
• Discuss with students that as we read the traits we identify in a character often help us develop a theory about a character.
• Display cover of read aloud book. Tell the students that today they are going to learn how to identify the character traits of the characters in their stories and develop theories about the character. Tell the students that as you read today you are going to stop and think aloud about the traits you notice from a character in the story. You are also going to develop your own theories about the character. As you read you will be filling out a character trait web for the selected character in the story.
• Read aloud the story, stopping and noticing character traits and recording them on the chart.
SEE INDEPENDENT WORK FROM DAY1
Week’s Focus / Day / Mini-lesson Title / Teaching Points
Deep Readers analyze the characters in the stories they read to help them understand what they read. /
3 / I can identify traits of characters in stories I read and connect them to the decisions a character makes. / • Review chart from previous day with character traits from character in read aloud. Tell the students that today they are going to help you identify the character traits for your story’s character.
• Each student will need a clipboard and character web. Explain that while you read today they are going to be thinking about the character’s traits. They are going to be recording the traits on their clipboards and sharing as you read the story. They are also going to be creating their own theories for the characters. (formative assessment)
• Show the students the cover of the book and begin reading. You may need to stop and think aloud about the character traits or allow students to share their own thinking about character traits. At the conclusion of the read aloud, share the students theories. Turn and talk would work great as well.
• Explain to the students that a character’s traits impact the decisions that they make throughout a story. Explain how that is real life too- explain a personal story of a decision you made based on your personal traits.
• On a blank piece of chart paper map at least one of the conflicts in the story and what the character did as a result. Identify with the students whether this was a character vs. world CW, character vs. self CS, or character vs. character CC conflict. Tell them that you are going to do more with characters and conflict tomorrow.
SEE INDEPENDENT WORK FROM DAY1
Other ideas- have student sticky note conflict and identify if it is CW, CS, or CC
Week’s Focus / Day / Mini-lesson Title / Teaching Points
Deep Readers analyze the characters in the stories they read to help them understand what they read. /
4 / I can identify traits of characters in stories I read and connect them to the decisions a character makes. / • Review chart from previous day and discuss how a character’s traits impact how a character deals with conflict.
• Explain to students that not only do character’s traits impact conflict in stories. It also happens in movies and television as well.
• Watch video clip of The Sandlot- while students watch the video clip have them identify the character traits of the characters in the movie clip.
• At the conclusion of the video clip, identify the conflict in the clip. Discuss how the character traits interacted with the conflict. Discussion questions…
How can you defend the traits that you chose to describe your character?
How would you respond differently than the character to the conflict(s)?
Explain why you agree or disagree with the character’s response.
• Identify if the conflict was CW (character vs world), CC (character vs. character), or CS (character vs. self).
SEE INDEPENDENT WORK FROM DAY1 & 3
Week’s Focus / Day / Mini-lesson Title / Teaching Points
Deep Readers analyze the characters in the stories they read to help them understand what they read. /
5 / I can identify traits of characters in stories I read and connect them to the decisions a character makes. / • Explain to the kids that today you want to see what they know about character traits and conflicts.
• Tell the children that each one of them is going to get a character web and some conflict questions. You are going to read them a book and you want them to write complete the character web for one of the characters in the story, as well as answer the questions regarding the story conflict.
• Display the front cover and do a bit of prior knowledge discussion.
• Continue to read the text and have students record the traits and reactions to the story conflict.
• Collect their work to be analyzed and perhaps discussed in a 1 on 1 conference at a later date.
Assessment and Rubric included later in the document.
SEE INDEPENDENT WORK FROM DAY1 & 3

Characterization Weekly Lesson Plan- 5th Grade

able

active

adventurous

affectionate

afraid

alert

ambitious

angry

annoyed

anxious

apologetic

arrogant

attentive

average

bad

blue

bold

bored

bossy

brainy

brave

bright

brilliant

busy

calm

careful

careless

cautious

charming

cheerful

childish

clever

clumsy

coarse

concerned

confident

confused

considerate

cooperative

courageous

cowardly

cross

cruel

curious

dangerous

daring

dark

decisive

demanding

dependable

depressed

determined

discouraged

dishonest

disrespectful

doubtful

dull

dutiful

eager

easygoing

efficient

embarrassed

encouraging

energetic

evil

excited

expert

fair

faithful

fearless

fierce

foolish

fortunate

foul

fresh

friendly

frustrated

funny

gentle

giving

glamorous

gloomy

good

graceful

grateful

greedy

grouchy

grumpy

guilty

happy

harsh

hateful

healthy

helpful

honest

hopeful

hopeless

humorous

ignorant

imaginative

impatient

impolite

inconsiderate

independent

industrious

innocent

intelligent

jealous

kindly

lazy

leader

lively

lonely

loving

loyal

lucky

mature

mean

messy

miserable

mysterious

naughty

nervous

nice

noisy

obedient

obnoxious

old

peaceful

picky

pleasant

polite

poor

popular

positive

precise

proper

proud

quick

quiet

rational

reliable

religious

responsible

restless

rich

rough

rowdy

rude

sad

safe

satisfied

scared

secretive

selfish

serious

sharp

short

shy

silly

skillful

sly

smart

sneaky

sorry

spoiled

stingy

strange

strict

stubborn

sweet

talented

tall

thankful

thoughtful

thoughtless

tired

tolerant

touchy

trusting

trustworthy

unfriendly

unhappy

upset

useful

warm

weak

wicked

wise

worried

wrong

young

Characterization Weekly Lesson Plan- 5th Grade

4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Character Traits / I identified eight character traits for my character. My character traits are specific and detailed. / I identified six character traits for my character. Most of my character traits are specific. / I identified four character traits for my character. Some of my character traits are specific. / I identified fewer than four character traits for my character. Very few, if any, of my character traits are specific.
Character Theory / My character theory includes three sentences. The sentences are details and show the depth of my thinking. / My character theory includes three sentences. The sentences are somewhat detailed and the beginning of deep thinking is there. / My character theory includes two sentences. The sentences are somewhat detailed and the beginning of deep thinking is there. / My character theory includes one sentence. The sentence is lacking detail and the deep thought needed to create a theory.
Character conflict response / My conflict responses are complete, detailed and well thought out. / My conflict responses are somewhat complete, detailed and well thought out. / My conflict responses are missing some detail and thought. / My conflict responses are incomplete.

Characterization Weekly Lesson Plan- 5th Grade

What is your theory of this character? Write 3 sentences describing your theory.

Identify the type of conflict in the story (circle) CW CC CS

How would you respond differently than the character to the conflict(s)?

Explain why you agree or disagree with the characters’ response.