- A character theory post-it is when you develop an insight about a character based on the words, actions, and reactions of the character.
- Descriptions within the text, the thoughts and opinions of secondary and minor characters can be evidence to formulate your theory.
- Clues from the setting, and author descriptions, create rich evidence for the reading detective to collect.
- Readers are detectives trying to piece together “who the character” really is by putting together all the clues you are given and then develop a “character theory”.
- Character theories help the reader understand how characters will react or handle situations in the future.
Gumshoes, the STEP BY STEP plan for
creating a Character Theory-Post-It:
- Gather clues from the text like the character’s actions, words, and reactions to situations.
Ex: Will runs to tell his mother what Skip has done to him, what does this action tell us about Will?
- Interview the secondary and minor characters—
What do other characters say, think, and how do they react to the character you are trying to develop a theory about?
Ex: Will’s father gets angry with Will for telling on his brother, why?
- Create your theory based on all the evidence you have collected—Consider all your evidence including descriptions from the text and insights from the author.
Ex: Review Will’s actions, words, and interactions with other characters to try to read between the lines to figure Will out.
Let’s Practice on some evidence I collected as a reader:
Sloan, My Side of the Story Character Theory Post-It
In the story, “My Side of the Story” by Adam Bagdasarian, Will’s father gets very angry with Will when he bursts into his parents room to tell his father that his brother Skip stuck Scotch tape to his head. Will’s father is trying to teach Will the lesson that he needs to start growing up and handling things for himself, particularly when the situation is not a crisis. Will realizes his father is trying to teach him a lesson, but can’t see the justice in the fact that his brother, Skip is not punished for what he did. It seems like Will’s father is trying to prepare Will for growing up and dealing with how unfair things are just sometimes a part of life. I can tell Will doesn’t totally understand this lesson because at the end of the story he tries to get his brother back for the incident with the scotch tape.
Evaluation: As the reading detective, we have to look at the relationships between characters, the characters’ actions, and words to put together a theory to “really” understand the father.