Third Grade Monday, October 21, 2013
FOLLOWING CHARACTERS INTO MEANING
Building Theories, Gathering Evidence
Lesson 11
Session XI: Attending to Objects that Reveal Characters
In this session, you’ll teach students that readers grow ideas about characters by paying attention to the objects our characters hold dear.
This teaching point builds upon the idea that characters and people reveal their personalities through their choices. Some children might not think of possessions as choices, but they are. The choice to give an object a position of prominence and importance is a choice that communicates a person’s values and priorities in a powerful way.
GETTING READY
· Be ready to reference The Tiger Rising in relation to the possessions that Rob holds. You can use characters and objects from another familiar read-aloud.
· Produce oversized Post-it notes that are large enough for the entire class to see. These Post-its should relate to objects a character holds dear.
· Listen closely to partnerships conversations during the active involvement section, because you will want to share one of these conversations during the link.
· Display the chart “Strategies Readers Use to Grow Ideas About Characters” for children to reference.
CONNECTION
Tell children about a time in your life when an object took on significance. Suggest that some objects are packed with significance for people in real life and for characters in books.
· Share an anecdote about an object important to you and why it is so special.
· “Characters in books are the same way. When an author imagines a character, she often uses the character’s most important possessions to reveal the essential parts of the character. Think of Harry Potter, for example. The one object he has with him at all times, whether asleep or awake, is his wand, right? As a wizard Harry has to be ready to defend himself with a spell. What else does Harry have? His invisibility cloak! There are a few other magical items that have been given to Harry by the people who are helping him on his quest. Because of who he is Harry has to be ready for adventure and danger at all times.”
Name your teaching point. Specifically, tell children that readers pay special attention to the objects that characters hold close to their hearts. These objects often open a window into what the character is really like.
· “What I want to teach you today is that paying attention to the objects that a character keeps near and dear is one way to grow ideas about what kind of person that character is. Those objects are often windows into the mind and heart of our characters. The possessions that a character keeps close almost always reveal something important about the person.”
TEACHING
Using students in the class and the objects they hold close as examples, point out the way in which objects come to represent people’s lives.
· Share an example of a student in the class who always has an object with him or her and what it shows about that student.
Demonstrate the process of mulling over the significance that objects have for characters by thinking aloud about the objects that are important to the protagonist from the read-aloud book.
· “I was thinking about Rob from The Tiger Rising and I jotted down my ideas. I used these questions to grow my ideas: ‘What objects are important to Rob?’ and ‘What does that make me think about him?’”
· “Rob has all these little wooden figures that he whittled out of wood. I remember the scene in the hotel room when someone else looked at his figures and he seemed both proud and nervous. What do the figures tell me about Rob? I think the reason these figures are so important to Rob is because his mother taught him how to whittle before she died, and when he whittles, he remembers her without having to talk about her. These figures help Rob feel close to his mother.”
· “Once I come up with an idea about what the objects might tell me or reveal about a character, I try to think more about that. Let me see if I can say more about that idea. Rob seems like a lonely character. He has a hard time talking about the things he wants and feels. So instead of saying how much he misses his mom, he does this thing that his mom taught him. Also, in a way, this ‘village’ of figures keeps him company in the bare motel room that he shares with his father. Maybe they help him not to think how sad his life is since his mom died.”
Name what you have done that is transferable to other texts, other days.
· “Readers, that’s where I stopped my jotting, but there’s a lot more that I could say about what these whittled figures reveal about Rob. Now, I have some theories about Rob that I could think and write more about. Did you notice how I didn’t just ask a question, answer it, and move on, as if I was answering questions on a test? This isn’t a test, and there’s no right answer that you can write down before you race onto the next one. In fact, the longer you stay on one idea, the more likely it is that you will uncover powerful thinking. Earlier, when I was jotting about this, I pushed myself to write one more thing and then one more thing. That’s how you make an idea pay off for you – by staying with it until you’ve pushed past your initial thinking
and found yourself thinking ideas that surprise even you.”
· “I could repeat this process over and over again with the same character by thinking about other objects that play an important role. For example, I could think about the art book that Rob loves to pore over in the library or (especially) about the drawing of the tiger he carries in his pocket.”
ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
Prompt students to work so that one partner tells the other about an object he or she keeps close and the other helps the first discover the significance of that object. As students work, voice over possible questions to lift the level of their talking and writing
· “Readers, today you are going to work with your partners to practice examining objects that a character keeps close. But instead of thinking about the characters in your book, you are going to think about the characters in your life – starting with the main character, YOU. What objects are important to you? What objects do you keep close? Think about the special places in your home – your bedroom, the table beside your bed, the place where you keep your clothes. Perhaps you carry something in your backpack, in your coat pocket. Maybe you keep something under your pillow or under your bed. Right now, think about one object that is special to you.” Give them a minute.
· “Now, turn to your partner. Partner 1, tell your partner about this object. Partner 2, help Partner 1 really think about all that the object might represent. If Partner 1 keeps Pokemon cards in her backpack, don’t just say, ‘That shows you like Pokemon.’ Go deeper. What might the object tell you about what Partner 1 wants or needs? Partner 1, get started.”
LINK
Share the work that one child has done, that you overheard, and in doing so give students yet one more example of what you have been trying to teach. Then remind them to do this often and throughout their lives.
· “Readers, wrap up your conversations. I heard some brilliant thinking. I heard …” Share some examples of conversations you heard.
· “Whenever you are thinking about a character – in your books, or in your life – remember that one way you can learn (grow your thinking) about him or her is by considering the objects they treasure. Authors always include those objects for a reason. There is a reason Kate DiCamillo gave Rob wooden figures and why J.K. Rowling gave Harry magical objects. These objects are clues about who the character is and what is important to him or her. Remember writers include other details such as gestures and physical characteristics, such as Rob shrugging or his rash. Don’t rush over these details as you read. Instead stop and ask yourself why the author included them. What can they tell you about the character?”
CONFERRING AND SMALL-GROUP WORK
Plan for What You Might Teach
Support Your English Language Learners in Understanding the Teaching Point
· You might use popular cartoon characters and the objects that are associated with them to make this teaching point. For example, Dora from Dora the Explorer. “If I didn’t know Dora, I could learn a lot about her by noting that she has a backpack with a map inside and other tools like a magnifying glass, a flashlight, and a rope. I’d be thinking what kind of person carries a backpack with such things? She’s not a teacher, or there would be pencils, books, and kids’ work in there. Dora is probably a detective or an explorer, because that kind of person would carry those kinds of objects, right?”
· Repeat the day’s teaching point. “We pay attention to the objects that our characters keep close. Then we think, ‘What do these tell me about this character? What kind of person would keep such objects close to them?’
· “Let’s think about the characters in your books and see if there are objects that one of them keeps close.”
Support Your Speedy Readers in Pausing to Think About Details and Stereotypes (This is for students who are ready to be pushed further.)
· Your conferences will not always align to the minilessons. You might have some students who are plot junkies, reading for what happens next with little attention to detail.
· “When we study the details in a story, including the objects a character keeps close we often realize something more than we previously knew.”
· “Some times the objects a character keeps close are at odds with who the character really is. When we notice this, we might ask ourselves does this character rise above a stereotype? For example, the frilly dress Sistine wears when we first met her in The Tiger Rising. Is there anything frilly about Sistine? Or Willie May. She is wise and Rob thinks if God had to pick someone to talk through it would be her. But the objects the author gives her are cigarettes, gum, brooms, and vacuum cleaners. We might ask, ‘Why did the author choose these objects to represent Willie May?’”
MID-WORKSHOP TEACHING POINT
Readers Pay Attention to Subtle Details
· “I’m noticing many of you are on the look out for objects your characters hold close as a way to grow bigger ideas about who they are. “ Share what some students have noticed.
o An example might be something like … “Some of you noticed that it might not be that the characters holds the object closely, but the object seems to have particular significance.” Hold up the book My Name Is Maria Isabel. One student noticed that Maria Isabel was wearing the same yellow dress at both the beginning and end of the book and that she was so upset when it got dirty. She realized that Maria Isabel’s dress might be part of her connection to her culture, and to her grandmother, who gave her the fabric for the dress in Puerto Rico. At the end Maria is finally being called by her real name and her name represents her connection to her culture and her grandmothers.”
· “Readers, the tip I want to give you is that readers don’t just pay attention to objects that a character holds close, we pay attention to all the details the author includes. Authors choose the details they include carefully. The details are like clues and those clues steer us toward big ideas inside the book. Even the names authors choose for characters aren’t accidental. Remember, pay attention to the details the author includes. Don’t just pass them by. Pause and wonder what significance they might have. As you read, be on the lookout for details that seem to act as clues.”
TEACHING SHARE
Readers Find the Possessions a Character Holds Dear Revealing
Ask students to prepare for the conversation they are about to have. In this case, ask them to select, or further develop, their best thought to date.
· “Meet with your partner and look over your jottings and over the section of the book you read. Pick the idea you think is strongest. Let your idea grow by using thought prompts to push your thinking.” Gesture to the chart of thought prompts.
Ask one partner to open the conversation with some thinking about character. Coach them in ways to make their thinking about character stronger.
· “Partner 2, share your thinking with Partner 1. Share something about your character and the objects that are important to him or her. If you are early in your story and objects aren’t yet important share other important observations you have about your character. You might want to return to the book and read some parts aloud. If you read aloud, make your voice match the character. The important thing is to have a great conversation about the characters in your book. Think about the character’s name, relationships, and if the character is changing.”
Remind readers of the ways they know to think about characters. Remind them to use these ways from now on.
· “Readers, all eyes on me please. You already know lots of ways to grow ideas as you read, especially how to grow ideas about characters. Right now, list across your fingers at least three ways you know for growing ideas about characters.”
· Let’s look at our chart and add a new bullet. The objects that a character holds close can give us clues about the character.”