What makes characters tick? Two comprehension activities with charts for kids.

Kids often draw conclusions about people based on what those people say and do. So when I teach reading, I show students that how we think about people can help us understand characters from books. By drawing conclusions about characters based on facts from the story, students gain deeper insights. They not only grasp what the author says, but also what he or she implies - or, as third grader Luke put it, "The author shows it; the trick is to figure out what she's telling me."

Character Profile

Facts about                  What the facts
the hen                      could mean

She always                   The hen was
asked her                    hopeful and
friends to help              always gave her
plant seeds,                 friends a chance
cut wheat, and               to help.
thresh it.

Every time her               Once she saw
friends said.                there was no
"Not I," the hen             help, she worked
did it all.                  hard alone.

PRIMARY Activity

CREATE A CHARACTER PROFILE

PURPOSE

To help kids draw conclusions about book characters by studying their feelings, personalities, and decisions.

MATERIALS

a big book, chart paper, a marker

TIME NEEDED

two or three 30-minute periods

1 Read aloud a big book that students know well and enjoy, such as The Little Red Hen.

2 Have students identify the characters they like the most. Write their choices on chart paper. My first graders chose the hen and her three friends, the pig, the duck, and the cat.

3 Select one of the characters and create a chart like the one shown above.

4 Get pairs of students brainstorming about the character by asking questions such as:

* What decisions does the character make?

* What are his problems and how does he solve them?

* What does she think about?

* What feelings does he show?

* What is unusual about his behavior?

5 Have partners brainstorm answers, using facts from the book's text and pictures.

6 In the chart's left-hand column, list the facts pairs found.

7 Invite partners to review all the facts and, from them, draw a conclusion about the character. Write all conclusions in the chart's right-hand column.

8 As a class, compare conclusions. Have students discuss similarities and differences, encouraging them to use information from the story to back up their points.

INTERMEDIATE Activity

EXPLORE A CHARACTER'S VALUES

PURPOSE

To determine the values and beliefs of characters from books by studying their dialogue, actions, interactions, and thoughts.

MATERIALS

a novel or short story

TIME NEEDED

three 30-minute periods

1 Organize students into groups of four and have them discuss what they value - what's important to them in life. Encourage them to think about how their words and actions reveal their values. On the chalkboard, list the values of students who are willing to share them.

2 Create a Character Evaluation Form like the one shown at right and give a copy to each student.

3 Ask groups to select a character from a novel or short story they've read, such as Mary Ellen Todd, the heroine in Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen.

4 In the form's first column, have students list four or five things of importance to that character. For 'Mary Ellen Todd, sixth graders listed her grandmother, good health, helping others, and hope.

5 Have students skim the story for examples that support each item in column one, and record those examples in column two. For instance, to illustrate "good health," one student wrote, "Watching so many grown-ups die, leaving young children to fend for themselves or rely on the kindness of others along the trail, made Mary Ellen value staying strong and healthy."

6 Invite groups to compare their personal values to the character's, and write their responses in column three. What similarities and differences do they see? Have students explore possible reasons for differences.

LAURA ROBB, a classroom teacher for 34 years, currently teaches eighth grade at Powhatan School in Boyce, Virginia, and coaches teachers in grades K-8. She is the author of Reading Strategies that Work (Scholastic Professional Books, 1996) and Whole Language, Whole Learners (Morrow, 1994).