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Viatouch
Teacher Articles
Teacher Created Materials
Creating Memorable Characters
by Elizabeth Klein
| Subject: |
English |
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| Grade Level: |
5 |
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| Objective: |
Students will explore the qualities that memorable characters in stories possess and use this knowledge to create an engaging character of their own. |
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| Time needed: |
1 ½ hour |
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| Materials: |
Modern books with engaging characters, photocopier, pen and paper, computer, coloured pencils or paints. |
Instructions:
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Choose a small selection of modern books that the children will be familiar with and that have memorable characters. Locate a passage in each book that describes a prominent character and photocopy these pages. Read these passages to the class, omitting the characters' names and the books that they were in. Have the class try to guess who the characters are and what books they are featured in.
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Discuss how character's names often reflect their personalities. Ask the students to think of some names from the stories they have read. Have the students to write a brief description of a character they have read about or seen on television. In small groups, the students read their descriptions aloud. The others in the group try to guess the character that was described.
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Encourage each student to create a brand new character. Have them close their eyes and imagine seeing their character. Let them picture the clothes he/she is wearing; then what their face, eyes, nose, mouth and hair looks like. Ask the students to write a short descriptive passage about their character, including a name and as many "unseen" things about him/her as possible like type of personality and any weaknesses or strengths. Students must include at least one unusual feature that would make him/her uniquely different—a memorable character. Emphasize that this character must be created from their own imagination and must not be a pre-existing character invented by someone else.
Extra Activities:
- Ask the students to read their passages to the group.
- Have the students create a presentation about their character to the class, accompanied by a full-length illustration. The students can type their presentations on a computer and attach these to their illustrations. These can be pinned up around the classroom for the rest of the class to read.
- Encourage the students to write a short story using their character. When these are completed, they can be swapped around and read by others in their group and discussed. Students can form their own opinions whether or not the newly created characters are memorable.
Elizabeth Klein has been a school teacher for nineteen years and is now a full-time writer living in Sydney, Australia. One of her short stories, Courage Comes in Strange Parcels, has been published in two anthologies by Strand Publishing. She is currently working on a fantasy adventure trilogy.
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