Title:

What are the most important traits authors should reveal when
introducing a new character?
Grade: 7
Overall Goal: In groups of three students will be analyzing and researching the literary devices
used by a specific author to introduce a new character/narrator into their works. Students should
be able to pull out specific annotations from the texts of their assigned author in order to make
an argument for which character traits are most important. Once the evidence is collected,
students will create a powerpoint presentation in which they present their findings to other
members of the class. Once gathering information from all of the presentations, students will
compare each author and form an argument about the most important traits for introducing a new
character.

Standards Learning Objective Assessment

7.W.3.3 Engage and orient the Students should be able to
reader by establishing a context compare and contrast how
and point of view and different authors introduce
introducing a narrator and/or new characters and/or
characters. narrators into their work.
Students should be able to
form a strong argument as to
which methods are most
effective for introducing a
new character into a piece.
Students will write a
blog post in which
they interpret the
work of a variety of
authors and argue,
based on evidence,
which traits are most
important for the
introduction of a
new character.

7.RV.3.1 Determine the Students should be able to In groups,

meaning of words and phrases dissect the word choice and presenting certain
as they are used in works of diction the author uses to quotes or passages
literature, including figurative better understand how the that highlight the
and connotative meanings; author is introducing a word choice used by
analyze the impact of rhymes character. the author in the
and other repetitions of sounds introduction of the
(e.g., alliteration) within a story, character.
poem, or play.

7.RL.2.1 Cite several pieces of Students should be able use In group

textual evidence to support specific passages from well presentations,
analysis of what a text says known works of literature in students need to
explicitly as well as inferences order to add credibility to present slides with
drawn from the text. their claims and arguments. specific quotes
driven directly from
a text in order to
explain to the class
 how a specific
author introduces a
new character.

Key Terms & Definitions:

Prior Terms to Review:
Annotation - A helpful note/observation written in the margins of a text. Allows the
reader to note their initial reactions to a text. Can be referenced later in order to
provide textual evidence.
Character Development - How an author uses setting and plot to allow a character
to move from a flat character to a more rounded character.
Textual Evidence - Proof pulled from a specific text that is used to add credibility
to an argument or claim.
New Terms to Introduce:
Diction - The word choice within a text. In terms of introducing a character diction
can influence how the character is perceived and provide foreshadowing for later
development.
Syntax - The sentence structure of a text. Syntax can draw attention to certain
details surrounding a character through the emphasis of longer or shorter
sentences.
Inference - An educated conclusion drawn from textual evidence.
Close Reading - Reading text through an analytic lense. Leads to the creation of
claims and/or arguments.

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

The instructor begins by breaking the class up into groups. In groups, each student will select
another student from the group without telling the others who they chose, and will try to make
the rest of the group guess who they chose by describing them as an author would introduce a
new character. The students should use descriptors that go beyond the obvious (physical) world,
i.e. the individuals attitude, personality, behavior, etc.

This should get there attention because:

- This grabber provides an opportunity for the students to have fun and engaging group
conversation.
- The students will be forced to stretch their imagination and be creative in their
descriptions.

After the activity, the instructor will ask the following discussion questions:

1. What sort of descriptors worked better than others in leading the class to guess the
selected person?
2. Do you think it's easier or harder to describe someone without describing how they look?
Why or why not?
3. If you had to do this activity again, do you think it would be better to spend some time
getting to know each member of your group before we start the activity?

Lesson Main:

Introduce the Central Question: After the grabber activity, the instructor should introduce the
central question: What are the most important traits authors should reveal when introducing a
new character? Why? The grabber activity should have engaged everyone in the lesson by this
point.

Content Lecture: After discussion of the central question, the instructor should provide an
overview of the content and the activity as a whole (see created resource below). The instructor
will go through the presentation, making sure the students have a general understanding of how
the rest of the lesson will proceed.

Group Research: Now, the instructor should break the students up into small groups of three to
four to begin their research on different authors and the way they introduce characters. The
instructor should ensure that each group member is actively participating in the research (i.e.,
each student should be contributing to the research, all students should be participating in the
group discussion). Each group will be given a list of authors to choose from (see created resource
below), but are free to research any authors that they may be familiar with beyond the list. Using
the guided research packet (see created resource below), the students should gather information
on different authors styles by keeping track of quotes and passages that highlight each authors
style. The students should constantly be thinking in terms of how their authors are both similar
and different in their character introductions as they prepare to create their final presentations.

Creating Research Presentations: Now the students should develop their presentation that
shows their answer to the central question. The format for their presentation will remain up to
them, so long as they address each part of the central question in a clear, concise, and
well-organized manner.

Lesson Ending:

Presentation Day: The students will now have the opportunity to present their final product to
the class. Presentations should clearly demonstrate that they have a firm grasp of the way
different authors introduce their characters, and that they are able to articulate these different
styles and the differences / similarities between them.

Resources / Artifacts:

Ebook:
Overview of content
Step by step instructions for project

https://read.bookcreator.com/J7pGQhTcDNNBLv6FEVbe6V8Bzca2/FKOgzSThSO6I3iC7bYdugQ

Sutori Presentation
Example of what would be expected of the students

https://www.sutori.com/story/j-k-rowling-maya-angelou

Differentiation:

1. Differentiation for ability levels

In order to ensure that everyone has the help and support they need, groups will be
made in such a way that each group consists of both high-ability and low-ability learners.
This way, the high-ability students can act as leaders or mentors for those low-ability
learners who may need a little extra help.

2. Differentiation for demographics

Socioeconomic Background: It is extremely likely that some of the students will have
come from lower class or poorer backgrounds, and might not have had much access to
literature beyond what they received in school. To accommodate for this, the instructor
should ensure that the assigned groups allow for those students of said background to
work alongside those students who are the more well-read of the class.

3. Differentiation for languages

Language barriers could pose a serious issue in any sort of group activity, but most
especially one in an English-oriented class. To accommodate for this, non-native speakers
in the classroom will be placed into groups with native speakers. Because this sort of
barrier could lead to slower progress, instructors should allow for extra time as necessary
to allow groups to properly complete the assignment.

4. Differentiation for access & resources

 In order to accommodate those students who may have limited to no access to internet,
computers, etc., the project will be open to things like posters or speeches, or other
things that the students could create without access to computers or Internet. Also, any
and all electronic resources used by the instructor will be available to the students in hard
copy upon request.

Anticipated Difficulties:

A few of the main difficulties that may arise with this project include a possible difficulty accessing
the technology needed to complete the project. If there are students that do not have access to
technology, we would be willing to work out the possibility of creating a poster presentation
rather than a powerpoint, or allowing students to work on a staff computer before or after school.

Another challenge may include one student taking on the workload of the entire project. The
purpose of the blog post is to prevent this from occurring since students will have to pull ideas for
this section individually. However, if a student is still unable to cooperate for group work
activities, said student may be asked to do the project alone to assure that they are drawing the
necessary conclusions from the project.