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I can determine a character’s traits by drawing on Primary: RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits,
specific details in a text. motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute
to the sequence of events.
Secondary: RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis
for the answers.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING MATERIALS
Tuesday Jan. 23 Good readers look carefully at a character’s words and actions in order to determine their
Introduction & character traits. Often characters change throughout the story as they work to solve their
Establish Purpose problems. A character often has positive and negative traits that can both help and hinder
their ability to find a resolution. When we think of character trait, we can also relate it to a
Connect with Prior Learning character “habits of mind”. As we read, we will think about Chike’s action when faced with
challenges in order to determine which habit of mind he display and whether this helped or
hinder him in solving his problem.
Show them exactly how to Remind students that character trait describes how a character is like on the inside;
do it. Read and think aloud how they usually behave.
while they watch, or
demonstrate exactly what
Show students the graphic organizer they will use to help them gather details that Commented [J2]: Scholars tracked along with me as I
you want them to do. completed a think a loud and recorded my thinking on the graphic
they can use to make an inference about Chike’s character trait in order to answer organizer.
the focus question of the week “How do Chike’s character traits help or hinder him
from solving his problem?”
Text Evidence (Chpt. 11) Chike’s Character Trait How do Chike’s character
traits help or hinder him
from solving his problem
of crossing the Niger?
As readers, we use key details in the text to better understand information being
presented to us. Pay close attention to the main points the author is presenting
(Chike’s words and actions). We will use this information to make an inference about
Chike’s character trait.
After identifying Chike’s character traits, we will think about how his trait will either
help him or prevent him from solving his problem of crossing the Niger River. Is he
displaying persistence, bravery, or confidence? Or is he afraid, shy or cautious? We
will use the trait we identify to support our inference.
Now that we have read chapter 11, lets stop and think about some of Chike’s words Commented [J3]: I emphasized that in order to truly
understand the prompt and answer it correctly, students have to
and actions that will help us identify his character trait (discuss the main details from stop and think about what they read.
chpt. 11)
On page 53 and 54 we read that:
-The bicycle was for adults and was too high for Chike but he made rapid progress
-Chike adopted the monkey-style; he rode standing on the pedals
-after one week of practice Chike was able to ride long distance without falling
-Although Chike was doubtful, he agreed to try riding his bike on one of the less busy
roads and he did very well
Text Evidence (Chpt. 11) Chike’s Character Trait How do Chike’s character
traits help or hinder him
from solving his problem
of crossing the Niger?
-The bicycle was for
adults and was too high
for Chike but he made
rapid progress
-Chike adopted the
monkey-style; he rode
standing on the pedals
-after one week of
practice Chike was able to
ride long distance without
falling
-Although Chike was
doubtful, he agreed to try
riding his bike on one of
the less busy roads and
he did very well
Now that we have recorded the main details from chapter 11, let us stop and think
about the character trait that we can use to describe Chike. Remember that
character traits are words (adjective) that describe how a character is on the inside.
You can say that a character trait is a person “habit of mind”, how a person is
inclined to act. In order to determine Chike’s habit of mind, you have to ask yourself,
“what are his actions and how are his actions either helping him or hindering him
from solving his problem?” Commented [J4]: I emphasized to students that a character’s
action s can help a reader make it inference about how that
character may act under a similar situation.
-One character trait that can be used to describe Chike is determined. Chike Commented [J5]: Students were in agreement with me that
continued riding his bike until he was good at it. He did not give up but stuck to the Chike was demonstrating determination (students use
determination and persistence interchangeably. They eagerly
plan until he accomplished his goal. nodded their head to show that they understood. I completed a
check for understanding by asking scholars to put their thumbs
down if they did not agree that Chike demonstrated persistence. All
-Chike was also resourceful. Although the bike was too big for Chike, he thought of a thumbs went up to show that they understood.
way to still ride it
Now that we have recorded Chike’s character traits, let’s think about the answer to the focus
question “How do Chike’s character traits help or hinder him from solving his problem of
crossing the Niger?”
-We stated that Chike was persistent because he continued to practice riding the bike until
he was good at it. Being persistent will help Chike solve his problem because it will push him
to keep trying to find ways to get the money he needs to pay for the ferry.
-We also stated that he was resourceful. Chike’s resourcefulness will allow him to think of
creative ways to raise the money he needs to cross the Niger River.