Lesson Overview:

How can I use the Elements of Fiction to enhance and develop my writing? Students will explore these themes in this lesson. Students will explore characterization as an element of fiction. They will learn how authors use characterization, dialogue, and point of view to reveal a character. They will then experiment with constructing characters of their own.

Length of Lesson:

Three 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• demonstrate the ability to write for the purpose of expressing personal ideas.
• explore the elements of fiction: setting, character and plot.
• write for a variety of audiences: peers, teachers, parents, school-wide community, and beyond.

Supplies:

• Ruled paper
• Pens and/or pencils
• Examples of vivid character descriptions from famous literary works, such as Great Expectations or David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

Instructional Plan:

Establish with students that characterization is one of the elements of fiction. (For the elements of fiction, see the ReadWriteThink lesson, Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction.) A character is a person or animal who takes part in the action of a work of literature. Generally, the plot of a short story focuses on one character—the main character. A story may also have one or more minor characters. They keep the action moving forward and help the reader learn more about the main character. A character is not usually described in a story all at one time. Rather, the information is given to the reader in pieces and clues throughout the story. Sometimes, however, it may be necessary to give a short sketch of your main character at or near the beginning of the story.

Characterization

Characterization is the use of literary techniques to reveal the nature of a character. A writer may reveal a character in four different ways. The writer may:

• describe the character's appearance.
• report the character's speech and behavior.
• describe the reactions of other characters to the individual.
• reveal the character's thoughts and feelings.

Most authors use a combination of methods. Refer to the handout, Revealing a Character: An Example, and read to students a passage in which all four techniques are used to characterize a girl named Kelly who is visiting Sally O'Brien, her best friend. In the passage, Mrs. O'Brien is Sally's grandmother.

Show the students the following statements, and have them point out the lines from the excerpt that prove the statement and name the method or methods of characterization used.

• Kelly has a ponytail.
• Kelly thinks that Mrs. O'Brien has a sour face.
• Kelly is concerned about Sally.
• Sally's mother was nice to Kelly.

Have students try one (or more) of the following writing assignments:

• Write a characterization of someone you know. Let the reader decide from your writing what kind of person you are describing. Show, do not tell.
• Create a character. Describe your character completely. Use details that help your readers imagine completely your creature or person.
• Describe a person or character whose physical appearance impressed you. The person may have been stunning, extraordinarily plain, physically challenged, cruel or sinister looking, etc. In what kind of mystery/riddle could the character be involved?

On each of several slips of paper, write five adjectives that might describe a person. Then divide the class into groups of four and give each group a list. Have each group create a character who illustrates its list of adjectives but without using the actual adjectives. Then have each group read its characterization aloud so other students can attempt to determine which adjectives the character exemplifies. If time allows, try a variation of this activity. Give every group a list of the same adjectives; the class could then analyze differences in the ways that different groups illustrated the same characteristics.

Charles Dickens excelled at creating vivid characters. Have students read the descriptions of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations or Mr. Micawber or Uriah Heep in David Copperfield, paying particular attention to Dickens's word choice and the other ways in which he revealed his characters.

As a further exercise, have students clip animal photographs from newspapers or magazines and write brief journal entries that seem to fit the postures or expressions.

Dialogue

Explain to students that dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters. Dialogue can reveal the moods and personalities of the characters:

"I came to tell you I'm sorry," said Jim.

"BE QUIET!" Nancy screamed.

Dialogue can also reveal who the characters are, and where:

"The one thing I hate about these trips," said Amanda, "is the cold. Each year the wind gets sharper and the air gets clammier. And my nose gets runnier. Next year I'm staying home."

"You can't do that," Becky answered. "People expect us to be out on this night."

"Well, there's no reason to travel like this. Everybody else flies in airplanes, with cushioned seats and food served on little trays. And movies. Why can't we have movies?"

"Be quiet, Amanda. How can you put a movie screen on a broomstick?" said Becky with a sniff.

Dialogue can tell you what's going on:

"Harold! Please get that parakeet out of my hair!"

"Yes, Mrs. Halloway, I'll try. But I think he has his foot caught in that comb thing on the back of your head."

Point out to students that different kinds of people use different kinds of speech. Also, a person's speech changes according to the situation. Speech reflects where the characters are living and when. For example, a girl of the Civil War period would not use twentieth-century slang. Distribute the student Writing Dialogue handout containing gudelines for writing dialogue and the choices for writing assignment topics. Students should complete one or more of the writing assignments outlined on the handout.

Point of View

Explain that "point of view" refers to the perspective from which a story is told. The writer chooses a narrator for every story. The narrator tells the story from either the first-person or the third-person point of view. The author's choice of narrator for a story determines the amount of information a reader will be given. The following are the four major points of view:

• first person: The narrator ("I") is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters.
• third-person objective: The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears.
• third-person limited: The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters.
• third-person omniscient: The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters.

The four passages that follow tell the same incident from different points of view. Notice how the amount of information given about each character depends upon the point of view used.

• As I placed the carefully wrapped package on the park bench, I looked up and saw Molly walking across the street. I hoped that she hadn't seen me. (first-person)
• As George placed the carefully wrapped package on the park bench, he looked up and saw Molly walking across the street. (third-person objective)
• George, anxiously hoping that no one was watching him, placed a carefully wrapped package on an empty park bench. When he looked around, he saw Molly watching him from across the street. (third-person limited)
• George, anxiously hoping that no one was watching him, placed a carefully wrapped package on an empty park bench. Molly, who was walking home, saw him and couldn't help thinking that he was acting strangely. (third-person omniscient)

Have students complete one or more of the following assignments (instructions also included on the accompanying Point of View Assignment handout):

• Write a piece of fiction based on an ancient or historical event. Imagine what the story behind this event might be. Write a paragraph of first-person narration. Use first-person pronouns to describe events and thoughts. Think of an exciting, funny, or special event in your own life. Describe the event from your point of view. Next, write a third-person paragraph about the event. This paragraph will use the pronouns he, she, it, or they to describe the event. How do the two paragraphs differ?
• Write a brief, first-person narrative of a teenager describing his or her test for a driver's license. In the first version, the narrator is telling a friend about the test; in the second, the narrator is the teenager's parents; in the third, it is the driver education teacher. (For this assignment, have students discuss the characteristics of each narrative, analyzing the different voices of the narrator.)
• Have you ever read a book or article written from the point of view of a plant or animal? What was your reaction? How was the effect different from what it would have been if the perspective were that of a human character? If your pet or the pet of someone you know well were to write a journal, what kinds of things might be included? What might an animal "comment on" that might not be noticed by humans? How might an animal understand everyday objects or events from the human world?
• Select an animal and write a journal entry for yesterday from the animal's point of view, without specifically mentioning what kind of animal is "writing" the entry. Read your entry to the class and see if they can guess what type of animal wrote the entry. As you read, you will need to portray the characteristics of the animal that you are dramatizing.

Assessment:

Assessment of student writing will occur through the social dynamics of the classroom (peer response, cooperative learning, student-teacher conferences, discussions, etc.). A scoring rubric and checklist will be developed with students to help evaluate their writing. See the Standards for Rubrics guide for reference.

Extensions:

Create a literary magazine for the class, where students’ drawings and stories can be published.

Sources:

Print:

• Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Penguin, 1998.
• Dickens, Charles David Copperfield. New York: Penguin, 1997.
• Gregory, Cynde. Childmade: Awakening Children to Creative Writing. Barrytown, NY, Station Hill Press, 1990.
• Hubert, Karen M. Teaching and Writing Popular Fiction. New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1976.
• Klugerman, Rita, et al. Globe Writing Program Book A. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Globe Book Company, 1989.
• Mellon, Nancy, Storytelling and the Art of Imagination, Rockport, MA: Element, Inc. 1992.
• Millet, Nancy C., and Raymond J. Rodrigues. Explorations in Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman and Company, 1989.
• Rico, Gabriele Lusser. Writing the Natural Way. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, Inc., 1983.
• Willis, Meredith Sue, Blazing Pencils. New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1990.
• Willis, Meredith Sue, Personal Fiction Writing. New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1984.
• "Writing." Delran, NJ: Weekly Reader Company; November 1993, December 1993, March 1994, April 1994, October 1994, March 1995, September 1995, April/May 1995, February 1996, and March 1996.

Web:

• ReadWriteThink: Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction
  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=138

Authors:

• Kathy Cook, Teacher
  Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet School
  Landover, MD