Reading Into Writing: On Character Development

In my reading and writing workshop this summer, I had my students pick books they want to read. I have four middle grade students and I meet them separately. In our meetings, we read, discuss and write our responses to their chosen book. We read aloud together. We think aloud together and in some cases, we argue. In the end, we learn together.

One of our favorite activities is the character map. We make a chart or a map of the character's journey. We use the Beginning-Middle-Ending framework as a final map but, in between reading of the chapters, we take note and become more aware of events, words and langauge that struck us while reading.

Here is a character map of "Lu" on Alvin, the main character in the middle grade novel, The Land Without Color by Benjamin Ellefson.

The simple character map was made over a period of six weeks. Lu and I discussed what Alvin is like with friends, with family and with strange people he met in the Land of Color. The discussion was done after reading the first parts of the novel. In one sentence, I asked Lu to write Alvin's remarkable characteristics.

Towards the middle part of the novel, after several slides and notes on our responses to the story, we took a pause and sorted out the exciting adventures Alvin was having at the Land of Color. I then aske Lu to write 2-3 sentences of the changes he observed of Alvin when interacting with other characters and in making decisions. A few days ago, we finished the book and as one of the closing or culminating activity, I asked Lu to describe what became of Alvin in the end. 

After making the character map, I challenged Lu to write one paragraph that shows the character development of Alvin. Using the sentences he wrote on the graphic organizer, he was able to write a description of Alvin.

My next activity for Lu is to improve the paragraph he has written.

Online Author Visit: Character Development and The Hero's Journey at the Beacon School

I have always been fascinated with The Hero's Journey (John Campbell, 1949) as a framework for understanding and writing stories as well as developing character. Based on the writings of John Campbell, the Hero's Journey is a pattern that is present in all myths and religions of the world. Many writers and storytellers make use of it to craft stories and works of fiction. Thus, in my Author Visit at the Beacon School a few weeks ago, I started the grade 8 students with a priming activity on The Hero's Journey.

Good timing! According to the English Teacher, they are to begin with Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing where characters are flawed and blessed with the will to overcome them. The Hero's Journey, though plot driven focuses on the character and how he/she responds to events and people of his/her world.

For my input session, I first defined what I believe stories are and moved on to present the Hero's Journey connecting it to my views as an author. I then presented a compressed framework I use to develop character. For this, I made use of Nico, Daddy Elephant, Ate and Ino putting emphasis that what they go through is either determined by events and their relationship with other characters. I ended my session with three tasks that students can do on their own.

A few hours after, I received an email from the English teacher and the school's librarian saying how inspired everyone was to begin their own stories. This feedback from the learning community is a ray of light in this difficult time.

Let's carry on!