WhatMakes a Main Character
Adam Pyles
Objectives: Sixth Grade
Competency Goal 1 The learner will use language to express individualperspectives drawn from personal or related experience.
1.02 Explore expressive materials that are read, heard, and viewed by:
- generating a learning log or journal.
- discussing books/media formally and informally.
Competency Goal 2 The learner will explore and analyze information froma variety of sources.
2.01 Explore informational materials that are read, heard,and/or viewed by:
- reviewing the characteristics of informational works.
- determining the importance of information.
- making connections to related topics/information.
Competency Goal 5 The learner will respond to various literary genresusing interpretive and evaluative processes.
5.01 Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through ameaningful and comprehensive reading program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- discussing literature in teacher-student conferences and small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- discussing and analyzing the effects on texts of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, and flashback.
- interpreting text by explaining elements such as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style.
- investigating examples of distortion and stereotypes.
- recognizing underlying messages in order to identify recurring theme(s) across works.
TimeNeeded: This mini-lesson willtake about 20-30 minutes to complete
Purpose: The purpose of this mini lesson isto lay the groundwork for the readings that the student will be assigned, andalso any readings that the student does outside of class. Identifying the major parts of literary worksis a goal for middle grades students so that they may discuss and analyze themin an educated manner. The maincharacter is a crucial part of the literary form and once identification ismastered, it can then be used to identify other parts of writing such as plot (Ex.The story that revolves around the main character is the plot) orclimax (Ex. The pivotal point in the story for the main character is calledthe climax.).
Thismini-lesson would be best utilized at the beginning of the year before readingsare assigned. This ensures that everystudent is at the same point when they begin reading assignments. Also, by bringing in books of my ownchoosing, it displays my love for reading that will hopefully have a positiveeffect on my students.
Materials Required: The materialsrequired for this mini-lesson depend on the teacher’s taste. For this mini-lesson a teacher needs 3 to 5literature sources. These can be novels,short stories, fiction, non-fiction, or any literary source that contains agood example of a main character. Themain character should be easily recognizable, with their motives and thoughtsor feelings easily examinable. Theteacher also needs either a chalkboard or an overhead on which to write. The students need paper and pens or pencils.
Script: “All right guys, today we are going to look ata very important part of the literary world; the main character. Many of you probably already know how toidentify the main character in a story.This is great if you do, but it is best to be positive about thisidentification. Once we can identify themain character it is easier to recognize the other features of literary workssuch as climax, themes, and plot. Oncewe can do this, it will make writing fiction and nonfiction easier, and makereading more enjoyable. To begin, Iwould like for us to brainstorm about what a main character is and what makes astrong main character.”
Brainstorming- by the end the list needs to resemble:
A main character is: the central character of the story, the one that thereader follows through the story or account. The main character is usuallyinvolved in the problems of the tale, the climax, and its resolution.
What makes a good main character: easilyidentifiable, the central conflict revolves around them, he/she is interesting,makes you want to read about and learn more about him or her,
“Now that we have a good idea of what a main character is I want you tolist some of your own favorite main characters and tell us why. What makes them the main character? What characteristics make this character somemorable?”
Give them about five minutes.
“Now that we all have our list, would anyone like to share?”
List their characters and their traits on theboard. This list and the one from beforegives them something concrete to put in their notebooks about what makes a maincharacter. Sharing allows students tosee other characters that they may not have heard of, exposing them to moreliterature.
