Lesson Plan

Date: February 14, 2017

Subject: ELA 20 Grade: 11
Topic: Essential Question (from unit, if applicable): How to write a character sketch

Materials:
Sample character sketch
Paper and writing utensils
To Kill a Mockingbird

Stage 1- Desired Results you may use student friendly language

What do they need to understand, know, and/or able to do?
Students will be able to write a descriptive character sketch for one of the main
characters of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Broad Areas of Learning:

Life Long Learners: Students are reflective and peer assess during the activity. Students
will collaborate with each other in comparing their characters.

Cross-Curricular Competencies:
Develop Thinking: Students will develop thinking by learning to critically analyze peer
writings and self assess
Develop Literacies: Students will develop literacies by scanning the text for symbolism
and metaphor to construct a character sketch.

Outcome(s):
CR20.1 View, listen to, read, comprehend, and respond to a variety of grade-appropriate
First Nations, Mtis, Saskatchewan, Canadian, and international texts that address:
- identity (e.g., Relationships with Family and Others);
- social responsibility (e.g., Evolving Roles and Responsibilities); and
- social action (agency) (e.g., The Past and the Present).

CC20.4 Create a variety of written informational (including an essay of explanation of a

process, an application letter and rsum, and an argumentative or a persuasive essay)
and literary (including a reflective or personal essay and an analysis of a literary text)
communications.

PGP Goals:
2.2 proficiency in the Language of Instruction
2.4 ability to use technologies readily, strategically and appropriately

Stage 2- Assessment
Assessment FOR Learning (formative) Assess the students during the learning to help
determine next steps.
Can they find quotes from the novel that are direct evidence of their interpretation of the
character they have chosen? Are they connecting symbolism and underlying text to
make accurate assumptions about the character?

Assessment OF Learning (summative) Assess the students after learning to evaluate

what they have learned.
They will hand in their character sketch with at least two quotes from the character, or
about the character, with their analysis of the quotes. They will hand in their
brainstorming sheet, along with their paragraph(s) written about the character. They
will be marked for understanding of the character. See attached rubric.

Stage 3- Procedures:
Motivational/Anticipatory Set (introducing topic while engaging the students)
I will begin the lesson by asking the students who has ever written a character
sketch? If no one has Ill ask them to guess what they think one is. I will ask
them if they know the difference between a character sketch and character
analysis. I will then show them an example character sketch (from a different
novel) as an example for what I expect them to be doing.

Main Procedures/Strategies:
I will give the students a few guiding questions to start thinking about how to write a
detailed and descriptive character sketch.
First you must get inside the head of your character writing a character sketch is about
asking and answering questions: for example if you say Scout is impulsive, you must ask
why? What has she done to prove that she is impulsive? Start with questions such as:
what is the character like physically? Although these details may not seem important in
the beginning, they usually prove to show us unwritten text to give the reader insight
about the psychology of the character.
What is your character doing? Helps you understand the characters relationship to the
setting of the story. If Scout is at school, what is she doing at school? Beating someone
up? Bashfully speaking to the teacher? Standing up for another child?
What is your character feeling and/or how are they acting? Are they a happy person,
mad, depressed etc.? Why?
For each statement must have 1 or 2 quotes from the novel that support it.
Show an example of a character sketch: topic sentence: (Character) from the
novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a very _____ person.
Expansion sentence: (Character) shows that he or she is a ________ person when he or
she (example 1) and (example 2).
Proof 1 & 2: context, lead in, quotation, analysis: You must then provide 2 pieces
of proof. It is not enough to say someone is depressed because they are crying. Why
are they crying? What other indications about their personality would make them seem
depressed? Use a quote from the novel to support your statement.
Concluding sentence: therefore, _____ shows that they are depressed when he or she
(example 1) and (example 2)
Give them a brainstorming hand out to complete this will guide their actual character
sketch later.

Closing of lesson:
Give them their rubric and tell them what they will be evaluated on ( At the end of the
lesson they should have their character sketch complete. They will keep this with them
to reference when we have gotten further in the novel when they must complete a full
character analysis.

Personal Reflection:

*Adapted from Understanding by Design (McTighe and Wiggins, 1998)

Character Sketch Brainstorming Sheet

Character: ________________________

Possible Character Traits (list as many as you can think of):

Choose your two best traits.

Trait #1: ___________________ Trait #2: _______________________

Now find quotations from the story that prove your character trait. Youneedtwoper
trait! Make sure to copy down the authors last name and page number to cite your
quotation.

Trait #1 Quotation #1: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ ( )

Trait #1 Quotation #2: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________( )

Trait #2 Quotation #1: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________( )
Trait #2 Quotation #2: _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________( )

CharacterSketchPlanningSheet

TopicSentence:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

ExpansionSentence:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

ContextforQuotation#1:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Quotation#1:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ ( )

Analysis:(How/Whydoesitprovethecharactertrait):

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Transitionwordused:_______________________

ContextforQuotation#2:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Quotation#2:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ ( )

Analysis:(How/Whydoesitprovethecharactertrait):

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

ConcludingSentence:(Remembertouseatransitionwordtobegin)

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________