Saturday, September 7, 2013

you’re quite a character!

We tackled the big question, “What is a Character?” last week. It seemed like a nice place to start at the beginning of the year, and it aligns perfectly with the Common Core and our Learning Goals!

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First, we read “Franklin Goes to School” This was the perfect read-aloud because there are MANY animals in the story, but not all of them are characters. So, we discussed what it means to be a character vs. an “extra” in a story. My kiddos decided that in order to be a character in a story you have to have “a part in the story and not just be in the background.” This was all THEIR thinking (not mine). I love when my students lead the discussions!

Then, I had a few students drew and labeled all of the characters they found This was a 100% student-led anchor chart, as well (my favorite kind).

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Then, I picked a few differentiated texts and had my kiddos read with me in a small group and they identified the characters in their own leveled-text on their own.

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Later on in the week, I introduced my kiddos to adjectives to get them ready to describe the physical traits of a character. I gave each of them a little slice of an apple, and then we went through each of the five senses and used adjectives to describe it.

We used this little poster to help us learn what adjectives are.

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Then, we recorded our adjectives on this little anchor chart.

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Afterwards, I explained that we can also describe the appearance (or outside) of a character. Then, we went on a little hunt around the classroom to find different characters! They worked with a partner to describe the appearance of each one.

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This rocker girl CRACKS ME UP! I wish I had taken a picture of the adjectives they used to describe her. They all were diggin’ the pink hair!

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We also used these organizers (they are differentiated) to help us describe the physical traits of the characters in our own stories.

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After spending some time on the outside (appearance) of a character, we were ready to take a closer look at the inside (feelings) of a character.

But, before diving into a text, we first discussed what feelings are and did a little feelings activity  (from my Writer’s Workshop packet) with the help of one of my favorite books, Yesterday, I Had the Blues. This book was PERFECT to use when teaching feelings and how certain colors portray different moods.

You can read it online by clicking below:

After reading the text, we brainstormed different feeling words for each color. Their words BLEW ME AWAY! 

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 Then, they wrote about how they were feeling today by writing, “Today I’ve got the….”

Their own voices really shined through with this activity!

This little friend wrote, “Today I’ve got the reds because I stayed up late last night.” Yikes!

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This one says, “Today I’ve got the yellows because I got to go to school.” Yipee!!

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This one says, “Today I’ve got the pinks and blues because I’m feeling happy and a little sad.” I love how this student expressed she was feeling more than one emotion.

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That little activity helped prepare us for identifying the feelings of characters in a story. We broke into small groups and I gave them a short story. I differentiated the texts so that all my students could be successful!

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Then, we used these organizers to help us describe the feelings of the character!

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Soon we will dig even deeper with character traits! I plan on using some of these organizers in the near future! I can’t wait!

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You can grab all of these “You’re Quite a Character” activities at my shop. Just click on the preview below.

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How do you teach your kiddos all about characters? Tell me all about it below!

16 comments:

  1. I don't even know where to begin. It's all brilliant!!

    ❤ -Stephanie
    Falling Into First

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  2. You make everything look so fantastic! Including my frames!

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  3. What a brilliant idea! Can I come be in your class?? ha You make everything so fun! That pack looks amazing!

    Elisabeth
    www.missdelk.blogspot.com

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  4. I love everything about this post!! Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas and taking such beautiful pictures of everything you do!

    I HAVE to have your Character Packet!

    Halle
    Across the Hall in 2nd Grade

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  5. WOW... you hit it out of the ball park with this post and packet. I love your differentiated stories. Thanks for the great pictures.

    Cindy
    Granny Goes to School

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  6. Absolutely LOVE your character study! Thanks for the description of what you do. It really got me excited to carry it out with my lils too!

    Samantha
    Tales of a #teachernerd

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  7. Lyndsey - This is adorable...you are so creative my friend! What a great idea and so appealing to kids they way you structured it. <3
    Vicky
    Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After

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  8. Okay...please don't take this the wrong way, but where have you been all my life! i love your blog and your ideas are wonderful! I'm spending all my lunch money in your TpT shop! ๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜œ

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  9. This stuff looks great! But where are you fitting all this good stuff in between the less than great (or even good) stuff from the county? Our poor first grade teachers have their "friends" stuff all over the place after hours of trying to decipher the county's unit...

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  10. Just "discovered" you thru Pinterest. I really wasn't thinking about next year yet (we still have 7 days in our district)--until I saw your pack for the beginning of the year, and now this! Now you've got me going . . . ;-)

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thanks for leaving some love