Rachel R.

Partridge
7th Grade LA Tiered Lesson: Characterization
NC Standard 5.01

Key Concept: Developing characters using indirect and direct

characterization.

Generalization: Students will work together according to

learning preferences to understand the characterization process.

Background: Students have read a variety of literature, both fiction and

non- fiction that tell stories. They are working on characterization technique and
building on what they have observed in the literature.

This lesson is tiered in process according to learning profile (Gardner's Intelligences are
used for the profile categories).

Scenario: You have just received a letter from a big Television producer. She has
heard about your skills in creating characters. You are highly sought after because you
create characters that appeal to the audience because of how much time you put into
making the character believable. Your job is to create a character using your prior
knowledge AND what you know about characterization. You will each be selected to
enter a Tier. Please follow the criteria stated in the Tier to help you be ready to show
the producer just why people know you as the character guru!

Tier I: Interpersonal Learners

These students prefer learning that involves dialogue with others concerning the
material to be learned. If you are in this group, you need to discuss what makes a
character tick. How do you want the character to be understood by their interactions
with others? What kinds of things would the character need to do or say so that this
characters personality and relationships can best be understood. Collaborate on
creating a character that includes these parts. Discuss the general actions and dialogue
and combine your brainstorming to create on character. Write three paragraphs that
introduce the character in such a way that audience will be able to tell what the
personality of this character is like. Discuss what needs to happen to make the story flow
better. This writing "by committee" is meant to show strengths and weaknesses of
collaboration in writing. It will also serve as a check and balance for what you know and
what you do not know about how a character’s interactions with others help us infer
information about that character. (Four people per group (maximum) allows for work to
take place both in dyads and as a foursome. If more people have this learning
preference, I will create more than one group for this profile).

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Tier II: Visual /Spatial
(Materials available: poster paper, crayons, and markers)
People in this group will work independently. These learners work best when able to
consider the environment or setting of the story. These learners will have to create a
concept character and then design an environment to be used to help show what the
character is like. The people in this group will be in charge of set design. Students in
this group will have the choice of the following areas of the set to design:
• The movie setting: draw a picture that shows the environment of where the movie
is going to take place. Make sure to take into consideration to show how this
setting is affecting your character. For example, a New York skyline, the beach
and so on.
• The place where your character lives: draw a detailed sketch of the place where
your character is living. Is it a cabin in the mountains, a beach house? Will you
draw the exterior or interior?

Tier III: Linguistic

These students often think in words. Students in this group will work together to create
a short Teleplay using dialogue. This will show the audience what the character is like.
These students need to decide if they will use direct characterization or indirect
characterization or both to introduce the character’s traits. Hint: remember that
audiences want to know what the character is thinking, but also like some surprises!
The Teleplay should be about three pages of dialogue. Hint: Monsters Are Due on
Maple Street is a Teleplay.

Assessment: Other groups that attend to other learning preferences (according to

Gardner's Intelligences) can be included in a variety of tiers for this lesson. Each group
is working on a very different task, but all groups are working on the same techniques of
narration. Therefore, each group must be assessed separately according to the criteria
for the specific response of the learning profile. Depending on how large the class is,
how many groups exist in each learning profile, and any other variables, students may
wish to share with others of their like learning profile or as a whole class in a celebration
of variety of expression in understanding narrative technique.

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Mrs. Partridge
7th Grade Language Arts
CHARACTERIZATION ANCHORING ACTIVITY

This activity is to be accomplished when you finish working in your tiered groups. You
should get busy on the task you select as soon as you get settled and I have assessed your
activity. You are expected to complete one task that you choose.

Directions: Look over ALL of the choices listed below. Select ONE to complete. Get
your supplies together and start right away. Please be ready to share your ideas.

1. Be a Researcher—

o Get a sheet of paper and fold it in half (horizontally)

o Use as many resources as possible that are available in this
room to help you decide what characterization means.
o Circulate around the room and talk with your classmates.
Find out what 3 other people think characterization means and record
your answers.
o Your goal is to have at least three definitions of the term “characterization”
and three classmates’ opinions of what the term “characterization” means.
o Return to your seat and decide the two best answers to share. One answer
needs to be from your research and one from a classmate.

2. Be an Organizer—
o Find a partner to work with
o Your job is to survey the room to determine who is in here
o You must then prepare a chart organizing the members of
this group based on characterization elements. Remember to
define what aspects or parts of characterization there are
before you begin.
o Record you answers on a chart. You might evaluate the group by
individual style. Hint:

1. You might evaluate the individual’s character by favorite subject/least

favorite subject.
2. You might evaluate the individual’s character by interests/hobbies.
3. You might evaluate individual’s character based on appearance or style.

3. Be a Thinker—
o Get a sheet a paper and fold it in half (vertically)
o Spend at least one minute thinking about the idea of indirect
and direct characterization
o Make a list of all the purposes you can think of for why an
author would use either direct characterization or indirect
characterization (try to come up with a list of 10-20 things).
o When you have your list made, circulate around the room and try to get
new ideas to add to your list. Write the ideas from others on the bottom
half of you paper.
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o Return to your seat and decide on which things are positive and negative.
Mark them a plus or minus. Decide on two positive examples to share
with the class.