Character Traits through Inference

Whenever I teach a lesson, I try to combine as many different standards as I can.  For this particular lesson, I decided to combine what we had already learned about character traits with making inferences based on evidence in the text.

Our class novel, Tuck Everlasting , is filled with vivid descriptions of the various characters that lend themselves to deep inferences.  So I asked the students to think about a character that they connected with, and list 10 character traits that could be used to describe the character.  (They used this chart that we had previously glued into our journals from Read, Write, Think)

Once they had the list of character traits, the students had to list text evidence from the novel that supported their character trait inference, AND their own schema that led them to the inference.

After the list was complete, the students did two things.  First, they wrote a paragraph describing the character from the story using the character traits and the inferences.  I had them use this form (which you can download for free here) to help them really keep organized.  They also had to work to reference the text, direct quote, and list the schema to create a cohesive paragraph that adequately described the character.





Then, each student was given a little man cut out.  On it, they had to write the character trait in big letters.  Under that, the direct quote and the background knowledge schema was written.  This formed a visual representation of the paragraph.....that the kids really enjoyed making!

The final product was pretty neat looking, and made a nice, standards-based bulletin board!

How have you taught/reviewed character traits and inferring?

Mentor Text & Interactive Notebook Pages: The Perfect Combination!

Hi everybody! I'm April from Performing in Fifth, and I'm so excited to bring you a freebie for your 5th grade Reading block! I began using interactive notebooks during Reading, Writing, and Math in my classroom a couple of years ago. Interactive notebooks are a great way to allow students to be creative in the classroom, while taking notes that they can use all year! 

One of the issues I had when I first started using interactive notebooks during Reading time was that my notebook pages weren't necessarily filled with concrete examples. I had cute pages for theme, character traits, plot, and more, but none of the pages had examples from actual books. I love using novels in my classroom, but I needed something quick and easy to go with my interactive notebook mini-lessons.

After using Mentor Text in my classroom to model writing, it dawned on me that I could pair this same text with my interactive notebook pages to give great examples of the standard in a short, understandable story. Then, I could transfer this learning to different chapter books at differentiated levels for each student. Below is a free download of the mentor text mini-lesson for Common Core Standard RI.5.3. 

Do you use Mentor Text in your classroom?

New Year's Reading Resolutions

Looking for a fun (and easy) activity for your students after winter break? Have them set a goal of 13 books they hope to read in 2013. Use this cute printable to record the titles. Take them to the library to browse, or use the online card catalog from your classroom. This worksheet is open-ended, but you may also choose to set parameters or encourage students to try different genres.