GOAL:
To review the concept of character and ways to learn about character; to construct a character map
ASSIGNED READING:
Chapter 1, pp. 7-20
WRITING PROMPT:
Make a character map of Noah Gershom. This map should include physical characteristics, how he acts, what you know by what he says and thinks, how he feels, and relationships he has. Support your statements with brief examples from the text.
ONLINE PROMPT:
Use the Student Comment Form to share ideas and questions with your online peers. Check yesterday's Student Comments page to see if there are any comments you want to respond to.
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Review with the students the concept of round and flat characters.
Round Characters: Characters we get to know well. Round characters have a variety of traits that make them believable.
Flat Characters: Essential to the action, but not fully developed. Their function might be to show how the central character behaves or relates to others. Flat characters help make the setting believable. There are varying degrees of flat characters. For some, we will just hear their names. Others we will learn a bit more about.
Two types of flat characters often seen in narratives are stereotypes and foil characters. "Stereotypes have the few traits of a class or of a group of people" (Lukens, p. 46). "A Foil character is a character whose traits are in direct contrast to a principal character, and thus highlight the principal" (Lukens, p. 46). Examples of stereotypes in this story might be Nadia's or Noah's mom. Examples of foil characters could be Ham Knapp, Michael Froelich, and Jared Lord.
With students, focus on the fact that there are many flat characters in this story. Ask them to think about which are the most important to know.
Review with students how to find out about characters:
- By actions -- How a character acts tells a lot about him or her.
- By speech or thoughts -- Listen not only to what a character says, but also to the way he or she says it.
- By appearance -- The description of how a character looks will often tell about a character.
- By other characters' comments -- What do other characters (either flat or round) say about this character?
- By the author's comments -- When a story is written from the third-person point of view, the author will often shed light on a character by commenting directly about him or her.
Possible thoughts for discussion in community share:
- Superstition: maimed/wounded bride and groom on the top layer of the wedding cake (p. 15). Why didn't Noah tell Izzy about this? What is the significance?
- Noah wrote: "a B&B letter is giving just a few drops back to the bottle" (p. 20). What does he mean by this?
- Both Noah's mother and Tillie (at Century Village) speak of the "decline in Western Civilization." What do you think this means?
Today there may be some comments from other classrooms that students will want to respond to. Have students check the Student Comments page to see what their online peers have written. Then send them to the Student Comment Form to type their own messages.
Click to go to Lesson 3.
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