Comparing Characters Lesson Plan

Ellie Papageorge

Comparing characters

edTPA Reading Lesson

Rhetorical Situation: This lesson plan will work for any grade. I’ve incorporated To Kill A Mockingbird as the novel for this model of this lesson plan, but any novel, short story, poem, etc. will do.

Professional Preparation:

Skill to be taught: The comparing and contrasting of characters

Learning objective: Teaching the students to notice different similarities and differences of characters in the novel

Explicitly stated rule: All characters have similarities and differences, but some characters have so many similarities and differences that there is no way around comparing them. The same thing can be said about comparing families as a whole.

Logistics of Lesson:

Academic Language Required: Compare, contrast, Venn diagram, think critically, and discuss

Relevance: Students need to start comparing characters in To Kill a Mockingbird because it will make the process of doing so as the book progresses a lot easier and more enjoyable. This will also help them to better make inferences and predictions about how the characters and their actions will progress through the novel.

Learning Tasks:

1.     While having students jot down notes on character traits they notice about the Finches and the Cunninghams, read chapter one aloud to the class pausing wherever you see fit to ask for comments and questions

2.     Ask the students if they notice any characters that are comparable  

3.     As a class, come to the consensus of the explicitly stated rule and agree that the Cunninghams and Finches are families that inevitably need to be compared and contrasted

Active Practice:

1.     Hand out a worksheet with a Venn diagram for students to compare and contrast the Cunninghams and Finches. On a separate worksheet, there are questions for them to answer in regard to numerous characters and points of the chapter as well. Give the students 15-20 minutes to complete this.

2.     Come together as a class and create a giant Venn diagram on the board while having students add to their own Venn diagrams.

3.     As a class, discuss the questions at the end of the worksheet.

Extension: For homework, have students create a Venn diagram using what they learned in class to compare other characters from the chapter (give them options to choose from).

Informal Assessment: Attentively listen to what the students have to say in discussion and walk around the class to view their Venn diagrams. Also, check their homework the next day.

Accommodations for special learners:

·      Reading the novel aloud allows both visual and auditory learners to learn their best.

·      Giving students 15-20 minutes to work on their worksheet allows certain students with IEPs to not feel too rushed and/or overly stressed.

              Finches           Cunninghams