La Jolla High School
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Sketching a Portrait--Characterization
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is known for rich character development. Expose your class to indirect characterization and all that it involves with this activity. Learners look at quotes, determine what method of characterization is...
Curated OER
Characterization Worksheet
Use any story with this characterization worksheet! On the first page is a graphic organizer that encourages the reader to look for examples of direct characterization. On page two, read about direct and indirect characterizations,...
Curated OER
Direct and Indirect Characterization
How does an author develop his or her characters? Using the short story "On the Bridge" by Todd Strasser, readers study character development by looking for examples of both direct and indirect characterization. They plot these points on...
Curated OER
Semicolons and Commas Review
Young grammarians review the proper usage of colons and semicolons in writing. Given a list of sentences, they determine which are direct characterizations and which are indirect characterizations. They also decide where the punctuation...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Show What Your Mind Sees
This writing activity asks writers to make use of both showing and telling as they create a well-organized paragraph of description. After reviewing showing versus telling by building a writer's notebook page, each writer will show what...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
After hearing and discussing an excerpt from Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, students will plan to create a unique description of a character that uses memorable actions that "show" a person's character. They will brainstorm verbs that...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Characterization Lesson
This learning module incorporates materials to support the instruction of characterization approaches that are used by authors. A PowerPoint lesson on characterization is available. An additional lesson plan on the topic of...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Character Traits Project
In this learning module, students will learn more about learn more about character traits. Directions and rubrics for a group project are provided to reinforce the understanding of character traits. This module is designed to support...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Implicit Character Traits Worksheet
In this learning module, students will practice making inferences about character traits. A worksheet is provided to practice with finding implicit character traits. This module is designed to support Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III students.
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Characterization Group Project
In this learning module, students will learn more about characterization. Worksheets are provided to reinforce the understanding of character traits. This module is designed to support Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III students.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Development of Characters Through Literary Devices
This lesson focuses on how writers develop characters through a variety of techniques: narration, dialogue, interaction with other characters, interaction with setting, and character's thoughts.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Determining Methods of Characterization [Pdf]
A brief organizer in which students can document how a character in literature is presented, through either direct or indirect characterization. Provides labels, examples, and sections for textual support.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Indirect vs. Direct Characterization
This lesson introduces indirect (learn about the characters through speech, thoughts, actions, physical description, other character's feelings) and direct characterization (author tells the reader about the character) in fiction...