Character analysis is a big piece of the literary analysis component in response to text compositions. This lesson uses an excerpt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I began annotating the sample to find text evidence of his character traits and personal characteristics. After we walked through the page together, underlining in pencil, I asked the students to write the questions they thought the author might ask himself to generate these responses. They wrote those on the paper and then color-coded the answers in the text.
From there, they wrote a descriptive segment about Willy Wonka. It was a lot of fun, and I love how their own creativity and voice came out in their pieces. I think some are even better than the book! This is all included in one of my favorite lessons of the month. Download it here if you don't have it yet!
Next up... Have students choose their favorite book character from a classroom text or chapter book and repeat the process!
