Building Characters in Personal Narratives
Year 8 English Lesson 3: Exploring Personal Narratives WALT: Explore how characters are developed in personal narratives
WALT & Success Criteria
WALT: Explore how characters are developed in personal narratives Success Criteria: Describe at least two methods of character development Explain character traits and motivations with textual evidence Create a simple character profile for a personal story
What Makes Characters Memorable?
Think about your favorite book or movie character What makes them interesting to you? How do you learn about who they are?
Two Key Methods of Character Development
Method 1: Direct Description The narrator explicitly tells us about character traits Method 2: Character Actions and Dialogue Character's behavior and speech reveal who they are Both methods help readers understand personality and motivation
Text Analysis Activity
Work in pairs to read the provided text excerpts Identify examples of direct description Find examples where actions or dialogue reveal character Be ready to share your findings with the class
Character Analysis Framework
{"left":"Character Traits (What are they like?)\nActions (What do they do?)\nDialogue (What do they say?)","right":"Motivations (Why do they act this way?)\nPhysical Description\nInternal Thoughts"}
Create Your Own Character Profile
Develop a character for your personal narrative Include: Name and basic description Three character traits with supporting evidence Character motivations or goals Extension: Add potential conflicts or challenges
Reflection & Next Steps
Share one new thing you learned about character development today How will you use these techniques in your own writing? Homework: Draft a personal narrative focusing on character development