Character Exploration Roleplay

Lesson Overview

Unit: Exploring Literary Journeys
Lesson Number: 4 of 4
Duration: 45 minutes
Class Size: 6 students
Curriculum: Curriculum Framework for Junior Cycle English (IE) adapted for ASD learners in LCA and L2 programmes

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Learning Objectives

• Literacy and Personal Effectiveness
  • Engage with texts by identifying character traits, emotions, and motivations ([Junior Cycle English Specification, Reading Strand])
  • Develop oral communication through role play and collaborative dialogue ([Oral Language Development])
  • Produce creative written responses grounded in character understanding ([Writing Strand])
• Key Competencies aligned with the IE Curriculum:
  • Managing myself: Demonstrate self-awareness and confidence in role play activities
  • Communicating: Express ideas clearly through oral and written modes
  • Being creative: Apply imagination and empathy to parse character perspectives
  • Staying well: Develop emotional literacy by exploring characters’ feelings and motivations

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Success Criteria

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Clearly identify and describe key characters from Illegal, citing motivations and emotions (orally and written).
• Actively participate in role play, embodying chosen characters with appropriate language and tone.
• Compose character-driven dialogue entries that reflect their understanding of character personality and situation.
• Demonstrate positive peer interaction and communication throughout the activity.

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Resources

• Copies of selected key passages from Illegal (dyslexia-friendly format with font size 14, coloured backgrounds, and simplified text where needed)
• Character summary sheets with visuals
• Role play scenario cards
• Lined paper and pens for dialogue writing
• Quiet classroom corner for students who may feel overwhelmed during role play
• Visual timer

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Warm-up discussion: In a calm circle, ask students what they remember about the main characters in Illegal. Use a visual character map on the board to prompt ideas.
• Introduce success criteria clearly in simple language and display on board with symbols for accessibility.
• Check understanding by asking students to signal (visual/auditory) if they feel ready to explore characters in depth.

2. Character Identification and Motivation (10 minutes)

• Provide dyslexia-friendly character summary sheets.
• In pairs, students review a character and discuss their motivations and feelings using sentence starters:
  • “I think [character] wants to…”
  • “[Character] feels… because…”
• Circulate to scaffold and support verbal expression, particularly for mixed ability.
• For L2/LCA learners with higher ability, encourage them to add one “hidden motivation” or unstated feeling of the character.

3. Role Play Exploration (20 minutes)

• Explain the role play activity: Each student picks or is assigned a character. They will enact a brief scripted scenario (using role play cards) showcasing character interaction, e.g., a conflict or decision moment from Illegal.
• Group divides into pairs or threes: students practise role play with teacher support and cue cards for dialogue prompts if needed.
• Encourage use of tone, facial expression, and body language — support sensory needs by allowing movement breaks or quiet zones if overwhelmed.
• Monitor each pair and provide gentle prompting, modelling empathetic communication if necessary.
• Extension (advanced learners): Improvise a new scene where characters must work together to solve a problem from the book.

4. Creative Dialogue Writing (8 minutes)

• Students write a diary entry or letter from their character’s perspective, describing what happened in the role play scenario or how they feel afterward.
• Provide writing frames and example sentences for support; advanced learners encouraged to add descriptive language and internal conflict.

5. Reflection and Wrap-up (2 minutes)

• Quick group share: each student reads one line or sentence from their written piece.
• Refer back to success criteria and ask students to self-assess with a thumbs up/thumbs sideways/thumbs down.
• Praise effort and highlight good empathic understanding or inventive language use observed.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Pair students strategically to balance communication strengths and needs.
• Offer visual prompts and sentence starters for all oral and written tasks.
• Allow oral recording of diary entries for students who struggle with writing.
• Provide sensory breaks and a quiet space for students needing decompression during role play.
• Advanced learners receive open-ended tasks and opportunities to create improvised dialogue.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation: Teacher notes student engagement, oral contributions, use of character understanding in role play.
• Written task assessed for evidence of character voice, empathy, and motivation comprehension.
• Peer feedback encouraged using simple language prompts, e.g., “I liked when you…”

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Extension Activities

• Create a comic strip or storyboard of an alternative ending for a scene, showing character reactions.
• Write a monologue or short speech from a minor character’s viewpoint not explored in the lesson.
• Explore creating digital character profiles with images and voice recordings using a simple app, integrating ICT skills.

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This lesson blends creative drama with tailored literacy supports, embedding IE Curriculum competencies essential for ASD mixed ability students in senior LCA/L2 classes, ensuring accessibility, engagement, and cognitive challenge.