The kiddos spent this week developing their main characters. The idea is that you have to have this character so well developed that you "know" them inside and out. We used Tacky the Penguin and Wodney from Hooway for Wodney Rat a good bit for this. Based on personality, we discuss what their favorite games, books, colors, etc. would be.
This was pretty fun. Here's what they came up with:
Tacky-
Favorite game: Twister
Favorite color: Tie dye
When he grows up: Circus Clown
Favorite Sport: Cannonball Diving
Wodney-
Favorite game: Solitaire
Favorite color: Beige
When he grows up: Librarian
Favorite Sport: None, would just get picked on
The point was, even though none of this was in the books, we "knew" the characters well enough to make these decisions. They had to get to know their character just as well. So, we worked on this allll week long:
Click on image to download.
I model with a character of my own. Do some of them have characters slightly similar to mine? Yep, but I'm okay with that. For struggling writers, this is going to be a challenge, so if they need a little more support that's fine, too.
The Heart of the story is an important section. It's how I trick them into have a real story, with a real problem, and a real ending. Muahahahaha. That was supposed to be tricky laughter. It's reading more evil though. Anyway, everyone creates a character that is different in some way that others perceive negatively. Then, we're going to pull a Helen Lester trick and have that difference solve a problem in the story. Smart, right? We're going to plan next week, and I'll share more then.
Here's how I grade it:
Click on image to download.