While we explored the goal of character development, we focused on the comprehension skills of inferring and synthesizing. Inferring is an important skill for readers because it allows them to make meaning of what the author is implying ant not explicitly stating. Synthesizing is a key reading skill for students because it is important that they pull out key portions of a story, resulting in a better understanding of themes and ideas. Based on Home of the Brave, we felt that the sequenced skills listed below were imperative for students to grapple with.

Please feel free to use the printable lesson links provided below in your own classroom!

1. Feelings Change (6.4)

2. The Influences on Character (6.17)

3. Conflict Brings Complexity (6.20)

4. Out of Character Character (6.16)

• Although we did not develop a lesson plan for this strategy, the idea of this strategy is to help students recognize when a character behaves in an unusual way. The students will learn to compare what the character does or says in the present versus past future scenes. The students will determine whether the behavior is temporary or a real change and then form an idea on the character based on these actions (Serravallo, 2015).