Unit 1: ChAracters Inside Out

English 8

Characters Inside Out

In this unit of study, students will explore the facets of character development and interpretative response, including recognizing the insights that characters gain and that ultimately result in their change over time. The study of characters includes a look at the connections between mankind's universal strengths and weaknesses and how they are often represented in the characters built by reflective and thoughtful authors. The unit concludes with the creation of an original piece of literary fan fiction.

Enduring Understandings

Characters in literature represent mankind's universal strengths and weaknesses.
Fictional characters reflect real and authentic human experiences.
Deeper awareness of characters creates a greater understanding of the world.

Essential Questions

What can we learn from a fictional character?
Do I see people I know, including myself, in fictional characters?
What is the language used by readers when they discuss characters?
What effect does the character have on the text?

Key Unit Experiences

Self-Selected Reading & Library Visits

We will visit the library every 3 weeks in class and read in class daily. Be sure to bring your books!

Language Study

Language Study skills of focus for this unit include subject/verb agreement, prepositional phrases, capitalization, comma usage, and spelling.

Writing Territories

This experience establishes the ongoing process of writer’s workshop that will carry throughout the year. Students will gather writing topics in their writer’s notebooks for continual, ongoing revision.

Character Quick-Writes

During these on-going writing experiences, students connect their understanding of character to their creative writing with a series of literary response prompts used as pre-writes for the unit CAP.

Character Study: Picture Books

This series of lessons establishes the language of character, personality words, reading the art in picture books, speaking/listening skills, providing constructive feedback, using direct/indirect characterization, concept of theme, and interpretive writing with thesis. Emphasis is placed on moving from the concept of theme to thesis, which will be foundational work for the remainder of the year.

Characters in Poetry: “Dear Character” Response

Using two poems, students will analyze the author’s use of character with a focus on student self-monitoring of comprehension. The lesson concludes with students composing a letter placing a character in a new situation.

Character Study: The Transall Saga

Students will use an inquiry-based approach to reading the novel The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen with comprehension and interpretation work, a focus on characterization and character analysis, and student-selected vocabulary study. The experience synthesizes learning through a short interpretive response.

Culminating Assessment Project (CAP) - Fan Fiction

At the end of this unit of study, students will be asked to create a piece of fan fiction. The prompt is as follows:

You have been recently hired as a creative writer for a new website devoted to fan fiction. Your editor has requested that you create new content for the website launch. After you have composed your piece, you are going to pitch it to a panel of your peers to determine if it should be included in the website.

To be successful on this assignment, students will need to be able to do the following things well:

listen, speak, and discuss using appropriate grade-level skills (8.1 A, C)
use comprehension skills, make personal connections, and make inferences (8.5 D, E, F, H)
respond to sources that you read, heard, and viewed (8.6 A, B, D, E, G, H)
analyze literary elements across texts (8.7 A, B, C, D)
use the writing process to compose and revise/edit for appropriate conventions (8.10 A; Bi, C, D, E)
use genre characteristics and craft to compose texts (8.11 A)

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