When you walked into class you were handed an index card with a well known character’s name on it. DON’T tell anyone what character you have. Take out.

MUSTANG MINUTE

• When you walked into class you were handed an index card with a well known character’s name on it. DON’T tell anyone what character you have.

• Take out your Writer’s Notebook and write today’s date at the top of the page. Today’s date is 8/27/15.

• Now I want you to write about the first day of school as if you were the character on your index card. If you are having a hard time coming up with ideas. Answer the following questions:• What did you wear the first day of school?• What kinds of classes are you taking?• Were you nervous or excited about the first day of school?

• You shouldn’t reveal who your character is in your writing.

CHARACTERIZATIONThe process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

5 TRAITS OF CHARACTERIZATION

• 1. Appearance: how the character physically looks. (tall, strong, tired, short, tall)

• 2. Actions: what the character does. (laugh, cry, flies, runs)

• 3. Thoughts and Feelings: how the character feels or what they think (happy, curious, jealous, in love)

• 4. Reactions/Interactions: how other characters interact and respond to the character. (scared, happy, in love with)

• 5. Speech: what the character says and how they say it (talk too much, don’t talk a lot, have an accent)

CHARACTERIZATION SONG

Appearance is the way they look,

Actions are the path they took.Thoughts and feelings show

they care,Reactions might not all be fair,Speech is what the people say,

With this song I’ll get an A!

WHY ARE CHARACTERS IMPORTANT TO THE

STORY?• Every character in a story plays an important role.• The characters in a story help create different

types of conflicts and make the story interesting.• Characters interact with other characters to

create conflict.

WHO IS THIS?

APPEARANCE?

ACTIONS?

THOUGHTS & FEELINGS

INTERACTIONS AND REACTIONS?

SPEECH?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4dDbAfFYF0

• What else can tell about Scooby Doo from watching this clip?

NO SCOOBY DOO?

• How would the TV show change if there was no Scooby Doo?

Think about these images. What do they have in

common?

SETTINGThe place, time, and environment where something happens or where something is positioned.

PLACE:• The physical

location, someplace you can see on a map, like a city, state or street.

TIME:• The point in time

something happens, A time you can point to on a calendar such as the 80’s or a date like August, 18 2015.

ENVIRONMENT• The parts of place

and time that can not be pointed to on a map or calendar such as ‘morning time’ or ‘in a cramped stinky bathroom.’ Also things like furniture, plants, and buildings make up the environment.

Now you are going to see some pictures:• On a sheet of paper

describe the time, place and environment of each picture.

Practice With Words:• I sat nervously as paper hearts fluttered over the glittering gymnasium floor. Then, he took my hand and led me to the dance floor. His embrace caused my own heart to flutter and dance with streamers above.

SETTING AND CHARACTERS• Setting and characters influence each other in a

story.• For Example: • If the setting is a dark forest it might make the character

scared.

BUT• If the character is an old witch who lives in the dark forest,

the forest is going to feel more like home and less scary.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?

GROUP WORK• Write a short story (at least eight complete

sentences) about your assigned character in the environment provided to you on a sheet of paper.

• Don’t tell other classmates what your environment is.

• You have 18 minutes to write your story as a group.

• Assign one member of your group to read your group’s story out loud to the class.