Our current unit in reading is “Readers get to know their characters.”  Here are some of the charts that the students assisted in developing.  It is important that they Post-It note or Stop ‘n’ Jot about their characters when they read.  It is essential that they support their opinions with evidence from the text.

For example:

____(character)____   is    ___(trait)___ .  I know this because the text says _______ and _______.   

They should also work on identifying patterns with the characters, Post-It the big events that a character takes, and the actions and reactions that characters take.  Also, book series, like Franklin, Mr. Putter and Tabby, Amelia Bedelia, Henry and Mudge, Arthur, Catina and Houndsley, and Poppleton, are great series to make character observations. If the student reads more than one book from a series, they can compare and contrast the main character within the books.