Craft Lesson 1

Craft Lesson 1: Describing a Character
Resources and other materials: Standing against the Wind by Traci L. Jones
Grade Level: 6th - 8th Creative Writing Unit


Discussion:
As teachers and readers we all know how important it is that our characters and the ones we read about are well described. We want them to come to life for us so that people enjoy our writing and make connections with the characters. Sometimes when students write they forget or struggle with describing their main character. I’m sure we have all read a good story, but it is hard to relate to or become interested in because we know nothing about the main character, thus making the story not as good as it could be. I believe that it is not that are students are bad writers, they just know their characters so well they forget we, the reader, doesn’t know their character yet. As teachers we can help students understand how to describe characters by reading works that do a good job of just that, then giving the students a chance to practice themselves.

How to Teach it:
The class will have read through chapter four at this point. Class, as you know, we have been reading the book Standing Against the Wind and have spoken a lot about what Patrice has been doing and going through. Let’s take a minute to talk about Patrice as a person. What do we know about her? (In small groups give students a chance to come up with a list of traits and why they feel she embodies those; let groups share what they have come up with and give the rest of the class a chance to comment.) How did we come up with these traits and opinions of Patrice? How did we get to know her? She isn’t a person in this class so who helped us get to know her as a person/character in our story? (This is the “AH HA” moment for the students that you will help prompt them to.) By figuring out the author is the person who helped us to get to know Patrice, by describing her to us through her writing, we now know why we feel we know Patrice. (Let the students continue in this discussion and new understanding. Once this topic has been addressed have the students review some of their recent writings.) While we review our work we could try to come up with adjectives to help us describe our characters. Let’s also look through Traci L. Jones’ book and see what she has done to describe Patrice to us. (Go back and forth with the students sharing personal ideas and examples from Traci L. Jones’ book.) With a partner let’s work together to better describe characters in our recent stories; this is something we want to do so when people read out work they feel they know the characters. We want our readers to relate to our stories and feel more apart of what we write, thus making us better writers and describers.

Bibliography:
Jones, Traci L. (2006). Standing against the wind. NY, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

TEKS:
(15) Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes and in a variety of forms. The student is expected to:(A) write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve (4-8);(B) write to influence such as to persuade, argue, and request (4-8);(C) write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate (4-8);(D) write to entertain such as to compose humorous poems or short stories (4-8);(E) select and use voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose (6-8);(F) choose the appropriate form for his/her own purpose for writing, including journals, letters, editorials, reviews, poems, memoirs, narratives, and instructions (7-8);(G) use literary devices effectively such as suspense, dialogue, and figurative language (5-8); and(H) produce cohesive and coherent written texts by organizing ideas, using effective transitions, and choosing precise wording (6-8).
(18) Writing/processes. The student selects and uses writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing. The student is expected to:(A) generate ideas and plans for writing by using prewriting strategies such as brainstorming, graphic organizers, notes, and logs (4-8);(B) develop drafts by categorizing ideas, organizing them into paragraphs, and blending paragraphs within larger units of text (4-8);(C) revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, combining, and rearranging text (4-8);(D) revise drafts for coherence, progression, and logical support of ideas (4-8);(E) edit drafts for specific purposes such as to ensure standard usage, varied sentence structure, and appropriate word choice (4-8);(F) use available technology to support aspects of creating, revising, editing, and publishing texts (4-8);(G) refine selected pieces frequently to "publish" for general and specific audiences (4-8);(H) proofread his/her own writing and that of others (4-8); and(I) select and use reference materials and resources as needed for writing, revising, andediting final drafts (4-8).
(19) Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own writing and the writings of others. The student is expected to:(A) apply criteria to evaluate writing (4-8);(B) respond in constructive ways to others' writings (4-8);(C) evaluate how well his/her own writing achieves its purposes (4-8);(D) analyze published examples as models for writing (4-8); and(E) review a collection of written works to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to set goals as a writer (4-8).
(21) Writing/connections. The student interacts with writers inside and outside the classroom in ways that reflect the practical uses of writing. The student is expected to: (A) collaborate with other writers to compose, organize, and revise various types of texts, including letters, news, records, and forms (4-8); (B) correspond with peers or others via e-mail or conventional mail (4-8); and (C) identify challenges faced by published authors and strategies they use to compose various types of text (7-8).