Resources+and+Preparation

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
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 * Books from the Classic Starts series
 * Computers with Internet access
 * LCD projector (optional)
 * Projector and transparencies (optional)
 * Samples of popular trading cards
 * Story where a character has a problem that is resolved

STUDENT INTERACTIVES
[|Character Trading Cards] This tool provides a fun and useful way to explore a character in a book or as a prewriting exercise when creating characters for original stories.

PRINTOUTS
Character Trading Cards Planning Sheet

PREPARATION
(Instructions found at Read.Write.Think) Home
 * 1. || Make sure your students understand the concept of story structure (e.g., character, setting, and plot) and how characters tend to develop in narrative text. You may want to teach Inferring How and Why Characters Change, Using Picture Books to Teach Plot Development and Character Resolution, or Charting Characters for a More Complete Understanding of the Story before beginning this lesson. ||
 * 2. || This lesson also assumes that students understand how to structure and write a narrative story. The focus of the lesson is on refining students' abilities to plan for characters in a story; for that reason, you may want your students to be working on a narrative or to have brainstormed ideas for a story in their writing journals. ||
 * 3. || Choose a book to use as an example. You want a book with a character who has a problem that is resolved by the end of the story. Read the text you have selected, identifying places where the character is described, where the conflict/problem is introduced, where the character deals with the conflict, and where the conflict is resolved or the goal is reached. For older students, you may want to use a novel you have read aloud as a class or short stories with more complex characters. ||
 * 4. || Visit and familiarize yourself with the Character Trading Cards online tool. You will be using the character from the book you have selected to model its use with students. There are several ways you can approach this: by using an LCD projector and a computer with Internet access or by creating a transparency of the Character Trading Cards Planning Sheet. You may want to create a sample card with the answers filled in for your own reference. ||
 * 5. || Students will also use the online Character Trading Cards tool to create their own trading cards; if you do not have classroom computers with Internet access, you will want to reserve a session in your school's computer lab. Bookmark the tool on your classroom or lab computers. ||
 * 6. || Photocopy the Character Trading Cards Planning Sheet for each student. ||
 * 7. || Assemble examples of popular trading cards. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Harry Potter, and sports cards are all examples you might choose. You can purchase these or ask your students to bring some in to share. ||
 * 8. || You may choose to create a sample trading card with some deliberate weaknesses (i.e., vague description or conflict) to share with students as an example of how to complete a peer review. ||