Character Development

Arlene F. Marks holds degrees in Modern Languages and Education from the University of Toronto and has twenty years of experience teaching high school English, Literacy and Writer's Craft at all levels from Pre-Advanced Placement to Remedial. Arlene is the author of From First Word to Last (2013, Legacy Books Press) and the LITERACY: MADE FOR ALL series (2014, R & L Education). She welcomes visitors to her web site, www.thewritersnest.ca. Bette J. Walker holds degrees in English and Education from York University (Toronto) and has thirty years’ experience teaching in Junior (grades 3 to 6) and Intermediate (grades 7 and 8) classrooms. She also spent three years as a Language Arts Consultant with the York Region District School Board (Ontario, Canada). Bette is the author of Adolescent Literacy (York Region DSB), THE DRAMA PROCESS series (with Frank Smith, Summit Educational Services), and Teaching Excellence 101 (Edupress).

As a novice to teaching English, having taught only Science for twenty years, I found the Let Them Write/ Let Them Read program was easy to follow and easy to implement. This is a structured program for the teacher and built for the individual levels of ability of the students. My students’ enthusiasm for writing and reading, and their blossoming literary skills, resulted in their achieving the highest English language standard for the school. Every student advanced significantly in grade level during the instructional time frame. Every student was successful every day in this program.

• INTRODUCTION TO LET THEM WRITEMessages from the authorsHow to implement this programThe aims and objectives of this programHow to implement Let Them ReadWriting a literary essayThe aims and objectives of Let Them ReadSetting up a writer-friendly classroomAuthors need a writing planPublishing students' workNCCS Anchors addressedSECTION 1: CREATING CHARACTERS SKILL 1: INTRODUCING A CHARACTERAs young authors practice describing characters to create a specific first impression for the reader, they will become more observant about the people around them.SKILL 2: POSITIVE CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONSStudent authors will learn about and practice creating an appealing character through the purposeful selection of descriptive detail. In the process, they will gain a better understanding of their own reasons for reacting positively to other people.SKILL 3: NEGATIVE CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONSStudent authors will learn about and practice selecting character details that will make an immediate negative impression on the reader. In the process, they may come to realize the importance of first impressions in real life.SKILL 4: CREATING GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS Using Personality TraitsStudent authors practice ways to make the hero(ine) a more sympathetic (likable) character than the villain(ess) of a story, in the process gaining a deeper understanding of human behavior. SKILL 5: WRITING FROM A POINT OF VIEWAs students practice adopting a character's point of view, they will come to understand that there are different sides to every story, in real life as well as in fiction.Reproducibles/Media: CCR 1--EVEN MICE HAVE DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW chartCCR 1A--TRY YOUR OWN FABLE chartCCR 2—DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW chartSKILL 6: WRITING FROM AN UNUSUAL POINT OF VIEWStudent authors practice personifying a variety of inanimate objects and writing from their point of view. In the process, both students and readers may gain a new perspective on a part of their life.SECTION 2: DEEPENING CHARACTERIZATION SKILL 1: CHARACTERS HAVE EMOTIONSAs students practice choosing verb synonyms, letting a character's actions reveal his or her emotional state, they will gain a deeper appreciation of word connotations and an awareness of the word choices they make in everyday life. Reproducibles/Media: CCR 3--CHARACTERS HAVE EMOTIONS Chart SKILL 2: AVOIDING STEREOTYPESStudent authors will learn and practice ways to avoid the use of story-weakening stereotypical characters. In the process they will become more aware of the damaging effects of stereotyping in real life. Reproducibles/Media: CCR 4--STEREOTYPES WITH A TWISTSKILL 3: BUILDING A CHARACTER'S PHYSICAL DIMENSIONStudents will learn how to make a character more realistic for the reader by describing how the character takes up physical space and has an impact on his or her surroundings. SKILL 4: SHOWING HOW CHARACTERS ARE AFFECTED BY THE SETTINGStudent authors will learn and practice how to enhance the realism of a story by describing their characters' reactions to elements of the setting. In the process, students may become more aware of the reactions of others to real-life settings. Reproducibles/Media: CCR 5—CHARACTER AFFECTED BY SETTINGSKILL 5: BUILDING A CHARACTER'S EMOTIONAL DIMENSION As they practice showing the reader that a character has human feelings, students may increase their ability to 'read' the emotions being expressed by others in real life. Reproducibles/Media: CCR 6--EMOTIONAL DIMENSION BUILDS A CHARACTER ChartCCR 7—EMOTIONAL DIMENSION ChartSKILL 6: REVEALING A CHARACTER’S PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONStudents will practice writing a character's thought-revealing dialogue and internal monologue in order to enhance the realism of the character. In the process, students may become more skilled at expressing their own thoughts and feelings. Reproducibles/Media: CCR 8--WHAT RUNS THROUGH YOUR MIND?CCR 9—PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSION ChartSECTION 3: CHARACTERS AND DIALOGUE SKILL 1: USING DIALOGUE TO REVEAL CHARACTER INFORMATIONAs student authors practice writing revealing dialogue for created characters, they may become more aware of the ways in which people reveal themselves to others in everyday life.Reproducibles/Media: CCR 10--WHAT'S MY LINE? SKILL 2: USING DIALOGUE TO REVEAL A CHARACTER'S REACTION TO A SETTINGStudents will practice writing dialogue, in the process becoming aware of its usefulness as a tool to enhance the realism of a story setting.SKILL 3: USING DIALOGUE TO REVEAL A CHARACTER'S BACKGROUNDStudents will practice writing dialogue, in the process becoming aware of its usefulness as a tool to reveal such things as place of origin, level of education, and so on about the character speaking.Reproducibles/Media: CCR 11--CHARACTERS BACKGROUND SHEETSKILL 4: USING DIALOGUE TO REVEAL A CHARACTER'S STORY GOALSAs they practice writing dialogue, student authors will become adept at using it to reveal their characters' goals to the reader.Reproducibles/Media: CCR 12--CHARACTERS AND PURPOSES