This lesson plan reviews direct and indirect characterizations, which students can use to aid them in writing a character analysis short essay.  Students will be introduced to the S.T.E.A.L. method, which they will use to identify a character's traits, motives, and physiological makeup.  This resource has been created for secondary levels. This lesson plan can be used to supplement any Literary Element Unit.

Savagery, treachery, lost innocenceÉ "Lord of the Flies" is rife with character development. Use this lesson to help students chart the character changes of Ralph and Jack, both in groups and individually.

Students use the elements of persuasion for a specific audience to demonstrate their understanding of Richard Wright's accessible and engaging coming-of-age novel, "Rite of Passage.

Students write descriptions of characters, incorporate new vocabulary words, practice using simile and metaphor, engage in peer editing, and post their revised descriptions on the walls for a matching game.

Students read Raymond Carver's story "A Small, Good Thing," focusing on characterization in order to develop one of the static characters: the hit-and-run driver who causes Scotty's death more fully.

A read-aloud of Patricia Polacco's "Thank You, Mr. Falker" helps promote deeper comprehension through questioning to achieve personal connections and discussions of character and theme.

In this lesson, students incorporate analyses of characters from "The Crucible" with examinations of original seventeenth-century portraits of Puritans to create a visual portrait of the character. The project culminates in a Portrait Gallery Walk where students present and defend their artwork.

Students make predictions about "Bridge to Terabithia" and its characters, complete character studies, and relate the characters' experiences to their own as they identify ways to make and keep friends.

"The Greedy Porcupine" is a Northwestern Band of Shoshone tribe tale. According to Shoshone culture, this tale teaches a valuable lesson that everyone should be proud of who he or she is, not envious of others. Everyone should also be grateful for what they have and avoid complaining. Everyone is given special gifts and talents, which should be used appropriately. If talents are misused, they could be taken away.After reading the story students willb identify characters and the lesson or moral of the story. The students will create a  character map to aid in comprehension of the story and provide the basis for the discussion in character education, tying in with the moral of the story.

Students will really get into character when they read short stories and analyze the hows and whys of character behaviors.

Students get the inside scoop on a story when they create interview questions and answers for characters in the books they read.

After reading a work of literature as a class, students will brainstorm "crimes" committed by characters from that text. Groups of students will work together to act as the prosecution or defense for the selected characters, while also acting as the jury for other groups. Students will use several sources to research for their case, including the novel and internet resources. All the while, students will be writing a persuasive piece to complement their trial work.

While this lesson uses Shakespeare's The Tempest, there are several other text options. Handouts (except for the model case handout) are generic so that they can be used with any text.

Using the character of Edward Cullen from the Twilight series, this lesson introduces the Byronic hero and asks students to compare the Byronic hero to the traditional hero and villain.

Students analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks poem "We Real Cool" and then write about how the character's pool hall days might influence who the character becomes fifty years in the future.

Students work on a guided characterization project, using a graphic map to illustrate the ways a character from a book series grows and evolves over the course of the story.

Examine how Nancy, who serves as a mother figure to Oliver, contradicts 19th-century England’s conventional thinking that the poor are morally corrupt, in this excerpt from Oliver Twist | MASTERPIECE. Dickens created a complex character in Nancy, who is a victim of circumstance. She cannot escape criminal ways and an abusive partner, yet her care and concern for Oliver reveal the complexities of her character.

This activity, inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper and the stories of Raymond Carver, challenges students to get inside contemporary life and characters through the creation of monologues.

Students really get into character in this lesson as they act out the parts of a script and analyze character motivations and dialogue.

Working as career counselors for a literary character, students find a job for the character, prepare a resume, and design questions and answers to prepare them for a job interview.