Design for Learning

Instructor: Ellie Knox

Lesson Title: Character Traits
Curriculum Area: ELA

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 3rd/ Branyon

Date: 4-13-16
Estimated Time: 45 minutes

Standards Connection:
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how
their actions contribute to the sequence of events. [RL.3.3]
Learning Objective(s):
The students will identify three character traits of Rosa Parks and provide text evidence
after the teacher reads Who Was Rosa Parks on a graphic organizer with no errors.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today boys and girls, we are going to discuss character traits. At the end of the day, I am
going to read Who Was Rose Parks to you. You will be able to give me three character
traits as well as provide evidence from the book for these traits on this handout.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The teacher will read Who Was Rosa Parks to the class. The students will then complete
the graphic organizer identifying three character traits and providing textual evidence for
each. Students must identify three character traits as well as provide textual evidence to
be placed in the green zone. Students who identify two character traits and provide
textual evidence for these two traits will be placed in the yellow zone. Students who
identify less than two character traits and provide textual evidence for these traits will be
placed in the red zone for follow up remediation.
Engagement:
The teacher will call the students to the carpet. Boys and girls, please join me at the
carpet. She will wait for the students. Thank you Student D for sitting down so quietly
and showing me that you are ready to listen. I really appreciate that! The teacher will
point to the white board. Today, we are going to do a word splash of words to describe
our favorite characters. So first, I want you to take a minute to sit and think. Do not raise
your hands yet or speak. I want you to think about your favorite book. Once you have one
of those in your heads, I want you to think about the characters in the book. Think about
that character and what you like or do not like about the character. The teacher will give
the students 1 minute to think. Ok, good thinking everyone! I want to hear what you liked
and did not like about the characters. The teacher will allow 8 students to share. As
students share, she will write these on the board. Wonderful! So here are some different
words we use to describe characters in your books. Now, these words to describe the
characters are called character traits. Today, we are going to discuss character traits. At
the end of the day, I am going to read you a story, and you will be able to give me three
character traits as well as provide evidence from the book for these traits on a handout.
Transition to teaching

Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
The teacher will erase the board. When we say character traits, we mean a characters
personality. Now character traits are not the same as physical traits. What are physical
traits? Yes! Physical traits describe what a person looks like. The teacher will write
PHYSICAL TRAITS on one side of the board and CHARACTER TRAITS on the other
side of the board. We already made a word splash of some different traits of your favorite
characters. You all gave character traits of these characters. Did any of you all tell me
how a character looked? No! You told me that they were brave or mean or funny! So
what I want to do now is brainstorm a list of physical characteristics. The teacher will
have the students turn and talk to brainstorm physical characteristics. Alright boys and
girls, I want all eyes on me now. I want to hear what you said to your partner about
physical characteristics. The teacher will call on 5 students. She will write the traits
under the PHYSICAL TRAITS on the board. Excellent, so you all described what people
look like. Do these give us a ton of information about the character? No! They do not!
Physical characteristic allow us to visualize the characters better, but we do not know
who they truly are. The teacher will hold up a picture of Mark Zuckerburg. Now lets look
at some physical traits of this man. He has brown hair. He is smiling. He is wearing a
blue shirt. He really looks like an ordinary guy. Well boys and girls, this is Mark
Zuckerburg. He is the creator of Facebook! Mark Zuckerburg is brilliant, a hard worker,
and generous. The teacher will write this on the board under CHARACTER TRAITS on
the board. Would you know these traits if you just saw this guy walking down the street
and did not know who he was? No! You would not. Character traits explain someones
personality. The teacher will now have the students give character traits for 3 characters
in Wonder. So we know now the difference between character traits and physical traits.
We have said that character traits describe how a person is on the inside. We have been
reading Wonder, and I want us to look at those characters. The teacher will write
AUGGIE, JACK WILL, and JULIAN on the board. Lets discuss these characters and
identify their character traits. So I want you to turn and talk to your partner about these
three characters. Come up with two character traits of each character. The teacher will
give the students two minutes to discuss. Alright, boys and girls. Lets look at Auggie
first. If I asked for a character trait, could you say that he had a facial deformity? Give
me a thumbs up if you say that I could and a thumbs down if you say that I could not. The
teacher will wait. Yes! You would say you could not do that, because that would be a
physical trait. I want to hear some character traits for Auggie. The teacher will call on
three students. She will write them under AUGGIE. I love that! Wonderful sharing
everyone. The teacher will point to JACK WILL. So now I want to know what are some
character traits for Jack. The teacher will call on three students and write their responses
under JACK WILL. Excellent thoughts guys! So you identified what Jack was like on the
inside. Would you know this if you just saw him walking down the street? No! You would
need to get to know him and read about him. We have one more character. The teacher
will point to JULIAN on the board. What did you all discuss for Julians character
traits? The teacher will call on three students. She will write their responses under
JULIAN on the board. Wonderful! The teacher will erase the board. She will write

FEELINGS, ACTIONS, SAYINGS, and THOUGHTS on the board. She will put them in
four corners on the board. So we know what character traits are, but we can take an even
deeper look at the characters by looking at these four areas. Lets read them together. The
teacher will point to each word and read it with the students. Excellent everyone! These
four areas give us a deeper look at the character. We can look at what characters do, say,
and think to infer some character traits about the character. So I want to go back to
Auggie right now. What are some of Auggies feelings in the story? Yes! He is scared
about starting the new school and nervous! What could lead us to believe for a character
trait? Yes! It could mean that he is not confident! Good! Lets talk about some of his
actions. What has he done so far? Yes! He went to school. We know that he was not
confident, but he chose to go to school. That makes me think that he is brave. So we have
gained more insight to Auggies character. So what are some things that Auggie has said?
Turn and talk to a partner to think of some quotes. The teacher will give the students one
minute to talk. Ok, what are some quotes? The teacher will call on a student. Awesome! I
think that Auggie does not say much. He definitely is more of a thinker than a speaker.
One thing that he does say is that he wishes he were normal. That is understandable, and
it shows us that he is self aware. He knows he is different. Finally, what are some of
Auggies thoughts? Yes! He thinks about others and what they are thinking. We see that
he is very smart and clever. The teacher will pause. Boys and girls, do you see that by
looking at these four areas, you can get a better understanding of the character and
character traits? Yes! The teacher will review. So boys and girls, what is the definition of
a character trait? Yes! Character traits explain the characters personality. Transition to
practice
II. Opportunity for Practice:
The teacher will review. Now that you know the way to identify character traits and the
difference between character traits and physical traits, I want you to listen very carefully
in this story. I want you to think about Chrysanthemum and look for her character traits.
The teacher will read Chrysanthemum to the class. Boys and girls, this is one of my
favorite books!! Readers can really get a glimpse at Chrysanthemums character here,
and I love her character traits. The teacher will hold up a paper bag. Alright my friends,
we have such a fun way to practice identifying character traits! I have a character trait
bag here. What you are going to do is answer these four questions. I want you to talk at
your tables about these questions and work together to answer the questions. Then, you
are going to cut and glue them to the bag. I want you to write the characters name and
color the picture of the character. The teacher will dismiss the students back to their
seats. I want Student A to pass out the paper bags and Student B to pass out this paper.
The teacher will write CHRYSANTHEMUM on the board in front of the class. I want
you all to complete this sheet before you get your school boxes. Once you raise your
hand and I give you the ok, I want you to go to the boxes and get what you will need. The
teacher will circulate the room. She will ask students what character traits they think
belong to Chrysanthemum. If you have questions, now is the time to talk at your tables
and talk some of your questions out. Ask your table first, and then you can raise your
hand with a question. When students finish answering the questions, the teacher will
check their work. If they answer every question, she will allow them to move forward
and begin coloring, cutting, and gluing. The teacher will call on students who are working

diligently. I appreciate the way Student D is working so hard! I really like seeing that.
Now you all may quietly talk as you do this, but if it gets too loud, you will have to work
silently. The teacher will give the students 15 minutes to complete this activity. Once you
are finished, I want you to throw away your trash and clean up your area. The teacher
will have the students share their bags at their tables. She will circulate to see everyones
completed bags. Now, I want everyone to share their bags at their tables. When one
person is sharing, no one else at the table should be talking. So I should only hear five
voices at a time speaking in this room. The teacher will circulate and listen. Wonderful
jobs! I love those bags boys and girls! Transition to assessment
III. Assessment
The teacher will have the students put up their bags. She will restate the learning
objective. I want everyone to put their bags away for now. Those look wonderful! At the
beginning of the lesson, I told you that you would be able to identify three character
traits and provide textual evidence for a book that I read. We said that a character trait is
part of a characters personality. We talked about how we can look at a book and find
more character traits that we did not originally notice! So now, I am going to read Who
Was Rosa Parks. The teacher will read the story. Who was this story about? Yes! Rosa
Parks. Now, we learned a lot about Rosa Parks! So I am going to give you this graphic
organizer. I want you to give me three different character traits for Rosa Parks. Then, I
want you to give me evidence from the book that shows me why she has the trait that you
said. Could you say Rosa Parks is nice without giving me any evidence? No! You
would have to give me evidence so I know why you said she was nice! The teacher will
pass out the assessment. I want you to work on your own for this. When you are finished,
turn it into the box and read quietly. The teacher will wait for the students to complete the
assessment. Transition to closure
IV. Closure:
The teacher will pass out the I Used to ThinkNow I Think handout to the students. Ok
boys and girls, before we finish, I want you to complete this. On the left side, I want you
to write about what you used to think about character traits. Did you used to think
something that we learned today might not be true? Write that on this side. On the right
side, I want you to write about what you now think about character traits. Write
something that you learned on this side. The teacher will give the students 4 minutes to
complete this. When you are finished, I want you to turn that in and join me on the
carpet. The teacher will meet the students at the carpet. Excellent job today boys and
girls. Lets review briefly. What was our key term today? Yes! Character traits! What are
some examples of character traits? Yes! We have mean, smart, funny, and confident! Now
how do character traits differ from physical traits? Yes! Physical traits just describe what
a person looks like. Character traits describe a persons personality. What are four areas
that we looked at the characters in the book to gain a better understanding? Yes! We
have actions, thoughts, feelings, and speech. Excellent job! I am very proud of all your
hard work today.
Materials and Resources:
White board

 Expo markers
Picture of Mark Zuckerburg
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
24 paper bags
handout for paper bags
scissors
glue
colored pencils
Who Was Rosa Parks Yona Zeldis McDonough
Assessment
I used to think now I think
Pencils
Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):
Students in the green zone:
The teacher will have the students identify positive and negative character traits on a
graphic organizer. They must explain why they are positive or negative.
Students in the red zone:
The teacher will give the students task cards and character traits. The students will match
the character trait to the specific task card. They will do this in a small group.
Data Analysis:
I used data from the practice. While I did not do much of the teaching section, my teacher
told me they needed more practice. Looking at the data, I think the students need to learn
how to identify character traits. Many of them struggled in this practice. The majority of
the students were in the yellow zone. There were 11 students in the yellow zone. These
students could not identify four character traits. They could identify a few, and I saw that
they were making progress here to identifying character traits. They still need more
teaching and practice on how to use the text to identify character traits. There were 3
students in the green zone. These students identified four character traits and used the
book to help them determine character traits. There were 8 students in the red zone. What
interested me was that these students were able to describe the actions, thoughts, feelings,
and speech of Chrysanthemum, but they could not determine the character traits. Some of
them could not determine the character traits altogether. There were some students in the
red zone who struggle with English, so I think that this activity was difficult for them. I
worked with these students individually, but I am not sure that they have mastered this
skill. The data shows me that all of the students could benefit from more teaching on
character traits. The students did not seem to know as much as was thought originally, so
I would go back and reteach how to determine the character traits in a text.
Reflection

This lesson was different than others. I spoke with my teacher before this lesson,
and she said that they really needed practice on character traits. They have had
minilessons on it, but they needed the practice. I decided to teach the practice of this
lesson. I discovered that the students actually needed more teaching than I had originally
thought. I tried to explain to the students ways to identify character traits, but I worry that
I confused the,. The practice provided good data, and I see that the students do need more
practice on this. I see how data is informative for teachers. We had thought that the
students understood character traits, but I see that they do not know how to put this into
practice. I also realize that I should have discussed the book with the students before I
had them do the activity.
One part of this lesson that was really different was the paper bag character trait.
This is something that incorporated creativity and hands on activity to help the students.
The activity kept them engaged as it also provided practice for them. I have not done this
in other lessons, and I liked that it provided a fun and creative way for them to practice.
This was good to do, because I taught this lesson right after their standardized testing.
This could also relate to how the students were during this lesson. Management was more
difficult than the previous lessons, but there were so many factors involved in this lesson.
I found it interesting the way that the students did the practice. I was very
impressed with some students. There are a few ELL students who I have learned are very
smart but need extra time. I spent extra time with these students during this practice to
guide them. I saw that they understood character traits, but they needed guiding and
prompting to word their thoughts. There were other students who could answer the
questions but could not identify the character traits. I see that my explanation and walk

through of Wonder was not enough for the students. I would have done teaching if I knew
that the students needed this extra teaching!

What were
Chrysanthemums
actions and what does
this show us about her
character traits?

What were Chrysanthemums feelings

and what does this show us about her
character traits?

What did Chrysanthemum

say and what does this
show us about her
character traits?

What did Chrysanthemum

think and what does this
show us about her character
traits?

Name:

I Used to Think

Now I Think

Name:
Directions: Give three character traits of Rosa Park. In the box next to
each character trait, include evidence from the book that led you to give the
character trait.

Character Trait

Evidence