Round and Flat Characters

55 minutes

Granite Standard(s) in Progress (grade 9 / quarter 1)

I can analyze complex characters. (RL3)

Objective(s)
Students will identify round and flat characters by analyzing any changes in personality traits.

Understanding
Complexity in characters allow readers to empathize with a character.

Essential Question(s)
How do we understand a character?

Materials
- Paper strips (~45 / class)
- Paper circles (~15 / class)
- Scissors
- String
- Brass fasteners
- Class chromebooks
- Student headphones if they have them
- Short film links printed on strips
-

Additional Materials for Accommodations

- Translated written instructions
- Two in Somali (5A)
- One in Swahili (1B)
- Two in Vietnamese (3A)
- One in Spanish ??? (3A)
 - Larger strips for students vision impairment (4B)

Vocab Tier II Vocab

- round characters - complex
- flat characters - conflict
- protagonist - characteristic
- antagonist

I. Prep
A. In sets of three, staple paper strips together going straight through the middle.
B. Hole punch the top of the paper circles
C. Cut strings
II. Building Background (20 minutes)
A. Break down short film
1. Watch through in entirety once
a) Decide on the characters
2. Watch again, pausing to write down a lists characteristics of for the character
together.
3. As a class, look over the lists and decide if the characters characteristics are
complex or not
B. Round and flat character definitions
C. Model the activity with these examples
1. For a round character
a) Take a set of stapled paper strips
b) On one end of each of the strips, write the first characteristics from the
list the class created of the characters personality
What is this character like on the surface?
c) On the other end of each strip, write characteristics that may oppose our
initial understanding of the character
Note that these characteristics are often revealed through some
sort of conflict
 Review question: What type of character experiences
(and often overcomes) conflict? (Opposing to the type of
character that creates or adds to conflict)
(i) When we see that our characters are complex,
like we are, we are able to empathize with them
better and thus understand them. This is often
why we dont see villains as anything more than
a villain
d) Connect the 6 ends of the strips with a fastener, making a sphere. Attach
a string to the fastener and hang it up.
2. For a flat character
a) Take a paper circle
Write the characters traits in word cloud format
Write an umbrella-word (adjective) to describe the
characters personality
Around this word, write more descriptive words of the
character that fall under the personality
b) Attach a string to the top
3. DEBRIEF
a) Everything about the flat character circle is right there for us to see on
the surface
b) On the round characters sphere, we have to turn it to be able to see other
aspects of the characters personality
III. Learning Activity (25 minutes)
A. Students will partner up
1. get one chromebook per pair
2. get a short film link
3. spread out in the room to move away from other groups
* some classes may need to have their partners chosen for them
B. Students will watch their film once through, then watch it again while writing down
characteristics throughout it
C. EACH student will create a character bubble, either round or flat
 1. Partners must create character bubbles for separate characters, but should help
each other since they are watching the same film
a) This does not always mean one round and one flat character.
* Instructions should be posted to remind students of what you did when modeling
D. When finished, students should bring you their bubbles to hang up
E. Accommodations
1. ELLs will be given short films that dont have dialogue
2. Level 1 ELLs may write in any language
a) Printed sheet of instructions should be given to Level 1 students in their
mother language
IV. Tie-up (10 minutes)
A. Compare conclusions from all the partnerships who had the same film
1. Raise of hand from applicable students: Who said [character] is round? Who
said they are flat
a) Ask for a few examples
b) Ask for arguments if there are differing conclusions on the character
B. Talk about if we see more round bubbles or flat bubbles
1. Why?
C. Talk about how both types of characters affect plot