Character Traits

Total Time: 15 minutes

I. Objective(s):

• Student will be able to identify and compare character traits for two character in the
story.
• LAFS.5.RL.1.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a
story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

II. Introduction (1 minute)

• Today we’re going to read chapter two of spy school. Recall that in chapter 1, Alexander
came to Ben’s house, notified him of his immediate acceptance to the CIA’s school of
espionage and told him they were leaving right away.

III. Content Presentation, Guided Practice, Within-Lesson Formative Assessment (12

minutes)

I do- I will model fluent reading and lead into the discussion on character traits, specifically
comparing characters in the chapter based on their character traits.

Ch. 2: Initiation This chapter is called initiation. Initiation means the beginning of something or
admitting someone into a secret group. What do you think might happen in this chapter?

P. 11 – By the way, espionage typically means government spies.

P. 11 – for words that the student may not know, I will make sure that I will use facial
expressions/the way I read to help him understand the meaning in context. EX: dowdy –
slouchy, boring. Suspicious – make a suspicious face. Vast expanses – moving hand out in
large motions

P. 14 – new character, Mike (important, best friend from 1 grade, kind of mean, very confused
st

about Ben going to some science camp)

P. 17 – Another new character, but we don’t know her name yet (confident, beautiful, 14-15
years old, serious, means business)

P. 19 – infiltrated means gain access to.. dangerous in this situation

We do- We will choose two characters to compare (venn diagram). I will explain that the
expectation is to find two differences and 1 similarity between the two characters we choose, so
we should choose a character that is significantly different from Ben, our main character.

Formative assessment, ex:

 FORMATIVE STUDENT TEACHER FEEDBACK INSTRUCTIONAL
ASSESSMENT RESPONSE DECISION

Choosing a MIke (he is We are only seeing Mike from Continue instruction-
character to different from Ben’s perspective … do you student identified
compare to Ben) think that Mike is really that character traits for
(rationale) horrible to Ben because he Mike.
hates him or because he’s
jealous maybe? We’re going to
continue to compare the two of
them next time.

1. Independent Practice, End of Lesson Formative Assessment (You Do) (2 minutes)

Student will identify two differences between Ben and another character and one similarity
between them.

V. Closing (1 minute) The closing should:

• Hopefully we finish chapter 2 in the time allotted, but I will set the timer for 8 minutes so
that we have time to discuss the character traits. Closing will either -- explain we will
finish ch 2 tomorrow or begin ch 3 tomorrow.

VI. Evaluation Criteria

• I will know that the student can compare characters using character traits when he can
identify two differences and one similarity.

VII. Teacher Reflection

This lesson will be continued tomorrow. Today we read the chapter and brainstormed possible
characters to compare. We were able to have a short conversation about the character traits we
have noticed so far, and I modeled my thinking about Ben in chapter one. Going into the lesson
today, I assumed that the student knew what a character trait was (based on his IEP). I asked
him what a character trait was and he said something about a character. In response to this, I
quickly explained that for the purposes of this analysis we’d be looking at thoughts, feelings,
dialogue, and actions to help us compare two characters. Because of this observation, I have
decided to extend this lesson into tomorrow and take a deeper look at chapters 1 and 2 and talk
more about the traits we are picking up on and the evidence for those traits. Then we will move
to comparing and contrasting characters in the book.

I am beginning to see how I am more responsive in the moment. I noticed that the student was
not sure about character traits and I decided that given the time frame, he would be better
served by addressing this tomorrow. Now that I know the student’s familiarity with the topic I can
better anticipate his response and account for misconceptions. I hope that tomorrow I can
approach this in a different way. What I am teaching is important for the student to learn about
because understanding character traits is an important aspect of comprehension. In this book in
particular, the student needs to have a strong understanding of who the characters are so that
the story overall will make sense. Lastly, I am also noticing that I need to scale back on teacher
talk as I move through the lesson tomorrow and allow the student to express his ideas
uninterrupted. I am working on finding the balance between maximizing instructional time and
wait time for my student.

VIII. Student Work Samples

Below are the student work samples for this lesson. The first sticky note is character traits for
Mike, the character that we will compare Ben to as well as evidence that the student picked out
for why Mike is a “punk”. The second stick note is the beginning of character traits for the new
character (a girl we do not know the name of). The student identified that she was strong. I put
that in capital letters because he didn’t need any support in saying that word to describe her. He
also made a case for her being a “real spy” in comparison to Ben, who is only a beginner. He
said that her confidence in herself made her strong and powerful.