THE WRITER’S

WORKSHOP
LO: show what characters feel
and think.
 Character’s Feelings and
Thoughts
“Today I want to remind you that another way
writers bring their stories to life is by telling
what their characters feel and think. Instead of
just telling what happened on the outside, I’m
going to try to show what some characters are
feeling on the inside, too! I could do this
through my pictures, by showing the feeling on
their faces and adding thinking bubbles.” 
 For example:
◦ “I’m going to read one page of a story, then I want you to help me tell what
the character is thinking and feeling. Then, I will show you the character on
the smartboard and you will see a thought bubble with the feelings and
thoughts in it.”
 Old Lady and Her Dog
Miss Mina is an old lady. She lives in a small flat
in an old building. Her husband passed away and
her children bought her a poodle. They figured if
Mina has a dog, she would be less lonely. The old
woman loved the dog. But one day, something
terrible happened. Miss Mina was going to the
bakery to get some bread. She had her dog on a
leash, but the dog saw a cat and pulled on the
leash so hard that Miss Mina could not hold it.
The dog chased the cat and got lost. Now the old
woman is searching for her missing dog.
 Old Lady and Her Dog
Now tell me what is the old lady thinking:

What is she feeling:

Old Lady and Her Dog
 Over to You!
Draw this though bubble in your notebook. Make it big, across the whole
page!
 Brave Knight and the Evil Dragon
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess. She ruled her kingdom and
everyone loved her. She was kind and fair.
Then one day, while she was watching the night sky from the roof of her castle, a
dragon came and took the princess to his cave to clean it and serve him.
All people were afraid of the dragon. Only one brave knight decided to try and free
the princess. Everybody was telling the knight that he stands no chance against the
mighty dragon. People said that he would be burned and eaten.
However, he was a risk-taker and didn‘t listen to other people‘s opinion.
He took his horse and put on his battle armor. He sharpened his sword and set off.
On his way to the cave he was thinking... He felt....
 Over to You!
Draw this though bubble in your notebook. Make it big, across the whole
page!
 Another Day at School
Ellie is a girl from grade 4. She walks to school every day. The road she takes is not
crowded and there are usually no cars.
One day, while she was going to school she heard a whining sound. She stopped
and listened. Again. It was coming from behind the bushes next to the road. She
slowly approached the bushes and peeked behind. What she saw was a small puppy.
It looked hurt and cold. The puppy was shaking and squealing. Ellie slowly
crouched and extended her hand: ‘‘Here puppy! Come to me!‘‘ she said. Through
her many thoughts raced.... She felt.....