Writing to build character Maywattie Dyal July 22, 2003

Who I am Name: Maywattie Dyal School: Deady Middle School 2500 Broadway, Houston, Tx District: HISD Job Title: 8 th Grade Writing Experience: Guyana, The Bahamas, HISD since 1999

Demonstration Objectives 1.Analyze and list various strategies used by the writer to build character in the set text being studied in class. 2.Listen to a story and identify strategies used to build character. 3.Write to build character. 4.Revise writing to build more vivid character.

Research “…fiction offers children one of the best opportunities to begin to understand other people, themselves, and the human condition. When children receive help in writing fiction in mini-lessons and teacher demonstrations, they learn how to create characters…” A Fresh Look at Writing: Donald Graves (pg 289)

Research “ I work back and forth between what the authors are doing in books children are reading and their own compositions. I do not do this with the notion that children will do exactly what the author is doing but that they will appreciate what goes into a work of fiction…” ibid (page 290)

Research When I write fiction my characters reveal themselves as a photograph does a developer. What is first a pale shadow slowly changes into a sharp edged portrait. It takes time for us to get to know the people in our lives and it takes layer after layer of writing to make a character come clear…” Crafting a Life in Essay, Story, Poem:Donald M. Murray(page99)

Research “…Think small. The best things to write about are often the tiniest things…” What a Writer Needs: Ralph Fletcher(page162)

Research The writer of fiction begins by creating a character: Who is she? What is her name? How old is she? What does she look like? Where does she live? What is her family background? What does she like to do? What is different about her? What does she care about? What does she fear? What are her dreams? Who are the important people in her life? What are the important things? What is the problem she is facing? How will she change? What will she understand about herself and her world at the end of the story? In the Middle: Nancie Atwell (page 398)

Research What you can do to build character: 1.Start with what you know. Use familiar people and animals. 2.Give physical descriptions. 3.Use all five senses. 4.Get your characters moving. Tell what is happening to the character, and what is happening inside the character.

Continue 5. Get your characters talking: not only what they say but how they say it. 6. Use dialogue to move the action forward. Use dialogue for inner voice. Too much dialogue makes your story into a play. 7.Reveal the complexity of human nature: add human qualities to bad characters, add flaws to good characters.

Continue 8. Name your characters. 9. Don’t juggle too many characters; this confuses the reader. 10. Describe a character through gesture. 11. Use setting to reveal character. Live Writing Breathing Life into Your Words:Fletcher(pp14-31) Craft lessons Teaching Writing K-8:Fletcher & Portalupi(pp91-95)

Research “…Authors create characters in very specific ways: by the way in which the characters are described in text, by what characters say/do/think, and by what other characters in the story say about them…” Teaching Reading Using Literature: John F. Savage(pp44)

Modifications English Language Learners can listen to taped readings of texts being studied as models. English-speaking peers serve as buddies to English Language Learners. Choose simple texts of matching reading levels for English Language Learners Encourage GT students with deeper focus of building complex characters.

Assessment Keep a folder to assess growth of writing over a period of time – include student work, self- evaluations, and performance checklists. Teacher meets with student in conference to discuss the child’s growing writing ability. Talk about progress made, strengths observed, possible future areas to work on.

References Atwell, Nancie (1998). In the Middle New Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning. Heinemann Elbow, Peter (1981). Writing with Power Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process. Oxford University Press. Fletcher, Ralph (1999). Live Writing Breathing Life into Your Words. Avon Books Inc. Fletcher, Ralph (1993). What a Writer Needs. Heinemann Fletcher,R & Portalupi, J.(1998). Craft Lessons Teaching Writing K-8. Stenhouse Publishers.

Continue Graves, Donald (1994). A Fresh Look at Writing. Heinemann. Murray, Donald (1996). Crafting a Life in Essay, Story, Poem. Boynton/Cook Publishers. Savage, John (1994). Teaching Reading Using Literature. Brown & Benchmark Publishers. Stewig, John W. (1990). Read to Write Using Children’s Literature as a Springboard for Teaching Writing. Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.