Summary
After analyzing a variety of character descriptions, students will take a closer look at their own writing and make revisions to enhance their character descriptions.
Essential Question(s)
How do effective writers help readers paint pictures in their minds?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a drawing activity using simple character descriptions from the beginning of the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
Explore
Students read the full, in-text description of a character, adjust their pictures accordingly, and discuss how the two descriptions impacted their drawings.
Explain
Students watch clips from the movies and discuss how each director's interpretation of the characters differs from how they interpreted the descriptions.
Extend
Students analyze one of their narratives and revise their current character descriptions to match the mental image in their heads.
Evaluate
Students partner up to share the evolution of their character descriptions in their writing.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Character Descriptions (attached; one per student)
Student work from a previous narrative writing assignment
Anchor Chart paper
Markers
Computer or laptop
Wi-Fi
Engage
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Display slide 3, and ask the students what they picture when they hear the phrase, "He's a magician with chocolate!"
Introduce students to the Anchor Chart strategy. As your students are sharing out what they picture, draw or record it on a piece of poster paper (or similar) using the Anchor Chart strategy. Make sure not to ask students to elaborate with more details. Just draw what they say the best you can.
Next, invite students to do the same thing with a small group of peers using the Jigsaw strategy. When students get in their groups, give each group one of four simple-phrase character descriptions from the beginning of the book. Together, have students draw a picture of the character based only on the simple description.
Display slide 4 and ask students to draw a picture of the character based on the description provided to each group. Once the groups have completed their initial drawing, have them share out with the rest of the class. Each character’s simple description is provided on its own slide (slides 5–8) for you to display as each group shares the picture they drew.
Display slide 9 and share the lesson’s essential question: How do effective writers help readers paint pictures in their minds?
Display slide 10 and share the lesson’s learning objectives:
We will describe characters from a story.
We will identify differences in character descriptions.
We will analyze a piece of writing and revise it to enhance character descriptions.
Explore
Display slide 11 and let the students know that the first description of the character was just a brief introduction at the beginning of the book. The author of the story, Roald Dahl, goes into further detail once the story begins.
Display slide 12 and read the complete description of Willy Wonka that Roald Dahl writes in the book. Ask your students if this description of Willy Wonka is close to what they were picturing after hearing the initial phrase. If not, ask your students to share with you how their picture might change.
Glue or tape a copy of Willy Wonka’s more detailed character description to the Anchor Chart. Next to it, as your students are sharing out, try to draw what they are describing.
Next, pass out the attached Character Descriptions handout to all students. Have each group attach their full character description to their Anchor Charts. Have them use the full description to draw a new picture of their character next to the first picture.
Once the groups have completed their second drawing, have them share out with the rest of the class. Each character’s name is provided on its own slide (slides 13–17) for you to display as each group shares the new picture.
Display slide 18, and revisit the essential question: How do effective writers help readers paint pictures in their minds?
Ask students to share some of the things the author did to enhance the character descriptions. As groups are responding to this question, begin creating a list for students to reference later. This list can be written on each group's Anchor Chart, or you can create one comprehensive Anchor Chart for quick reference later.
Explain
Once all of the groups have shared out their characters and discussed how their drawings have evolved based on the differences in the descriptions, let your students know that you are going to see how others have visualized each of the characters.
Share with students the definition of visualization: the formation of mental visual images. Inform them that this is what they have been doing with the character descriptions when they paint a picture in their head of what the author wrote.
Show students the video Willy Wonka’s Grand Entrance on slide 19, Mel Stuart's version of Willy Wonka from the movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Next, display slide 20 and share with your students Wonka’s Welcome Song, Tim Burton's version of Willy Wonka from the movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Display slide 21 and ask students to discuss the differences between Willy Wonka’s character description in the book and the two movie directors’ depictions of him.
As a group, continue watching clips from both movies. Focus on one character at a time, and have the class discuss how the directors interpreted the characters differently from how the groups interpreted their descriptions. Take notes of student responses on each character's Anchor Chart. Include a still image of the character from each version of the movie on the poster as well.
Augustus Gloop (slides 22–24)
Veruca Salt (slides 25–27)
Violet Beauregarde (slides 28–30)
Charlie Bucket (slides 31–33)
Extend
Display slide 34, and invite students to spend the rest of the time analyzing one of their own narratives. Ask them to read the character descriptions they have already written and analyze them for ways they can enhance the writing to provide more visual cues.
Have students use the Anchor Charts and what they have learned about visualization and adding details in writing to revise their own character descriptions.
Evaluate
Display slide 35 and invite each student to pair up with a classmate to do an activity similar to the Engage and the Explore activities. Have each pair decide who will be Partner A and who will be Partner B.
Display slide 36 and have Partner A share their original character description with Partner B. Once Partner B hears the original description, they should draw a picture of the character.
Display slide 37 and have Partner B share their original character description with Partner A. Once Partner A hears the original description, they should draw a picture of the character.
Have Partners A and B share the original drawings with one another. Once they have done this, display slides 38–39. Students should take turns sharing their revised character descriptions with one another. As Partner A shares their revised description, Partner B should draw a new picture and vice versa.
When the partners are done with the new drawings, have them share with each other. Ask them: Does the picture match what you were trying to get across in your writing? If not, what more could you do to revise your writing and get the description to where it needs to be?
Display slide 40 and revisit the essential question.
Resources
Burton, T. (Director), & Wonka, W. (Adapter). (2015, September 3). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_FiuHOiJiY
K20 Center. (n.d.). Anchor Charts. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/64f2b35101a470dda36d44421900af08
K20 Center. (n.d.). Jigsaw. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f507c1b8
Stuart, M. (Director), & Husak, T. (Adapter). (2016, September 3). Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsgQvZOBhEY