Happy {rainy} Monday, y’all! Today was our first “real” day of reading and I thought I’d share a bit with y’all! We began our novel Frindle today. Last year I started reading this a little later and we took a little bit longer with previewing the text. You can see what we did last year here. I wanted to begin the year with it this year and since we are taking STAR Reading tomorrow and we are on short schedule due to a school event, I was a little pressed for time. We skipped the pre reading questions that we did last year and I just briefly asked them. I kinda missed this part and now I’m wishing I hadn’t skipped it. I’ll know next time!
We read the first two chapters which described the main character (protagonist) and the ‘villian’ (antagonist) perfectly. That’s why I wanted to jump in and begin the book. We are focusing on characterization this week and today’s lesson was devoted to learning the terms ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’ and identifying them in the story.
I didn’t make posters, but soon realized I needed them. I just wrote them on the board, but when I got home, I decided I needed to make some to display in the room. My goal is to get the kids to use the correct academic vocabulary, so they need to see it! You can grab a free copy of the posters here.
I used Cinderella and the evil stepmother as an example when I was teaching and that seemed to help understand the meaning of the two terms. The Little Mermaid was another good example!
Grab your free copy here!
Here’s the objective and essential question for today’s lesson.
At the end of each lesson, the students answer the essential question with a sticky note and this serves as their exit slip.
After discussing the two terms, we read the first two chapters of Frindle and then identified the protagonist and antagonist. I also wanted to practice with another text, so I pulled out a page from the first book of Harry Potter, which I also used to teach identifying character traits.
We read the two pages and determined the main character and the villain. Then we moved onto introducing how to cite evidence. This will be the main focus of Thursday’s lesson, but I wanted to go ahead and introduce them to use evidence prompts and WHY it’s important to cite evidence that backs up our thinking.
We reread the passage and determined a character statement for Harry. Writing character statements really helps when learning character traits. They are basic simple sentences at first, but as the year progresses, so do our character statements. We used the character traits chart and I asked the kids to simply tell me how Harry acted. We determined that he was brave because he stood up to the bullies (Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle). I wished they could have dug deeper and went with loyal, but we’ll get there!
The graphic organizer is an older file, but if you want me to share, just let me know and I’ll upload! 🙂
We highlighted the evidence term in our statement. I require all written responses to have an evidence prompt and I tell my kids to be sure and highlight the one they use. This makes it a little easier for them to make sure they include one in every answer. “Because” is the most basic and my least favorite term. It usually take a while for them to start using the better ones like “according to the text” and “based on what I read”.
We covered a ton today and I am tired! A bubble bath and good book are calling my name! 🙂
I would LOVE to have a copy of your graphic organizer! TY!! 🙂
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
Love that you share so much! I would love a copy of your graphic organizer. I have downloaded lots from you and really appreciate all your hints and tips! Thanks so much! Take that much needed break now!
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
I would love to see the graphic organizer!
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
I would love a copy! Thank you for sharing. As teach4luv stated, take that much needed break now!
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
Loving all your material!! Going from first to fifth myself this year! Question- saw an earlier post with Reading standards mapped out for the quarter but can't seem to find it back?
You can find it here 🙂
lifeinfifthgrade.com/2015/07/1st-grading-period-pacing-guide-details.html
I would love to see your graphic organizer. I love all your materials and ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
I would love it if you shared your text evidence document.
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
I would also love a copy of your graphic organizer! Love all that you do 🙂
Here you go! 🙂
teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Statement-Graphic-Organizer-2049169
Thank You!
What pages did you use from Harry Potter to introduce protagonist and antagonist? Thanks!
What pages did you use from Harry Potter for the protagonist and antagonist? Thanks!