Middle School Language Arts, Middle School Reading

Teaching Character Analysis in 2 Easy Steps

Linda Asaro
December 12, 2023

This is the second in a mini-series on teaching reading skills with a focus on character analysis.

If you are a middle school language arts teacher, then you teach reading skills. Teaching character analysis and teaching character traits is going to be a definite skill for kids to have in their reading arsenal. Read here for tips on how to teach reading skills, specifically character analysis, in middle school.

blog post on teaching character analysis in middle school — Read here for tips on teaching character analysis.

Why Teaching Character Analysis is Crucial

Having a solid understanding of characters and character traits is a foundational skill for all middle-level students. Take a look:

Understanding characters, their motivations, and their thoughts/actions/reactions will give kids a deeper understanding of the plot.
Understanding characters on a deeper level actually gives kids an insight into their own lives. Seeing how characters behave can shine a light on so many important components of life and self-reflection.
Understanding characters’ actions and reactions is the basis for understanding theme, which is the lesson the author is trying to teach.

Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to teach character analysis every year in middle school. As kids get older, you can build on a deeper understanding at each grade level.

General Tips on How to Teach Reading Skills

When you teach reading skills, you will want to use some consistency with your students so they know what to expect and what is expected of them. For me, I use a reading workshop model of instruction. I have a whole series of blog posts on reading workshop which you might like to check out. Please know that I adapted my reading workshop from the “true” model to be more skills-based.

General Reading Workshop Guidelines

Teach the mini-lesson – keep it brief…10-15 minutes
Student workshop time- this is when kids work on something in their reading that you taught in the mini-lesson
Conference – meet with kids to check in with their reading and how they are doing with the skills you are teaching
Share- meet at the end of class to briefly share something from their reading

Step 1: Create Your Mini-Lesson

What to Include in a Mini-Lesson for Character Analysis

I have an entire blog post related to teaching mini-lessons. Read here for more info. Here is a shortened version:

Each mini-lesson follows a pattern. In this way, students not only know what to expect but you will have a “blueprint” for when you begin to create.

Here are the components:

Connect: Here you link what you have learned to where you are going in the lesson. Example: you might say, “When we last met we talked about using text evidence to show different character traits of the main character. Today we will discuss how the character’s actions and reactions contribute to developing the theme of the story.”
Teaching Objective: It is crucial to explicitly state to your students what you want them to learn. Example: “Today’s goal is to understand that while a character displays certain character traits at the beginning of the story, you will likely notice changes in the character as they try to resolve a conflict.”
Strategies: Here you will give kids a strategy or strategies to meet the objective. Example: “As you are reading, be on the lookout for when the main character is doing something that goes against an original character trait, as characters often need to change to adapt to a conflict.”
Engagement: This is where you want to show a real-life example and then have students practice during the lesson. Use “turn and talk” here so that students use a skill in a partnership. Example: “Turn and talk to your partner about one of your character traits and how others might be able to identify that particular character trait.”
Student Objective: This is very important; it’s where students are given their directions for their workshop time. Keep it brief and specific. It is always best to note that students should be doing this every time they read, not just in this lesson. Example: “Today and every time you are reading a novel, notice when the main character is acting differently from an original character trait. This could be a hint at the theme of the novel.”

I have a few actual mini-lessons on character analysis available in my TPT store:

reading lesson on character traits for middle school — Click here for mini-lessons to help you with teaching character analysis.

If you are looking for a complete lesson on character analysis, try this video lesson. It’s free on YouTube, and I have the presentation and guided notes available in my TPT store.

character analysis with free teacher resource video lesson and guided notes — Grab this video lesson and sit back while I teach your class!

Also, Doodle Notes®are the way to go! Try these Character Analysis Doodle Notes® to help your kids focus and retain information:

Doodle Notes for character analysis for middle school ELA

Step 2: Practice with Character Analysis – Activities for Students

Once kids have learned the skill, it’s time to practice. This is the portion of reading workshop where students go off to work and do something to apply the skill you taught in the mini-lesson to their reading. Be careful not to “kill the skill”…you are looking for application, not a bunch of extra work for your kids.

What practice should NOT look like:

Random worksheets – “skill and drill” style are not conducive to truly learning and applying reading skills
Unrelated exercises – kids should be applying it to the reading they are doing now, or to a mentor text (a short story that is in the same genre as your current unit of study, for example- a short historical fiction story if you are in a historical fiction unit)
Work that is too long – you don’t want kids doing skill work that takes a long time; you want them getting into their reading

What practice SHOULD look like:

Mentor text work: Having a mentor text to refer to throughout a unit is key. You’ll want one that is in the same genre and contains skills that you will be teaching. For example, if you are in a realistic fiction unit and are teaching character traits, symbolism, theme, dialogue, and internal monologue, you’ll want a short story to do that. It should be a high-interest story. I love the story “Thirteen” by Gary Soto for character analysis.
Reading application: As you progress in the unit and kids are reading novels, have them keep a page in their reading notebook on character traits. This way, they can see changes and trends as they are going through the story.
Debate: Having kids debate is a great engagement strategy. For example, one student might say that a character is arrogant while another says they are brave. You can have kids argue the nuances of character traits and give their reasons. I would keep it quick (maybe 10 minutes) as you want kids actually reading during reading workshop.
Centers: Having kids do centers on a specific skill towards the end of a unit to show what they know and to extend their learning is ideal. It can also help them to prepare for an upcoming assessment. I have centers for character analysis available in my TPT store. Click here for character analysis centers.

character analysis reading centers for middle school — Centers help students engage, extend, and apply learning.

Need a Full Unit on Teaching Character Analysis?

To conclude, teaching character analysis is crucial. It can be overwhelming to put all of this together. I have an entire, month-long unit available on my TPT store. It has mini-lessons, reading plans, assessments, and more. It is your “all in one” solution for teaching character analysis.

Click here for a month-long character analysis unit.