How dialogue or events reveal aspects of a character

General

Students practice analyzing the dialogue and actions of characters and events in a story by reading Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3

Learning objective

Students will be able to analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story propel the action and reveal aspects of a character.

Introduction

Read the dialogue of the phone call between two characters, Noah and Lucas. What character traits are revealed in the conversation? Then have students imagine what Lucas's response could be and how it could propel the action of the story. What different events might occur based on his response?

Instruction

Explain how dialogue can reveal aspects of a character. It can reveal characters' thoughts and feelings, their desires or motives, and even their background. Next, go over events and how they can also reveal aspects of a character and propel the plot of a story. Read a few passages and ask students to analyze the text and discuss what they can infer about the characters. After this, students will read Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Analyze how the characters' dialogue and how the events move the story and characters along.

Quiz

Students respond to 10 questions, including questions pertaining to "A Christmas Carol."

Closing

Have students drag the events into the correct box to demonstrate their understanding of the events in the story. Finally, students will write a response about the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, providing examples and evidence from the text.

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