Andrew Sokol EDU 512 Third Draft Topic: Character Analysis Grade 10 Learning Context: Analysis of literature can

be broken down into a number of different elements. However, these elements are all intertwined. The element of literature that I want to focus on is character analysis. It's important for students to analyze characters, to understand plot, symbolism, setting, dialogue, and overall themes. When students read a piece of literature, they usually form a sufficient, but somewhat limited understanding of it. It's the responsibility of the teacher to teach the student the literary analysis skills necessary to gain a full understanding of the work with all of its complexities. I feel teaching new vocabulary words will be important for this topic because descriptive words regarding a person are often words that are unfamiliar to young students. ELA Standard 2- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression Performance Indicators (Grade 10 Reading) - Read, view, and interpret texts and performances in every medium (e.g., short stories, novels, plays, film and video productions, poems, and essays) from a wide variety of authors, subjects, and genres - Interpret multiple levels of meaning and subtleties in text - Recognize relevance of literature to contemporary and/or personal events and situations

ELA Standard 4- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction Performance Indicator - Share reading experiences with a peer or adult; for example, read together silently or aloud, or discuss reactions to texts (Grade 10 Writing) ELA Standard 1- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding - Analyze data, facts, and ideas to communicate information
Assessment Plan: I'm not going to be giving exams or assignments where I would be trying to quantify a student's ability to analyze characters. Assessing students' progress will come in different forms. One such form is observing students giving insightful contributions to class discussions as well as the discussions in small groups. I'll also give different types of writing assignments where character analysis will play a big role in fulfilling the assignment.

Criteria

Excellent

Good

Needs Improvement Student has a difficulty discussing his/her ideas in a group setting and student does not respond much to peers. Student attempts to recall times in his/her own life that relate to the characters in the literature. However, these connections are vague or unclear

Unsatisfactory

Group work

Student communicates his/her own ideas well and is responsive to peers

Student can sufficiently communicate his/her ideas and is responsive to peers

Student takes group work as a time to slack off and doesn't participate in group discussions

Relating literature to the student's personal life

Student is able to empathize with one or more of the characters which is apparent in the student's writing as well as in class discussions

Student recalls times in his/her own life that were similar to the scenarios that the characters are in. This will be apparent in writing assignments as well as in class discussions Student mostly grasps most literary devices and understands how they relate to the development of characters after paying attention to class discussions Student has formed a thesis that is relevant to the text but will only allow for a limited amount of insight in the essay

Student is unable to relate his/her own life to the characters in the literature

Analyzing characters by going beyond plot

Student fully grasps most literary devices and sees how they relate to the development of the characters by reading on his/her own Student has formed a thesis that is relevant to the text and will allow for a creative and insightful essay

Student partially understands different literary devices and partially understands how the characters develop

Student relies only on plot to understand characters

Forming a thesis

Student has formed a thesis that is only somewhat relevant to the text

Student has formed a thesis that is not relevant to the text

Student Work: N/A Procedure:

Day 1 Before the class will begin reading The Catcher in the Rye, we will have a class discussion where the class will be asked to recall times in their lives where they experienced the same types of issues as Holden. One of the main issues that the class will discuss will be times where they wanted to withdraw from their environments. For homework, they will be assigned to read the first chapter. Day 2 We will have a class discussion on the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye. The class will be asked to describe the scenario that the protagonist, Holden is in. The class will also be asked to make assumptions about Holden's personality from the information given at the beginning of the book. I will help to lead the discussion along by pointing out key passages that are most telling. We will collectively form a graphic organizer on the marker board. The graphic organizer will use clustering in some type of a spider web format. For homework, the students will be assigned to read the next two chapters. Day 3

We will have a class discussion on the next two chapters following the first one. The class will list the most significant characters around Holden and describe the relationships between them and Holden. I will hand out worksheets for the class to fulfill for the remainder of the class period. The worksheet will ask questions that will test that the students did the reading as well as challenge them to form conclusions about the characters. An example of a question that could appear on this worksheet is "What made Holden so upset that he tore up the homework assignment he did for his roommate shortly after he completed it?"
Day 4

I will have the class split up into groups. Each student in the group will be assigned a different character. The students will then be asked to describe Holden from their assigned characters' points of view. After each member of the group has finished individually, they will take turns sharing their work among the group. I will then have each group decide on one person to share his/her work with the entire class. For homework, the class will be assigned to read the next two chapters. Day 5 We will have a class discussion on what took place in the chapters assigned for homework. We will discuss why Holden decided to leave his school early and discuss why he has decided to roam around Manhattan. I will give a homework assignment in which the students are asked to write a letter to Holden. In this letter, the students will be asked to think of what kind of advice they would give to Holden if they were his friends. I feel this assignment can be somewhat fun for students because it gives them the chance to write in a conversational tone. Day 6 At this point, I would like to have the class do more in-depth character analysis. We will have a class discussion where the students are asked to think of the root causes for Holden's behavior patterns and try to think of what Holden is trying to accomplish. It

may be somewhat advanced for 10th grade students, but I would like to introduce psychological concepts regarding adolescents. I will pass out copies of an article about adolescents. Day 7 I will assign the students to write a thesis driven essay where they analyze Holden. I will let them choose their own topics pending approval from me. They will start their essays during class so I will be able to go over their essays as they are writing them to offer insight. They will finish the essays for homework. Day 8 I will collect the first drafts of the essays. I'll write remarks that let the students know what they need to do to improve the essays in their second drafts. Day 9 I will collect the second drafts and give the students their final grades. Resources: -Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1st. Boston, M.A.: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print. -Worksheets -Copies of article Instructional/Environmental Modifications: Ill place students who have difficulties paying attention in the front of the room, so it will be easier for them to keep from getting distracted. Time Required: I find it somewhat hard to come up with a realistic estimation of how much time will be required for this learning experience since I don't have experience as a teacher. I don't want to move through the book too swiftly and give key ideas from the book too little attention. My estimation is that this learning experience will last three weeks. Unfortunately, I still haven't planned out procedures for every day. Reflection: I chose this learning experience because I think its one that will generate students enthusiasm. I feel theyll be especially enthusiastic when they have the chance to read a

novel such as The Catcher in the Rye, where the protagonist is around their age group. I think the students will find that they can relate to Holdens motivations and desires. This learning experience can also be one of the keys to arousing students' interests in literary works that take place in earlier time periods, such as Shakespeare and Hawthorne. When the students understand and relate to the characters better, they don't find the literature to be as boring and disconnected from their lives.