Unit 16
Character description 1
Read this description of Joel.
Introduction
Joel is nine years old and is in the same class as Shawn and Ken. He is better than Shawn at maths but not so good at English. He is not very tall and he wears glasses. He always seems to be smiling. The other students all like Joel because he is friendly with everyone. He is never mean and doesn’t get into fights. He likes playing football and marbles.
What he looks like
How he behaves
What he likes doing
2 Re-read scene 1 of the play and look at the illustration. 3 Answer these questions about Ken. Make notes in a word web. You can make up some information to make it more interesting. • What does Ken look like? • How does he behave?
• What does he like doing? • What kind of person is he?
4
Write your own character description of Ken.
behaves
looks like
Ken
kind of person
likes doing
Speaking and listening Discuss these questions in groups. Choose someone to take notes and someone to present your ideas to the class. 1 How has Shawn’s life changed since his mother became sick? 2 What problems does he have? 3 Would it have been better if he had told his friends and his teacher? Why do you think that? Share your ideas with the class.
• A word web like the one on this page is sometimes called a character web. Encourage children to use this whenever they describe a person. • Point out that, in the illustration on page 131, Ken is holding a cricket bat – so maybe he likes cricket. • Talk about the rules for discussion. Ask students to tell you what follow-up questions are. Asking the speaker to clarify or expand upon what they said. • Portfolio: Include an example of descriptive writing in students’ portfolios.
134
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog