Lesson Plan
Character Detectives
Your students will learn all about what makes a fictional character special when they become character detectives! Use this lesson to introduce the concept of using key details from a text to gather information.
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In this fiction comprehension lesson plan geared toward first graders, young readers will become character detectives as they learn how to use illustrations and key details to describe fictional characters. Children will explore the terms “character,” “traits,” and “fiction” through the story The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Then, young fiction sleuths will bolster their reading and writing skills as they peruse a storybook of their choice, using what they have learned to complete their own character analysis.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to describe fictional characters using key details and illustrations from books.
Introduction
(5 minutes)- Invite your students to join you on rug or in usual read-aloud location in your classroom.
- Hold up the copy of The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas (or a similar picture book) and ask the class who the story is about. Answers might include: "The three wolves," "The pig," "The other animals," and "The mother wolf."
- Explain that the book is about a group of characters. Define a character as a person or animal in a story or play. Sometimes a character might be an inanimate object that's alive, such as Chip the cup in Beauty and the Beast.
- Tell the class that today they will become character detectives by reading texts carefully to learn about the characters in different stories.