Drawing Conclusions through Character Traits

All of my groups have been working on Drawing Conclusions about characters in their books.  I found this great list that they have all taped into their notebooks, so whenever they are at a loss for how to describe a character, they can refer to the list.  It is from readwritethink.org and the kids really find it helpful.

They have used it for writing descriptions, posters, summaries, and sharing their analysis about characters in literature discussions.

Westing Game Wanted Posters

We have been working on wanted posters for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin with one of my reading groups.  They are perfect for this book because there are 16 characters to choose from and they decide who they think would be responsible for the murder.  I use the following rubric and directions.

Here are some examples from last year....

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster

James Hoo Wanted Poster

If you would like to see more activities for The Westing Game, please see my post on the book unit for my classroom here.  And here are a few more examples from this year...

UPDATE (Jan. 19, 2013)!!!  Everytime the kids do this project, there are new posters that are my favorites.  They get better every time!  Here are a few of my recent faves...

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster

Berthe Crow Wanted Poster