Have students create an interview with a book character to better comprehend their point of view, interpret their voice and understand events in a story.
Assign each student, or team, a character or let them choose a character from a story they love.
Students will need to identify what they know, find additional ideas and evidence in the text, and begin organizing their ideas. Use graphic organizers, such as the 5 W’s, to scaffold student research and ideation.
Use a cluster diagram that includes evidence from text to capture ideas about the character and events.
If you haven’t already watched a sample interview with your students, now is the perfect time to explore how an interviewer gets an interviewee to share information that is relevant and engaging.
Ask students to write 6-10 questions for their character and then share and compare them with a critical friend. Have pairs share their favorites with the class.
If they need additional support, share example question starters like:
You could also share these four methods for interviewing characters.
Have students write answers for each of the questions as if they were the book character. Encourage them to use quotes and evidence from the text to demonstrate close reading and comprehension.
Students can use Wixie to create scenes for each question and answer along with thought bubbles. Students can also use the microphone tool or a talkie widget to use voice to ask questions and/or respond in character.
Have students present their interviews to the entire class, or if several students chose the same book, have them share their interviews with this smaller group of students.
Share student work from a device in the media center as a way to get other students interested in reading books that include these characters
Reading: Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.