Focus on Characters: Squirrel Park

During Reader's Workshop we have been focusing on character. For the first portion of our unit I read the novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. What a great story to teach character- the main characters Claudia and Jamie are so distinct and have such personalities that my students could really envision the characters and get to know them. 

After we finished the novel I wanted to continue to work with the concept of character. The first story I chose was Squirrel Park. It is by one of my all time favorite authors- Lisa Campbell Ernst. 

First I read the story...

Then we charted the 3 main characters- Chuck, Stuart, and Mr. Ivey. First, I just wrote their names and sketched a picture of each. (I did not list any character traits at this point.)

I then sent students off to their seats to draw and list describing character words for each character. After students completed this, we met back together and then completed the chart. 

Here is a sample of the worksheet the students completed...

You can find this free worksheet here! I hope it is something you can use. 

This is the first in a series of picture book character lessons I will be blogging about. Be sure to check back for the Miss Penny and Mr. Grubbs lesson tomorrow!