Day 7: Learning About Character Lesson Plan
Dive into the hearts and minds of the people who drive the story. In Day 7 of the Grade 9 English course, students move beyond plot and setting to analyze character development. This character lesson plan covers the roles of protagonists and antagonists, continues to build the literary devices glossary, and uses reflective journaling to connect independent reading to character motivation.
Time: 75 Minutes | Key Concepts: Protagonist, Antagonist, Character Arc, Pathos, Personification
Learning Goals and Standards
By the end of the character lesson plan, students will be able to:
- Define character as a central element of fiction
- Distinguish between major and minor characters
- Identify direct and indirect characterization
- Describe how dialogue, actions, and decisions reveal personality
- Explain how characters influence plot development and theme
Aligned Global Competencies / Standards / ELA Curriculum
This lesson supports international secondary English expectations such as:
Ontario Curriculum Alignment (ENL1W)
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications — Applying knowledge of literary elements such as character to interpret texts (A1.2)
Strand B: Foundations of Language — Using descriptive and expressive language to analyze how authors develop characters (B2.1)
Common Core (Grades 9–10 Reading Literature)
Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text and interact with other characters and events (RL.9–10.3)
IB Language & Literature (ATL Skills)
Develop interpretive strategies for analyzing characterization and authorial choices
Cambridge IGCSE English Literature
Recognize how writers create and develop characters to shape meaning and reader response
OECD Global Competence Framework
Interpret perspectives and motivations represented in literary texts
UNESCO Literacy Framework
Strengthen interpretive reading through understanding character roles, relationships, and development
Resources for the Character Lesson Plan
Bell Ringer
“What Do We Learn Without Being Told?” (5 minutes)
Write this on the board:
A student slams their locker, mutters under their breath, and walks away without speaking to anyone.
Ask students:
- What kind of character might this be?
- What clues helped you decide?
- Did the sentence tell you the character’s personality—or show it?
Students quickly see that authors reveal character through actions, not just description.
Lesson & Content for the Character Lesson Plan
1. Reading (15 minutes)
As always, begin with silent reading. Encourage students to pay special attention to how characters are developing in their novels or nonfiction selections.
2. Literary Devices (10–15 minutes)
Continue building the glossary with these five terms:
Paradox – A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth.
Parallelism – The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same, or similar in sound, meaning, or meter.
Pathos – An appeal to emotion in literature or rhetoric.
Personification – Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Pun – A humorous play on words, often with double meanings.
Students should copy definitions and add an example from their book or create one of their own.
3. Learning About Character (Short Note for Students)
Here’s the note students can copy into their notebooks:
Characters are the people, animals, or beings in a story. They can be main characters (who the story focuses on) or supporting characters (who help move the story along). The protagonist is usually the central character we follow, often facing challenges or trying to achieve a goal. The antagonist is the character or force that creates obstacles for the protagonist. Good characters feel real because they have strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. Characters are developed through what they say, think, do, and how others respond to them. Learning about character helps us understand why events in the story matter and how they connect to the theme.
| Role | Definition | Function in Story |
| Protagonist | The central character or “hero.” | The character whose goals drive the plot forward. |
| Antagonist | The character or force in opposition. | Creates the conflict that the protagonist must overcome. |
| Main Character | The focus of the narrative. | Usually undergoes a significant character arc (change). |
| Supporting | Secondary characters. | Used to provide information, foil the protagonist, or move subplots. |
4. Journal Questions (10–15 minutes)
Ask students to reflect on their independent reading with these questions:
How does the main character’s personality shape the events of the story so far?
If you could give advice to one character in your book right now, what would you say, and why?
First-Hand Suggestions for Teaching The Character Lesson Plan
When I teach character, I try to move students beyond listing personality traits and toward asking what a character’s choices reveal. I’ve found that once students start paying attention to what characters do instead of what they are called, their interpretations become much more thoughtful and they begin connecting character decisions to plot and theme naturally.
Differentiation
For Students with IEPs
- Provide a character traits word bank
- Use graphic organizers for direct vs indirect characterization
- Model one character example together before independent work
- Allow oral discussion responses instead of written paragraphs
- Focus on one character instead of multiple characters
For English Language Learners
Pre-teach core vocabulary:
| Term | Student-Friendly Meaning |
|---|---|
| character | a person in a story |
| trait | a quality a character has |
| motivation | why a character does something |
| dialogue | what a character says |
| actions | what a character does |
Strategies:
- Use images or film clips before text examples
- Provide sentence frames:
- “This character is ___ because…”
- “We know this when the character…”
- Allow drawing character evidence instead of writing full explanations
- Model with familiar stories or movies first
Character Lesson Plan FAQ
How do you define a character arc for Grade 9 students? A character arc is the internal journey a character takes. It is how their personality, beliefs, or strengths change from the beginning of the story (Exposition) to the end (Resolution).
What is the difference between a protagonist and a main character? While they are usually the same person, the main character is who the story is about, while the protagonist is specifically the one driving the action and pursuing a goal against an antagonist.
Which literary devices are most important for character development? Paradox and Pathos are essential for creating ‘complex’ characters. Paradox allows for conflicting traits that feel real, while Pathos creates an emotional connection between the character and the reader.
Previous Lesson: Mood and Setting in Literature
Next Lesson: Conflict in Fiction
