Education Technology


NCTE: Collaborating on Characterization

Activity Overview

Students will analyze the main characters using a short story selected by the teacher. They will study the characterization and create brief character sketches, and then evaluate how its use contributes to the meaning and literary merit of the story.

Before the Activity

See the attached Activity PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity.

Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.

Install the NoteFolio™ App on the students' graphing calculators following the attached instructions.

Review the terms character, characterization, protagonist, and antagonist. Refer to the character sketches from Activity 1 as a form of quick review. Inform the students that in the literature they read inside and outside of class, character and characterization are important to the meaning and merit of the story. Tell the students that today they will read a short story and analyze the main characters and their characterization using the same method they practiced in Activity 1.

During the Activity

  • Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
  • Distribute the NoteFolio file(s) to your class using TI Connect™ and the appropriate TI Connectivity cable
  • Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity


  • Students will:
  • Comprehend the terms character and characterization.
  • Analyze a short story to identify character and characterization.
  • Develop their own detailed characters.
  • Write short character sketches.
  • Identify and evaluate the literary elements of character and characterization in professional models and peer writing.
  • After the Activity

    Select students to share their character sketches. As a class, critique the sketches for accuracy. Students should agree on and understand character and characterization as developed by details of appearance, actions/behavior, thoughts/feelings, and statements. Students should also be able to identify the characters as protagonist, antagonist, or, in some cases, neither.

    Afterward, critique the author's use of character as related to the meaning and literary merit of the story. Inform students that they will be developing original characters using these criteria in the next activity. (If more than one story is used by the students, select the one most familiar to the class.)