Wendy York, Middle School Teacher, McDougle Middle SchoolAlexis N. Hall, Student Assistant, Tennessee 4-H Youth DevelopmentJennifer Richards, Curriculum Specialist, Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

W 491

JUDGING A CHARACTER4-H Personified

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Judging a Character 4-H Personified

Skill Level Intermediate, 6th- 8th Grades

Learner Outcomes The learner will be able to: Identify procedures for making sound

literary judgements Analyze Cinderella’s character Create a 4-H persona using the 4-H

pledge as a guide

Educational Standard(s) Supported English/Language Arts 6.SL.CC.17.SL.CC.18.SL.CC.16.RL.CS.6

Success Indicator Learners will be successful if they: Create a 4-H persona using a character

analysis guide and the 4-H pledge

Time Needed 45-60 Minutes

Materials List Student Handout: “Cinderella Story” Student Handout:“Judging a Character” Student Handout: “Creating a 4-H Persona”

Introduction to Content

Authors

York, Wendy. Middle School Teacher, McDougle Middle School.

Hall, Alexis N. Student Assistant, Tennessee 4-H Youth Development.

Richards, Jennifer. Curriculum Specialist, Tennessee 4-H Youth Development.

Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

Students will learn to judge the character of others based on evidence. This is an important analytical skill that students can use when making decisions.

Introduction to Methodology

Students will use investigation skills to make a sound judgment call on the character of a literary persona. They will think about their favorite book characters and then listen and read along to the story of Cinderella. Students will then work together to analyze Cinderella’s character and apply their skills to create a 4-H persona.

Prepared using research based practices in youth development and experiential learning.

This lesson plan has been developed as part of the TIPPs for 4-H curriculum.

Judging a Character 2

Setting the Stage and Opening Questions

Tell students, “I want you to think about your favorite character from a book. I’ll give you some time to think.” After a few moments, invite a few people to share the name of their favorite book characters with the class.

Say, “When we read literary works, we decide whether we like or dislike the character, and this information guides our perspective as we read. You just shared a few examples of characters whom you like. Take a moment to think about why you like the character and share your answer with a person sitting near you.”

Allow time for students to think and share.

“Typically, we look at the character and ‘measure’ what we see against our own value system. This helps us determine if we like the character or not. Today we will look at a well-known literary character, make decisions about her likeability and discuss how this impacts our perspective of her throughout the story. We will then think about what kind of literary character 4-H might be and create a persona for it.”

Tips for Engagement

If students cannot think of a character from a book they like, ask them to think about their favorite character from a movie, television series or video game.

Terms and Concepts Introduction

Persona- The particular type of character that a person seems to have based on the voice in which an author writes a story or poem

Experience

Give each student a copy of the Cinderella Story Student Handout and read the story aloud to the class.

Ask, “Do you like Cinderella? Why?” Allow students to share why they do or do not like Cinderella.

Divide students into literary investigation teams. Students should work in groups of 3-4 to allow for an idea-sharing environment.

Give each group a copy of the Judging a Character Student Handout. Say, “Your literary investigation team will answer the questions on the ‘Judging a Character’ sheet and reflect on how you feel about the character as a person.”

Allow students fifteen minutes to complete this activity.

Judging a Character 3

 Life Skill(s) from TIPPs for

4-H6th Grade Learn to form ideas, make decisions, and think critically (Head Thinking) Follow a plan to achieve a goal (Head Managing) Establish connections with others that are wholesome and meaningful (Heart Relating) Use appropriate social skills to interact in group settings (Heart Relating) Handle one's own feelings so they are expressed appropriately (Health Being)

7th Grade Identify possible solutions to a problem or situation (Head Thinking) Understand the feelings or perspectives of others (Heart Relating) Give and receive feedback about an issue or conflict (Heart Relating) Respond appropriately to communications from others (Heart Relating)

8th Grade Support the efforts of others to learn (Head Thinking) Communicate accurate information on a given topic to someone else (Head Thinking) Control impulses and irrational behavior, particularly when in conflict or disagreement by giving examples of how you have done so in the past (Heart Relating)

Share

Instruct each team to share their answers with another group to see how they compare.

Apply

Give each group a copy of the Creating a 4-H Persona Student Handout.

Say, “Next, your literary investigation team will create a persona for 4-H using the pledge and the character analysis questions as a guide.”

Process

Ask students, “As you were conducting your character analysis, which factors most affected how you think of Cinderella?” Answers might include her words, actions or appearance.

Generalize

Tell students, “The answers you developed for why you like Cinderella became more specific after you analyzed her character. We can extend this process to the people or situations in our lives to make sound judgments based on evidence. For example, when might you need to use this skill in real life?”

Judging a Character 4

Supplemental Information Educational Standards Met

English/Language Arts

6.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 6th grade level topics and texts; engage effectively withvaried partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own ideas clearly.

7.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 7th grade level topics and texts; engage effectively withvaried partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own ideas clearly.

8.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 8th grade level topics and texts; engage effectively withvaried partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own ideas clearly.

6. RL.CS.6 Explain how an author establishes and conveys the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

W 491 03/18 18-0170 Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating. UT

Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.

Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

Cinderella Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. She lived with her wicked stepmother and two 

stepsisters. They treated Cinderella very badly. One day, they were invited for a grand ball in the king’s palace. 

But Cinderella’s stepmother would not let her go. Cinderella had to sew new party gowns for her stepmother 

and stepsisters, and curl their hair. Then they went to the ball, leaving Cinderella alone at home. 

Cinderella felt very sad and began to cry. Suddenly, a fairy godmother appeared and said, “Don’t cry, Cinderella! 

I will send you to the ball!” But Cinderella was sad. She said, “I don’t have a gown to wear for the ball!” The fairy 

godmother waved her magic wand and changed Cinderella’s old clothes into a beautiful new gown! The fairy 

godmother then touched Cinderella’s feet with the magic wand. And lo! She had beautiful glass slippers! “How 

will I go to the grand ball?” asked Cinderella. The fairy godmother found six mice playing near a pumpkin, in the 

kitchen. She touched them with her magic wand and the mice became four shiny black horses and two 

coachmen, while the pumpkin turned into a golden coach. Cinderella was overjoyed and set off for the ball in 

the coach drawn by the six black horses. Before leaving, the fairy godmother said, “Cinderella, this magic will 

only last until midnight! You must reach home by then!” 

When Cinderella entered the palace, everyone was struck by her beauty. No one, not even Cinderella’s 

stepmother or stepsisters, knew who she really was in her pretty clothes and shoes. The handsome prince also 

saw her and fell in love with Cinderella. He went to her and asked, “Would you like to dance?” And Cinderella 

said, “Yes!” The prince danced with her all night and no one recognized the beautiful dancer. Cinderella was so 

happy dancing with the prince that she almost forgot what the fairy godmother had said. At the last moment, 

Cinderella remembered her fairy godmother’s words and she rushed to go home. “Oh! I must go!” she cried and 

ran out of the palace. One of her glass slippers came off, but Cinderella did not turn back for it. She reached 

home just as the clock struck twelve. Her coach turned back into a pumpkin, the horses into mice and her fine 

ball gown into rags. Her stepmother and stepsisters reached home shortly after that, talking about the beautiful 

lady who had been dancing with the prince. 

The prince had fallen in love with Cinderella and wanted to find out who the beautiful girl was, but he did not 

even know her name. He found the glass slipper that had come off Cinderella’s foot as she ran home. The prince 

said, “I will find her. The lady whose foot fits this slipper will be the one I marry!” The next day, the prince and 

his servants took the glass slipper and went to all the houses in the kingdom. They wanted to find the lady 

whose feet would fit in the slipper. All the women in the kingdom tried on the slipper, but it would not fit any of 

them. Cinderella’s stepsisters also tried on the little glass slipper. They tried to squeeze their feet and push hard 

into the slipper, but the servant was afraid the slipper would break. Cinderella’s stepmother would not let her 

try the slipper on, but the prince saw her and said, “Let her also try on the slipper!” The slipper fit her perfectly, 

and the prince recognized her from the ball. He married Cinderella and together they lived happily ever after. 

Source: http://shortstoriesshort.com/story/cinderella‐beautiful‐girl/ 

 

Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

Judging a Character This activity will help you make sound judgments about literary characters. It will be useful for any character in any literary work. On the sheet below, fill in the information for the character Cinderella. Use the story of Cinderella to help you as you complete the sheet. 

Character Name: Cinderella Literary Work in which the Character Appears: Cinderella Type of Literary Work: Short Story

1. What is the character’s physical appearance?  

 

2. What does the character do?  

 

3. What does the character say?  

 

4. What do others say about them?  

 

5. What does the character think or feel?  

 

6. How do you feel about the character? Are they likeable? Why or Why not?

 

Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

Creating a 4-H Persona Using the questions from Judging Cinderella, you will create a 4‐H persona. In other words, if 4‐H was a literary character how would you make him/her likable?  Refer to the 4‐H pledge to help you answer. 

I pledge my head to clearer thinking, 

My heart to greater loyalty, 

My hands to larger service, 

and my health to better living, 

for my club, my community, my country, and my world. 

1. What is the character’s physical appearance?  

 

2. What does the character do?  

 

3. What does the character say?  

 

4. What do others say about them?  

 

5. What does the character think or feel?  

 

6. How do you feel about the character? Are they likeable? Why or Why not?