Character Creation: Build Someone Worth Reading About

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English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Character Creation: Build Someone Worth
Reading About
English Language Arts · Creative Writing · Grades 8-10 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the five profile headings on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, with a short partner share at the end.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will create an original character with a want, a fear, a habit and a telling object, and will
show one trait through action and detail instead of naming it.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: WANT, FEAR, HABIT, OBJECT, TRAIT.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. Most of this lesson is creative, so there is only one short matching section
to check.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today is a creative writing day. Each of you is going to invent a brand-new character and then write the
first few lines of a story about them. There are no wrong characters, but I do want to see real effort and specific details.
Quiet working time is fine, and you will share with a partner at the end.

SubstitutePlans.com
English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance the way the school requires. Hand out the
worksheet and ask students to read the directions silently.
Settle in, take out a pencil, and read the
directions.
5–12
Read this sample aloud: Name: Odessa. Want: to be
taken seriously at her first job. Fear: being laughed at.
Habit: straightens everything on a desk. Object: a
cracked pocket ruler. Then say, “A strong character wants
something and is afraid of something. The habit and the
object make them feel real.”
Listen to the sample and notice how each
detail tells you something about Odessa.
12–22
Tell students to complete the Character Profile table.
Remind them the character must be fictional, not a real
person they know.
Invent a character and fill in every box of
the table.
22–30
Tell students to complete questions 1–7 (matching and
multiple choice). Walk the room. If a student is stuck on the
matching, tell them to ask, “Which detail would a person
only do if they felt this way?”
Match each trait to a detail that shows it,
then answer the two multiple-choice
questions.
30–43
Tell students to complete questions 8 and 9. Question 9
should be a real paragraph that opens a story about their
character. Encourage them to use the habit or the object.
Write two sentences that show a trait, then
write a short opening for a story.
43–50
Have partners trade papers and read each other’s opening
quietly. Then have students finish the exit ticket at the
bottom of the page. Collect all worksheets.
Read a partner’s opening, say one thing
they liked, finish the exit ticket, and hand in
the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If a student says they cannot think of a character, tell them to start with a job (baker, bus driver, lifeguard)
and add a want and a fear.
• If a student writes about a real classmate or teacher, ask them to change the name and details so the
character is invented.
• If a student finishes early, point them to the early finisher list.
• If a student writes something upsetting or violent, remind them that stories must stay school appropriate. If
you are worried about what a student wrote, tell the office after class.
Early finishers
• Write a second short scene in which your character fails to get what they want.
• Give your character a nickname and write one sentence explaining how they got it.
• Swap profiles with a neighbor and write one question you would ask their character.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students fill in only WANT, FEAR and OBJECT in the table, and write a three-sentence opening for
question 9.
• Challenge: Ask students to write a short paragraph in which two traits of the character clash, such as brave
but also shy.

SubstitutePlans.com
English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: