An idea that I use frequently is called “Skeletons in the closet”.

Give pupils large sheets of paper and ask them to draw an outline of a wardrobe.

Explain that this is the closet in which characters in the book can hide away their deepest, darkest desires, thoughts and actions.

Having been allocated a character, each group has to think about the main aspects of that character, coming up with objects that could represent each of these by drawing the item in the closet.

When they have had enough time, each group talks to the rest of the class about what they have found in the character’s closet, and what secrets these suggest about the character.

This encourages pupils to think about how they regard a character in the text that is being studied and to represent ideas and emotions with imagery.

Interesting ideas always arise, and evil characters always produce some scary secrets to be hidden away Chris Bond teaches English at Warwick School, Warwickshire