Creating Characters in Narrative Fiction - Examples and Activities

A crucial component of any fiction text is of course the characters. This 11 page handout / worksheet was developed for a Year 8 English class. It's aim, to introduce the concept of Characterisation , to let students get a feel for a character by reading the work of authors. Students are asked to record all the details they are given by the authors in the extracts about the character. Further they are asked to identify figurative language used ( similes, metaphors) by the author. For each extract there is also a vocabulary list.
There are 8 extracts from a wide range of genres. I started out completing one or two worksheets with the group. Lots to discuss after students have finished recording details on the worksheets. Definitely got them on the right track for creative writing. Could be used for all junior high school years.