Day 11: Character Scrapbook by Scholastic

Character Scrapbook by Scholastic [LINK]

I have about a 20 minute drive to and from school. I began listening to podcasts about 2 years ago as a way to soak up more cool thoughts and do some of what I like to call #PDinthecar . One of my regular listens - Check this Out with Ryan and Brian - is a really good one. Episode #98 "New Connection" gave me today's resource.

Brian Briggs shared "Character Scrapbook" by Scholastic. I was highly intrigued! He described it as a site where students can go and create a character and then list out characteristics about that character. Sure enough - that's the gist! 

Ultimately, these can be printed, but another idea is to have students complete this and take a screenshot, then compile all into a Google Slide for the entire book. I can see that being a pretty cool class activity. 

Now - what if you don't teach ELA? I can see this easily being done in History class - historical figures rather than characters from a book. And 

I really like this site - especially to use for a quick activity. BUT .... I felt the options to build the character were somewhat limited. Sooooooo ... if you are looking for a bit more customization, I created this Google Slide you can copy [http://bit.ly/characterslide] for you/your students to use. 

Swap out the bear with the chosen character - or use Slide 2 to create your own version of the character and then insert on Slide 1. Collecting all the slide and creating a comprehensive slidedeck so all the students can see is a great way to share with all students (& don't forget about sharing the link to the parents!) so further discussions can happen. 

I also included a few "extension" ideas (you can find them on Slide 1). I love when I see students dive into an activity and I always try to think a few steps out by having something "extra" for students to chose from to push them a little further. I also try to balance allowing for FULL creation (Slide 2 where they can start their character from scratch) with a more guided piece (Slide 1) where everyone has a starting place, no matter the skill level.

I hope you enjoy BOTH of these activities! If you like the character slide I created, I encourage you to check out the website I co-created with Beth Kingsley called "Templates for Teachers" [http://bit.ly/templatesforteachers]. We have many more of these types of activities ready to go!

Please click HERE for the collection of all 15 resources.