Questions and Characterization
Level of Proficiency: Intermediate
TEKS Addressed: 1a, d; 2a, d, e, f; 3a; 4a, b; 5a, b, c, f; 9a, b; 10a, b, c, e, h, k,;
11a, b, c; 13a, h; 15a, b, e; 17a,c, f
Materials / Resources: Gary Soto’s “The Raider’s Jacket” or any book or story
that has a character of interest to the students.
Lesson
Before:



Ask the students to brainstorm some people they would like to meet. Record
their answers.
Next, ask the students to think of questions they would like to ask the people.
Use this as an opportunity to assess how much they know about forming
questions. Questions are often difficult for ELLs because they don’t get a lot
of practice asking them, and because of the “do / does” used with most verbs.
Review question words such as What, where, when, why, who, and how, and
model forming questions, if necessary. You may also use the students’
questions as models, making corrections as necessary. (For example:
Student: “How much money you make?” Teacher: “Good question. How much
money do you make? Remember the helping “do” in questions. Let’s change
the question a little. “How much money does she make? Why did I put does
here instead of do?”) Write examples for each in addition to talking about
them.
Have students role play some of the people mentioned and respond to others’
questions in the first person. If students are hesitant to role play the
characters, play the part and respond to model the activity.
During



Read a story such as “The Raider’s Jacket,” or “The Rabbit and the Coyote”
that is appropriate for the students’ age and language level. Ask them
questions about the characters’ motivations and feelings as you go through
the story. Encourage the students to ask questions as well.
After reading the story, explain to the students they will have an opportunity to
interview the characters. Ask them to pretend they will be part of the audience
on a talk show such as Oprah Winfrey or Christina, and the characters will be
making a special guest appearance. Some teachers like to use props such as
clothing, hats or wigs, but it is not necessary.
Give each student a copy of the Q-Matrix. Tell them each row of question
stems is a different level of thinking. The top two rows will be fairly simple, but
the lower rows require more thinking about what was not said directly in the




store. Talk about making inferences and drawing conclusions, and how
because of our own experiences, we can often relate to how the character
feels, even though the author doesn’t tell us. For example, in the Soto story,
Lorena is daydreaming about Eddie in French class when the teacher asks
her to conjugate a verb. Instead of conjugating it in French, she responds in
Spanish. Gary Soto doesn’t tell us Lorena was embarrassed and the others
laughed, but because of our past experiences, we can conclude those things
happened. Drawing conclusions and making inferences are very difficult for
ELLs, who often struggle to understand what is explicit in a text. Teaching
them to draw on their own experiences, and trust their own judgment can be
helpful in developing skills to understand what is implicit in a story, and to
relate in a more meaningful way to characters.
Model forming a question from each of the rows. Questions for Lorena might
include: Who is your best friend? Why did Eddie give you his jacket? What
can you do to make Eddie forgive you? Why would Eddie be so mean to you
at the mall? What will you say if someone asks you why Eddie took back his
jacket? Who might help you get Eddie back?
Give the students sufficient time to write six questions for one or more
characters. They should use a question stem from each row. Decide
beforehand if you will have them interview only one character, or have a
panel of characters to interview. (For example, you could have only Lorena,
or also include Guadalupe, Eddie and Frankie, other characters in the story.)
As students are writing, circulate around the room to correct errors, and
praise students, especially those who are hesitant to participate in class
discussions. (“What a great question! I hadn’t thought of that. Be sure you ask
that one.”)
When all students have questions written, explain that students will receive a
grade for participation, either as an audience member or by role playing.
Model answering the questions written earlier, explaining that although the
information may be not stated in the story, we can infer what the character
was thinking or feeling, and respond. For example, a student asks: “Why did
Eddie give you his jacket? “ A response might be: “ Well, I thought Eddie had
liked me since school started because he used to tease me in the hall and
say “ Hey Lorena loca!” Frankie told Guadalupe that Eddie thought I was
cool, and she told Frankie that I liked Eddie, so he knew.”
If students are willing, allow them to come to the front of the class and sit to
respond to the “audience.” Play the role of facilitator, or host, calling on
audience members. If students are not willing to come forward at that point,
play the part of character until they feel more comfortable.
After
 Collect the questions to use to review the story.
 Ask students to use the questions and responses to write a short essay about
the character. Provide a graphic organizer that is divided into thoughts,
actions, hopes and feelings, or one that is divided by how the character felt at
different points in the story. After students complete the first draft of their
essays, they should be peer edited and revised.