Unit 2: Following Characters
Into Meaning
Envision, Predict, Synthesize,
Infer, and Interpret
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• One way they do this is by making a
movie in their minds as they read.
– They don’t just watch the movie; they
become the characters in it by asking,
“What is my character feeling, thinking,
hearing, tasting and touching right now?”
– Then readers imagine themselves in those
scenes, living through the same
experiences.
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• Reflecting on their opinions about their
characters while talking to their partners. They
help push each other’s thinking by asking
questions like:
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What kind of person is your character?
Do you like them?
Why did they do that?
How come the character is feeling that way?
Do you think they did the right thing?
What do you think will happen next?
• This helps readers think more deeply about
their characters.
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• Living inside the world of the story, not
looking at it like it’s a postcard.
– They do this by pausing to make sure they
see the world through the eyes of the
character and not themselves.
– They ask, “How would I feel if I was
him/her right now?”
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• Empathizing with the characters and
what they are going through.
– They remember times they lived through
something similar and bring that insight to
their understanding of what they read.
Readers ask, “When did I go through
something like that and how did it make me
feel?”
– Then readers use that insight to better
understand their characters.
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• Changing the mental movie and ideas
about their characters as they read on.
– Readers ask themselves, “What new
details have I come across while reading?”
and “How does that change the movie in
my head?”
– Then readers revise their movies, making
sure they are accurate.
Walking in Your Character’s
Shoes
• Making predictions based on what they
know about their main character’s
actions, problems, and feelings.
– They ask themselves, “Based on what I
know about my character, what do I think
he/she will do next?”
– Then readers predict not only what their
characters will do next, but how it will
unfold.
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Powerful readers begin developing
theories about their characters.
– One way they do this is by examining their
character’s actions to give them a window
into their lives.
– Readers ask, “What do my character’s
choices and actions tell me about the kind
of person that they are?”
– Then readers use those ideas to start
developing theories about their characters.
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Realizing that their characters are not
just one way, they are complicated.
– Readers think about the times that their
characters tend to act out of character and
ask, "How does this moment make me
revise my initial ideas about my
character?" or "Could my character be
changing?"
– Then readers use those moments to reflect
on how their characters are more than one
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Paying attention to objects a character
keeps near and dear to them.
– Readers look at those objects as a window
into the minds and hearts of the
characters, asking themselves, “What
might the character's relationship with that
object suggest about him/her?"
– Then readers use that relationship to form
an idea about their character.
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Looking at the main character through
the eyes of others.
– Readers do this by examining the ways
that secondary characters act and think
around that character, asking, "How do
others treat, speak to, and view this
character?"
– Then readers look for patterns to help
determine how others perceive their main
character.
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Sharpening the language they use to
talk about them.
– Readers ask themselves, “What specific
words or phrases can I use to really, really
describe this character?”
– Then they think of specific examples of
their characters and use that to come up
with more precise language.
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Readers continue to develop theories
about their characters.
– Another way they do this is by paying
attention to the activities or interests
their characters choose.
– They ask themselves, “What does that
choice in activity or interest tell me
about my character?”
Growing Ideas About
Characters
• Readers continue to build theories about
their characters.
– Another way they do this is by paying attention
to the people our main character chooses to
spend time with.
– Readers think about whether those people are
similar to or different from the main
character and ask themselves, ”What does this
choice in a friend tell me about my character?”
Forming Interpretations
About Characters
• Readers begin forming interpretations
about the text.
– One way they do this is by organizing their
thoughts and ideas about their characters.
– They stop and jot asking, “What are my opinions
about my character and what evidence can I use
to support those opinions?”
– Then readers organize those thoughts into
ideas that seem to fit together.
Forming Interpretations
About Characters
• They continue reading, holding onto the
theories they developed loosely, knowing
that those ideas will impact the way they
see the story.
– They ask themselves, “How is my theory being
proven as I keep reading?” or “Are my ideas
about my character changing as I read on?”
– Then readers either hold onto that theory, or
start revising it.
Forming Interpretations
About Characters
• Keeping track of the things that keep
recurring in the story.
– Readers ask, “What problems, actions, or
items keep resurfacing over and over?”
and “What do these things tell me about
the characters or the book?”
– Then readers form interpretations about
the text, knowing that what recurs is
often symbolic of something else.
Forming Interpretations
About Characters
• Paying attention not only to the new ideas
they have about characters, but also
looking at what lessons the character is
learning in the story.
– Readers ask, “What does my character learn
about people, problems, or ideas?”
– Then readers use that thinking to come up with
the big lessons the author might want them to
learn.