Open-Mind Portraits
Why use Open-Mind
Portraits?
Purpose
• An open-mind portrait gives you
the chance to illustrate aspects
of a book's character at
important times during the story.
• To help students think more in depth
about a character and reflect on
story events from the character’s
viewpoint.
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What are Open-Mind
Portraits?
• The portraits have two parts.
– Part one: The face of the character is
drawn on the first page.
– Part two: The mind of the character is
explored on a silhouette of the
character’s face
Here is an Example
Character: Akiak
Book: Akiak
Author: Robert Blake
Here are the Steps…
1. Make a Portrait of a Character:
Students draw and color a large
portrait of the head and neck of a
character in a book they are
reading.
Here are the Steps…
2. Assemble the Open-Mind Project:
Students cut out the character portrait
and place it on several other sheets of
paper to be traced to form a silhouette.
The silhouette is the “mind” page and is
used to illustrate character thoughts..
Here are the Steps…
3. Design the Mind Pages: Students use the
portrait page and draw and write about
the character, from the character’s
viewpoint, on the “mind” page. They
focus on what the character is thinking
and doing at various points in the story.
Here are the Steps…
4. Share Completed Open-Mind
Portraits: Students share their
portraits with classmates and talk
about the words and pictures they
chose to include in the “mind” pages.
Below is an example of an open-mind portrait of the character Sarah from the book Sarah Plain
and Tall. This portrait illustrates Sarah's face, then it shows what objects, events, or people were
important to her at a certain point in the book.
Text
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Character traits
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Character traits for Cara:
Intelligent
Observant
Angry
Brave
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• Now think of examples from the story to go along
with these traits, and what Cara may have been
thinking during these times. For example Cara was
angry when her Mother and Father got divorced,
write on the mind side of the picture what she
may have been thinking or how she may have been
feeling during this time.
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• The actual open - mind portrait will be a picture
of Cara on one sheet of paper, and a sihlouette of
her "mind" on another piece of paper. This is
where the thoughts will be written.
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Conclusion
• Open-mind portraits are a fun way
for students to be creative, and dig
deep within the story by sharing
what they got from a character by
showing the character’s look, actions,
and feelings. This gives students a
chance to connect with the character
and book.
Evaluation
• Both sides completed neatly with
signs of effort. Is completed
using color (markers, crayons, or
paint). Right side contains at
least 7 illustrated elements in
the character's "mind"
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Sources
• From Tompkins, G. E. (2003).
Samples from “Compendium of
Instructional Procedures” In
Literacy for the 21st century, 3rd
ed. (pp. 486-487). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill.
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