Laura Redebaugh
ED 282-02
Open-Mind Portraits of Fausto
Strategy: I will be using the Open-Minded Portraits Strategy. At this point, the students
are preparing to write their literary essays on the deeper meaning of text. They have been
focusing on analyzing the actions and thoughts of the characters in the novel, and this
strategy concentrates on this. The Open-Minded Portraits strategy makes the students
analyze the actions, words, and thoughts of a character in order to find the deeper
meaning of the text.
Audience:
 The classroom is a 7th grade writing course. There are 24 students in second hour and
15 students in third hour. I will be teaching my lesson with both hours. Both classes
are made up of a mostly Hispanic population, with a mix of Caucasian and AfricanAmerican students. There are more boys than girls in the class, but not by a large
margin. There are about five students with special needs, mostly students with
ADHD. Most students have English as their first language, with the exception of one
student, who has Spanish as his first language. There are also multiple bilingual
students that speak both English and Spanish.
 I am also making the assumption that the students will be able to pinpoint pivotal
points in the text and graphically represent the thoughts of the main character in this
moment. The students have prior knowledge about finding the deeper meaning behind
the text and thinking about what the character is thinking about.
 I am making two accommodations in order to meet the needs of this diverse group of
students. One accommodation is to make a copy of the assignment and lesson to give
to the special education aide so that she can further assist her students in their
workshop. Another accommodation is that I will provide an example of the
assignment and show it to the class so that it is easier for them to understand the
instruction, which will be helpful for the entire class.
Length of Lesson: about 40 minutes
Step
1. Classroom Management
2. Orientation 1
3. Read “The No-Guitar Blues”
4. Orientation
5. Make a Portrait of a character
6. Choose a Pivotal Point in the Story
7. Design the “thinking” page
8. Write Explanation of Picture
9. Share the completed open-mind
portraits
10. Closing
Expected Time
1 minute
1 minute
10 minutes
5 minutes
2 minutes
1 minute
10 minutes
2 minutes
5 minutes
2 minutes
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Materials Needed:
Teacher
A completed example of an Open-Minded
Portrait
Document Camera
One Open-Minded Portrait worksheet
(double-sided) for each student
A Copy of “No-Guitar Blues”
Student
Pencil
Journal
Lesson Objective: Students will illustrate the deeper meaning of the text through the
thoughts of the protagonist.
Grade Level Content Expectation (GLCE):
R.NT.07.03 analyze the role of antagonists, protagonists, internal and external conflicts,
and abstract themes.
W.PR.07.02 apply a variety of pre-writing strategies for both narrative (e.g., graphically
depict roles of antagonist/protagonist, internal/external conflict) and informational
writing (e.g., position statement/supporting evidence, problem statement/solution, or
compare/ contrast).
Assessment:
The students should be able to identify pivotal points in the story and illustrate the
character’s thoughts at this moment in the story, as well as the deeper meaning of the
text. I will be able to assess this by walking around the class as they are creating their
open-minded portraits and also at the end of the lesson, where some will share their openminded portraits with the class on the document camera.
What is Happening in the Lesson
Classroom Management (1 minute)
 The students will be sitting at their
desks during the lesson
 My behavior expectations for them
are that they pay actively
participate in the lesson and raise
their hands when they have a
question
 I will manage time by watching the
clock. My mentor teacher will hand
out materials as I am explaining the
lesson.
What is Being Said in the Lesson
T: Ok, today we’re going to be reading a
story called “No-Guitar Blues” and
completing an activity on it. I want you all
to raise your hands when you have a
question. If I am raising my hand that
means that I am trying to get your
attention.
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
I will raise my hand when I want to
get the students’ attention
 I will maintain the teacher’s routine
of writing the schedule on the
board so that students know what
to expect today.
Mini-Orientation (2 minutes)
I will explain to the students that they need
to take notes on the story I’m going to
read.
Read Short Story (10 minutes)
I will be reading the story “No-Guitar
Blues” by Gary Soto. I’m going to be
pausing at four points throughout the story
to allow the students to take notes.
T: Take out the paper you have in your
journal for notes on Story #4. While I’m
reading the story, I’m going to pause at
times and I want you to write down some
notes on the story during that time. Make
sure to focus on taking notes on the main
character.
Pause #1
T: Who is the main character of this story?
(Bloom’s: Knowledge)
ESR: Fausto
ESR: (raises hand) How do you spell that?
T: (writes “Fausto” on the board)
T: Ok, now take a minute to write down
some notes on the story and make sure to
take notes on Fausto and his family
Pause #2
T: What is Fausto going to do? (Bloom’s:
Comprehension)
ESR: He’s going to give someone their
dog back, but he’s going to pretend that it
was on the highway so they get scared and
give him money
T: Very good, now take a minute to write
down some notes on what has happened so
far in the story
Pause #3
T: Go ahead and write down some notes
on the story so far. Focus on Fausto and
how he felt about tricking the man and his
wife
T: This next section is the last section of
the story.
Pause #4
T: Take a minute and write down some
notes on the rest of the story
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Orientation (5 minutes)
I will explain an open-minded portrait
while showing a blank copy of the
worksheet on the document camera. After
explaining the worksheet, I will show my
own example of an open-minded portrait
of the character “Gabriel”, whom was in
the short story from my KWL lesson.
T: This is called an open-minded portrait
(show blank worksheet). On the front of
the worksheet, you’re going to draw the
face of Fausto. You don’t need to spend
too much time on this side. Now, on the
other side, (flips page), you are going to
choose a pivotal, or important, part of the
story to focus on and write it on this line
(point to line) (Blooms: Synthesis)
Note: This lesson is an anticipatory
activity for when they will be writing their
literary essay
T: What are some examples of important
parts in “No-Guitar Blues”? (Bloom’s:
Comprehension)
ESR: When he wants a guitar
T: Yes, what other scene was important?
ESR: When he finds the dog
ESR: True, what else?
ESR: When he gives the dog back to the
owner.
T: Good, these are all examples of pivotal
scenes in the story.
T: Next, you are going to draw what
Fausto is thinking in that moment in the
story. You should draw about 3-4 pictures
in this area. After drawing the pictures, I
want you to write 2-3 sentences about
what you drew down here (points).
T: I made an example of an open-minded
portrait using the character Gabriel, from
the short story we read last week
“Spaghetti”. Do you all remember that
story, about the lonely boy who found a
cat?
ESR: Yes
T: So here is my example. This is my
picture of Gabriel’s face. Please don’t
make fun of my drawings; I’m not an
artist. In this assignment you don’t have to
focus on making your pictures perfect, you
just have to make sure you are clearly
demonstrating what Fausto is thinking
about in that scene.
T: And this is the back side of the
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worksheet (flip over)
T: I chose to draw what Gabriel is thinking
about in the opening scene of the story,
where he is sitting on the stoop of his
building thinking about how lonely he is,
so I wrote this at the top of the paper
“Gabriel is sitting on the stoop” (points at
words).
T: And these are the pictures I drew for
what Gabriel is thinking about while he is
sitting on the stoop. (points at pictures
while discussing them) In this picture, I’m
showing that he was the only one in class
with the right answers, and the other
students were upset about this. Then, over
here I drew pictures on how he was
thinking about how he didn’t have a lot of
money (points to picture of dollar sign
with an x across it). We know this because
he was thinking about how he ate a butter
sandwich for lunch (points to butter
sandwich) and lived in a tall building with
crumbling bricks (points to picture of this).
Then over here I drew how he saw himself
living outside. And over here I drew how
he wished for some company, because he
was lonely.
T: Then, down here I wrote my
explanation of my picture on these lines
and I wrote When Gabriel is sitting on the
stoop h is very lonely and is being very
hard on himself. He thinks about how his
family does not have a lot of money, how
he is the only one in class that has the right
answers, and how he wishes for some
company.
T: So I want you to take this example and
create your own (Bloom’s: Synthesis)
open-minded picture using the character
Fausto. Remember, only spend a couple of
minutes on the front, I want you to focus
on the back page, and the pictures don’t
have to be too detailed. However, make
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#1 Make a portrait of a character (2
minutes)
Students will draw the face of the
protagonist, Fausto. I will emphasize that
students should not spend too much time
on this step. I will tell students when they
should be moving on to the next step.
Note: Instead of having the students draw
the head, I am going to give the students a
worksheet with the outline of a head on
both sides.
#2 Choose a pivotal scene in the story (1
minute)
The students should choose an important
part of the short story where they have
clues as to what Fausto is thinking about in
that moment.
I will be walking around the room and
noting which scenes students are choosing
and helping students that need it. I will tell
students when they should be moving on
to the next step.
Note: In the 50 Strategies book, Step 2 is
“Cut out the ‘portrait’ and ‘thinking’
pages”, but instead of having the students
cut out one face and multiple thinking
pages and connect them, I am having the
face on the front of the worksheet and the
thinking on the back side of the worksheet.
Instead of choosing multiple scenes, I am
going to have the students choose one
scene, to really focus in on the character
and also because of time.
#3 Design the “thinking” page (10
minutes)
Students will draw the thoughts of Fausto
in the pivotal scene of their choice.
sure that it still looks nice because I’m
going to ask some of you to show our
pictures and explanation to the class when
you are done.
ESR: (draw Fausto’s face)
ESR: Well I don’t know what he looks like
T: Think about clues in the story that
might tell us what he looks like.
(after 2 minutes)
T: You should be moving on to the next
page now, remember that the picture on
the front doesn’t have to be perfect.
(Teacher is circulating around the room
assisting and assessing students)
ESR: I can’t think of what to write.
T: Think about what parts were important
in the story. In what scenes do you really
know what Fausto was thinking? (Blooms:
Comprehension)
ESR: I mean...I guess when he was
stealing the dog.
T: Right, what was he thinking about
there? (Bloom’s: Comprehension)
ESR: How he wanted the guitar and the
dog would pay for the guitar.
T: Good, write down that scene and draw
what he was thinking right here.
(after 1 minute)
T: You should be moving on to the
drawings by now.
T: Wow, Jose. I like how you connected
those two ideas.
T: Good job, Sarah.
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I will be walking around the room and
noting the drawings that the students are
creating. I will assist students that need it. I
will tell students when they should be
moving on to the next step.
ESR: I can’t think of anything.
T: Which scene did you choose?
ESR: Where he gives the $20 to the
church.
T: What do you think Gabriel was thinking
about when he gave the money to the
church? Why did he do it? (Bloom’s:
Analysis)
ESR: I guess he was guilty.
T: Good, try to show that in your pictures.
ESR: How many drawings do you want?
T: Try to do 3-4 different pictures.
#4 Write 2-3 sentences describing the
pictures in the “thinking pages” (2
minutes)
Students will describe their drawings in 23 sentences in the lines given at the bottom
of the page.
I will be walking around the room and
reading the explanations. I will assist the
students that need it. I will tell students
when they should be finishing up their
explanations.
**Note that I have added this step. Since
this class is a writing focused course, I
wanted to make sure that a writing
component was included, as well as the
comprehension and analysis component of
drawing the character’s thoughts.
#5 Share the completed open-mind
portraits (5 minutes)
About 3-5 students will come up and share
their open-minded picture on the document
camera.
(After 10 minutes)
T: You should be writing your explanation
by now.
T: Good explanation, Sutton.
T: Why don’t you add more, Ricardo? You
have a lot of good drawings in your
portrait, I think you can write more than
that.
(After 2 minutes)
T: You should be finishing up by now.
T: Who would like to share their openminded portraits?
ESR: (raise hand)
T: Divino, go ahead.
ESR: This is how I drew Fausto’s face.
(flips page) and this is what I drew that he
was thinking.
T: Which part of the story did you choose?
(Blooms: Comprehension)
ESR: I choose to write about when Fausto
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wanted a guitar.
T: Good, that was an important part of the
story. Explain your drawings.
ESR: Well, I drew a guitar, because he
wanted a guitar. And then I drew a tv with
music playing, because he wanted a guitar
because of the band he saw on tv. Then I
drew a dollar with an x through it because
he knew that his family didn’t have
enough money to buy a guitar.
T: Why is this an important part of the
story? (Bloom’s: Comprehension)
ESR: Well, if he hadn’t wanted the guitar
so bad he probably wouldn’t have tricked
those people into giving him money so that
he could get the guitar.
T: That’s true. Good job, Divino. Does
anyone else want to show their portrait?
ESR: (raise hands)
T: Marisol, go ahead and show us your
portrait.
ESR: Ok, so this is how I drew his face.
T: Very good, can you show us the back?
ESR: Yeah, this is what I drew on the
back. And I chose the part where he found
the dog.
T: Good, and what did you draw?
ESR: Well, I drew the dog here, and the
dog had a tag on it and looked really clean,
and that was how Fausto knew that the
owners were rich, so I drew dollar signs
around the owners over here because the
owners were rich. And then over here I
drew Fausto thinking about the highway
because that’s where he was going to say
that he found the dog.
T: Good, thanks for sharing. Who else
wants to share?
(ESR: raise hands)
T: Ricardo, go ahead.
ESR: Here’s his face and here’s the back. I
wrote about when he gave the money to
the church. I drew the church and the $20.
Then I wrote about how he noticed that all
the older people saw that he put in $20 and
felt bad about only putting in one or two
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Closing (2 minutes)
I will go over the story to make sure the
students really understand the character
and how his thoughts. Then we will go
over how this activity relates to
understanding the deeper meaning of the
story and how this will guide them while
writing their literary essays.
dollars. I drew him thinking about the
couple with the dog and how they were so
nice to him. Then in my explanation I
explained my pictures and how he felt so
guilty about the dog that he gave the $20
to the church and then he felt better.
T: Good job. Thank you, Ricardo.
T: Did you guys like this activity?
(Bloom’s: Evaluation)
ESR: Yeah, it was fun!
T: Good, I liked looking at all of your
drawings. Fausto is an interesting
character. Can you tell me how Fausto
changed from the beginning to the end of
the story? (Bloom’s: Analysis)
ESR: At the beginning, all he could think
about was getting the guitar but in the end
he didn’t want it.
T: Why didn’t he want a guitar anymore?
(Bloom’s: Comprehension)
ESR: He felt guilty about tricking the
couple after they were really nice to him.
T: Why is it important to understand the
thoughts of the character? (Bloom’s:
Analysis)
ESR: So that you can understand what’s
really happening in the story.
T: Exactly. Understanding what is
happening in the character’s mind can help
further your understanding of the deeper
meaning of the text. This story is not just
about a boy that wants a guitar, finds a
dog, and gives the money he earned from
returning the dog to a church. What is the
deeper meaning of the story? (Bloom’s:
Analysis).
ESR: Well, it’s really about a boy that will
do anything to get a guitar. He even steals
a dog. But then when he steals the dog he
feels really bad because the people are
really nice. Then he gives the money away
to the church because he feels guilty.
T: Exactly. Understanding what Fausto is
thinking about helps us to understand that
the deeper meaning of how he feels guilty
about doing anything he can to buy this
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guitar. So in the future, as you are
analyzing a text, you can think about what
the character is really thinking about at
important parts of the story. This will also
be helpful when you are writing your
literary essays next week.
T: Ok, you may keep your notes and openminded portraits in your journal. Mrs.
Stam will now tell you more about your
literary essays.
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