Character Growth in Because of Mr. Terupt

Activity Overview

Mr. Terupt changed the lives of the seven students in many ways. He brought people together, healed old wounds, and made each student see themself as an individual. For this activity, students will create a chart, showing how each student changed over the course of the book, or a lesson that they learned from Mr. Terupt.

Examples of Character Changes in Because of Mr. Terupt

Peter: Peter is the class clown, always pulling pranks at the beginning of the book. He is the one who threw the snowball, and learns that being goofy and getting into trouble isn’t how he wants to be. He feels extreme guilt for what happened.

Alexia: Alexia is mean and makes fun of people all of the time at the beginning of the book. She targets Danielle, and lies to the girls so they won’t like each other. Mr. Terupt has a serious talk with her, and she doesn’t speak for a long time. After the accident, Alexia apologizes to the girls and admits how horrible she’s been. They all forgive her.

Anna: Anna is very shy and quiet, and has few friends. The reader learns that she has a single mom, who had her at age 16, and is ostracized because of it. With the help of Mr. Terupt, Anna becomes more outgoing and confident.

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Template and Class Instructions

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Due Date:

Objective: Create a chart that identifies how each character was changed by their teacher. Illustrate instances of each challenge and write a short description below each cell.

Student Instructions:

Click "Start Assignment".
In the description boxes, describe how each character was at the beginning of the book, and at the end of the book.
Create an image for an example that represents each description using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
Save and exit when you're done.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 4-6

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Compare and Contrast with T-Charts

Common Core Standards

[ELA-Literacy/RL/6/5] Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot
[ELA-Literacy/RL/4/3] Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
[ELA-Literacy/RL/5/3] Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

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Rubric

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Character Analysis Rubric

Analyze a character by explaining specific ways he or she demonstrates several important character traits throughout the story.

	Proficient 33 Points	Emerging 25 Points	Beginning 17 Points
Character Trait Analysis	Written explanation of the scene clearly and accurately explains the connection between the character's actions and his or her personality and character development.	Written explanation of the scene attempts to explain the scene's connection to the character's personality and development. Some explanations may be unclear.	Written explanation of the scenes fails to correctly explain the connection between the actions depicted and the character's personality and development.
Storyboard Scenes	Storyboard cells clearly show connection with the character trait, through depiction of a specific instance in the text.	Storyboard cells show some connection with the character trait, through depiction of the novel, but some storyboard cells are difficult to understand or fail to capture a specific event in the text.	Storyboard cells do not demonstrate the appropriate character traits or fail to include any specific textual references.
Effort and Editing	Work is complete, thorough, and neat. Spelling and grammar are correct.	Most of the sections of the storyboard were at least attempted and work is presentable. The text contains some errors in spelling and/or grammar.	Storyboard is unfinished and/or disorganized. The text contains many errors in spelling and/or grammar.