Mapping To Kill a Mockingbird Characters

Activity Overview

As students read, a storyboard can serve as a helpful character reference log. This log (also called a character map) allows students to recall relevant information about important characters. When reading a novel, small attributes and details frequently become important as the plot progresses. With character mapping, students will record this information, helping them follow along and catch the subtleties which make reading more enjoyable!

For To Kill a Mockingbird, a character map helps students remember the characters, and their interactions with Scout, Jem and Atticus. Many of the characters in the novel are dynamic, changing over the course of the book.

Copying this assignment will add both the example above and a blank template to your account for you to customize as desired. It can be helpful to edit it with specific questions about characters you want your students to answer. Tailoring this map with a guided note style helps students with recall and comprehension.

Major To Kill a Mockingbird Characters

Atticus Finch	Father, and prominent lawyer
Scout (Jean Louise Finch)	Main protagonist
Jem Finch	Brother of Scout
Tom Robinson	Black defendant on trial
Boo (Arthur Radley)	Reclusive neighbor
Bob Ewell	Accuses Tom of rape, tries to hurt Scout and Jem
Dill (Charles Baker Haris)	Nephew of Mrs. Rachel. A friend of Scout and Jem
Calpurnia	The Finches' cook
Miss Maudie Atkinson	Neighbor and friend to the Finches
Aunt Alexandra	Atticus's sister
Mayella Ewell	Bob's daughter. The woman Tom was accused of raping
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose	Townsmen lives in mulatto community
Mr. Walter Cunningham Sr.	Townsmen, racist
Walter Cunningham Jr.	School boy who bullies Scout

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Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

Create a character map for the major characters.

Identify the major characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and type their names into the different title boxes.
Choose a character from the "1900s" tab to represent each of the literary characters.

Select colors and a pose appropriate to story and character traits.

Choose a scene or background that makes sense for the character.
Fill in the text boxes for Physical Appearance, Traits, Relatives, and Friends.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 1 (Introducing / Reinforcing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Character Map

Common Core Standards

[ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/3] Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
[ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/5] Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise
[ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/10] By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently

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Rubric

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)

Character Map Template

Create a character map of the characters in the story. Put the character's name in the title boxes and choose a character and scene to represent each one. As you read, take notes on the characters by answering the questions.

	Proficient 33 Points	Emerging 25 Points	Beginning 17 Points
Character Picture & Scene	The characters and scenes are both appropriate for the book's characters.	Many of the characters and scenes match the book's characters.	More than half of the characters and scenes do not match the characters in the book.
Accuracy of Notes	Most of the information of the notes is correct.	Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing.	Less than half of the information of the notes is correct and relevant.
Effort	Work is complete, thorough, and neat.	Most of the sections of the character map were at least attempted and work is presentable.	Character map is unfinished and/or disorganized.