Better Than a Book Report! Students Must Examine How a Character Thinks & Feels. Teacher Example (For The Diary of Anne Frank) Follow These Easy Steps: 1) Student selects a literary character or teacher selects characters for students. 2) Students take about five minutes to brainstorm any ideas they have about what is likely going on inside their characters' minds such as: recurring thoughts, fears, joyful thoughts, strong memories, recent feelings, recurring images, dreams, convictions they live by, things they say a lot, how their minds work, etc. Students can make lists or quickly jot down ideas on a scratch piece of paper. 3) Using the template provided below, students turn their ideas into images, quotations, and miscellaneous "thoughts" going on in their characters' minds. The final product should be visually appealing and neat. In my example below, I focused on about 13 total "thoughts" going on in the mind of Anne Frank. Examples Made by ALL Ages: You can turn it into a silhouette! 8th Grade Student Example: Get Inside the Mind of a Character 7th Grade Student Example: Get Inside the Mind of a Character Template: Get Inside the Mind of a Character Looking for High-Interest ENGAGING READING for your students? WANT TO HAVE THEM PRACTICE ALL 10 READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT STANDARDS? Students keep reporting how much they LOVE the texts!!! TRY BOTH VOLUMES: