Lesson video

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Hi there, my name is Mr. Charlesworth, and I'm going to be working with you today in this reading lesson, which is all about exploring characters in series fiction.

Do you have a favourite character in a text? Is it part of a series? Let's see if we can expand our knowledge of them together during the lesson.

The learning outcome for today is, I can explore a range of characters in texts, describing why I like them.

Our keywords are, repeat after me, series fiction, character traits, emotional arc, empathy.

Serious fiction is when there are lots of texts with the same characters.

Each one tells a new adventure or story about them.

Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in the story unique and interesting.

An emotional arc is how a character's feelings and emotions change throughout a story, and empathy is the ability to experience and understand other people's feelings and points of view.

Today's lesson is all about developing reading preferences through appreciation of characters.

In the first part of the lesson, we're going to be exploring reading preferences in series fiction, and then we're going to move on to exploring characters in a little bit more detail.

Fiction is when authors create made up stories with characters, places, and adventures which do not happen in real life.

Series fiction is when there are several books with the same characters and each text tells readers a new part of their story.

There are many different types of series fiction.

Let's have a look at some examples that you might have encountered already.

There's the Dogman series, which is in graphic novel form, and what I really love about each of the titles in the series is that they have a clever play on words with some very famous texts that you might encounter when you're older.

There's the Loki series which follows the God of Mischief through lots of different escapades and adventures.

There's the Hotel Flamingo series, which follows a young girl as she starts to set up a thriving hotel business with the help of some animal friends.

And finally, there's the Bad Nana series or Pizazz, which follows a superhero again in graphic novel form.

I wonder, do you have a series that you enjoy reading? Whisper to your partner or tell a person from home.

There are many benefits to reading series fiction.

It might help you build familiarity with characters and settings.

It will also help improve your comprehension as you start to make connections across texts.

It helps with developing reading fluency as you get more comfortable with an author's writing style and the pacing.

And finally, it can improve your prediction skills.

As you get to know the characters and the story patterns, you can start to predict about what might happen next.

A perfect example of this is in Dave Pigeon.

We get to really know the characters of Dave and his best friend Skipper, and you might start to think and predict about what they might get up to in any given situation.

Here's our first check for understanding.

Can you name some benefits to reading series fiction? Pause the video now and have a think.

I wonder if you can name all four.

Well done.

I hope you're able to name a few of the benefits to reading series fiction.

Let's have a look at two examples.

Series fiction can help improve our comprehension as we begin to make connections across texts within a series.

Series fiction can also help us develop our familiarity with characters and settings.

In our first task, I'd like you to reflect on a series that you liked or a series that you might like to read.

What interests you about this series? Perhaps it's a series such as Rabbit and Bear.

What really interests me about this series is the relationship that the two main characters have.

They don't always get on, but they work together to solve their problems. I wonder if you have a favourite series of texts.

What are the characters like? What's the setting? What do you really enjoy about the series? Pause the video here and talk with your partner or person from home.

Great work.

Let's have a look at a few examples.

I love the Beast Quest series.

They're all about mythology and are full of adventure.

Have you encountered the Beast Quest series? Each of the text is about a different mythical creature.

Or perhaps you like a series fiction text because of the characters.

I really enjoy the characters in Leonora Bolt.

Leonora makes some incredible inventions.

This is a series I really enjoy because it has links to science and technology.

I wonder if your series fiction text has links to the real world too.

Did you hear about a friend's favourite series that you've now liked to read? Maybe make a note of it and get it out from your local library or school library.

We're now going to look at the second part of the lesson, which is all about exploring characters.

When we first interact with a character in a text, we could begin to notice their character traits.

Well done for noticing the keyword.

Readers can identify a character's traits by paying attention to how the character acts, thinks, and speaks in a story.

By observing a character's actions, their thoughts, the words they use, and how they handle challenges, we can figure out what makes the character special and interesting.

This helps us connect with the characters and understand the story better.

These are all examples of character traits that your character in a text or series fiction text can exhibit.

A character can be brave, independent, gentle, responsible.

That means they can be trusted to do something responsibly.

They could be honest, patient, cautious.

They might be creative or defiant.

That means to stand against something or to not follow some instructions.

They might be determined, calm, or observant.

These are just some of the character traits that a character might exhibit across a whole text or series of texts.

Reader should pay attention to whether these traits are consistent throughout the story.

If a character is kind in one part of the story but mean in another, it might mean that they're complex or that their traits are changing.

A perfect example of this is in the Amelia Fang series.

Amelia doesn't just exhibit one character trait throughout all of the texts.

She exhibits a range of different character traits and these change as the story progresses.

We're able to understand lots of her traits by listening to what she says to other characters, looking at the actions she performs, and also thinking about how she handles challenges.

Let's have a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following could be a character trait? Tall, friendly, curious, brave.

Perhaps there's more than one.

Pause the video now and have a think about which of these are character traits.

Well done.

There was more than one.

Friendly, curious, and brave are all character traits.

Tall is not a character trait.

It describes someone's physical appearance, their stature.

Let's continue to explore characters.

This series follows a character called Sona Sharma.

In "Sona Sharma: Very Best Big Sister?" Sona has been told that her mother is expecting a baby.

The story begins with Sona feeling like she doesn't want to share her family.

Sona doesn't want things to change.

As the story develops, the reader is able to understand Sona's character traits through her actions, thoughts, words, and how she handles challenges.

Well done for noticing that keyword character traits and also for how the reader is able to identify them through the actions, thoughts, words, and how the character handles or overcomes challenges.

At times in the books, character traits that Sona shows are that she is determined, kind, and anxious.

Sona is determined because she wants to find the perfect name for her new sibling.

Another character trait that Sona demonstrates is kindness.

Sona is kind because she helped out Paatti, her grandmother, to prepare the home for the new baby's arrival.

Another character trait that Sona exhibits is anxious.

Sona's worried about how her family will change with a new baby.

Perhaps you or a friend have experienced similar feelings and similar character traits yourself.

Let's do a quick check for understanding on what we've just learned.

Which features can help readers identify character traits? Is it a character's thoughts? The setting of a story? The character's name? The actions of the character? Have a think and pause the video now before you decide.

Great work.

There are two features which help us identify character traits here.

We can look at a character's thoughts and also the actions that they perform throughout a narrative.

We can't identify character traits through setting of the story or from their name alone.

Finally, character traits can also be identified by what they say to other characters within the text, and also looking at how they overcome or handle challenges.

We're now going to explore characters in a little more detail.

An emotional arc is when a character's feelings and emotions change in a story or across a series of texts.

Imagine a character starting the story feeling really scared or sad, and then as the story goes on, they might become braver or happier.

It's like their heart goes on an adventure, learning new feelings and growing along the way.

It's natural for characters just like people to feel a wide range of emotions.

It's important to note that all emotions and all feelings are valid.

As readers go on these journeys with a character, they can feel empathy for them.

Well done for spotting another keyword.

Empathy has been described as being able to put yourselves into the shoes of another.

So when you feel empathy for a character, it means that you're able to imagine just what it might be like to actually be them, to experience what they experience and to go on their adventure.

Here's a check for understanding on one of our keywords.

An emotional arc is? A, how a character's feelings change as events in the stories unfold.

B, the way in which a character overcomes a challenge.

Or C, a type of emotion.

Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done if you chose A.

An emotional arc is how a character's feelings change as events in the stories unfold.

So it's like that journey that the heart goes on.

It's not the way in which a character overcomes a challenge.

That helps us to identify a character trait.

And it also isn't a type of emotion, so an emotional arc is how a character's feelings change as events in the stories unfold.

Now, I'd like you to think about a favourite character from a text that you've read.

Perhaps it's a character from a series of texts.

When you're thinking about a favourite character, it could be a character you admire or look up to, a character that you love to hate, someone like Horrid Henry perhaps, a character who taught you something, or maybe someone that you empathised with, or perhaps it's a character that made you laugh.

We're going to share some of our favourite characters with others by describing them and their character traits.

King Coo is one such character.

She's wildly funny, as well as being really friendly and empathetic to the main character in this series who's called Ben.

Let's have a look at two more examples before you have a go yourselves.

These characters are from the Knights and Bikes series.

I like the characters of Demelza and Nessa from Knights and Bikes.

Both girls are fiercely determined and brave because they don't give up easily and they take actions that other people wouldn't.

For example, they come up with an audacious plan and do lots of daring stunts to achieve their goal.

I would like to be friends with them.

Did you notice the character traits? They're determined and brave characters.

We can see when exploring characters it's important to introduce the character and the text.

We've also listed character traits, what their character is like, through their thoughts, their actions, their words, and how they overcome challenges.

Finally, we've provided an example from the text that demonstrates these character traits.

Another example is from the Stuntboy series.

I like the character Portico Reed from Stuntboy, in the Meantime.

Like me, Portico lives in a high-rise apartment.

However, unlike me, Portico solves mysteries and stands off against his arch nemesis.

An arch nemesis is a person who is the opposite of you, the hero, a bit like an enemy.

Portico is supportive to his best friend, Zola.

They're a great team and are very funny.

Portico and Zola work together to better understand a bully, Herbert, showing that they are both empathetic.

Did you notice the character traits? Portico is supportive, funny, and empathetic.

In this example, we've got an explanation of a personal connection to the text as well.

I wonder if you have a personal connection to one of your favourite characters.

Here's our final check for understanding.

Order the following features that you could include in your character description.

List of character traits, example from the text, and introduction to character and text.

What order do they go in? Number them one, two, and three.

Pause the video now whilst you do so.

Great work.

It's really useful for a character description to start with an introduction to the character and the text that they're from.

Next, it's important to list their character traits, what the characters are like.

Finally, it's really helpful to include an example from the text to show what the character is like.

Well done.

In the task, we're going to be describing our favourite character.

Remember, when you're thinking about your favourite character, you can consider the following questions.

Is it a character you admire? A character you love to hate? A character who taught you something? Or a character perhaps that made you laugh? I'd like you to write your character description just like the examples we've just looked at.

Write your ideas in full sentences.