Looking for ways to make character analysis more exciting in your middle school class? Check out these four fun activities to help students dive into understanding characters.
I’ve always loved teaching character analysis. There’s something really enjoyable about exploring how a character thinks, feels, and grows throughout a story—it’s a bit like making a new friend.
I often have to remind my students that characters aren’t just placed in books randomly; they have a reason for being there, even if it’s not obvious at first.
Middle school students often don’t realize why character analysis is important.
They might see characters just as tools to move the plot along without thinking about their deeper role. That’s why these activities are great—they help students see characters in a new light.
First up, tracking a theme through a character.
Characters are often there to help show or advance a theme in the story. For this activity, instead of focusing on the main character, have students track a minor character who appears several times.
Ask them to note each time this character shows up and how their actions or interactions relate to a theme you’ve chosen.
At the end, students can write a short essay or give a presentation about their findings.
Next, let’s talk about the Character Diary.
This isn’t a new idea, but it’s still a fun one.
In a Character Diary, students write from the character’s point of view. They imagine what the character is thinking and feeling during different parts of the story.
You can ask students to focus on minor characters or stick with the main ones.
Either way, they’ll get a better understanding of the characters’ inner lives.
Another cool activity is the Character Interaction Chart.
This chart helps students see how characters interact and why those interactions are important. It’s like a flowchart where students add boxes or circles each time characters meet or interact.
As they follow the main character through the book, they’ll note each interaction—who is involved, why the interaction matters, and what we learn from it.
You can even have students debate why certain interactions are important or not.
Finally, the Character Development Timeline.
This activity helps students see if a character changes or stays the same throughout the story.
To create a Character Development Timeline, students create a timeline that shows moments of growth or change for the character. They move events up or down on the timeline to show if the character is growing or staying flat.
This activity can lead to great class discussions, where students share their thoughts on whether the character really changed or not.
We hope these four fun activities for character analysis engage your middle school students.
If you’re studying The Breadwinner or The Hobbit, we’ve got resources with these activities already included. Just click the links below to check them out!
Happy reading!
