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By:
Roger Sutton,
on 2/12/2015
Blog:
Read Roger - The Horn Book editor's rants and raves
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If there’s one thing my students have come to know about their teacher, Ms. Tell, it’s that I have an extreme passion for, and knowledge of, the Harry Potter series. I won’t get too much into it (I’ll save that for another blog post), but it’s true. It’s not just the magical characters and enchanting spells that draws me towards the series; it’s that as I’ve grown older, I’ve been able to appreciate some of its deeper lessons, concerning the acceptance of others that may seem “different,” and the notion of taking responsibility for your actions.
It was in the midst of my daily Google search that I came across an article in New York Magazine entitled, “Can Harry Potter Teach Kids Empathy?” Well, if I see Harry Potter in a headline, you can guarantee that I’ll click that link. Now, while Harry Potter was definitely used as a hook to draw readers into the article, I became more enthralled by the ongoing study being described in which research has begun to discover that reading fiction can have major impact on one’s social perceptions and understanding of different viewpoints around the world.
In lieu of the holidays and the spirit of the new year, the time that dedicates itself to appreciating what you have and offering up new resolutions to better oneself, my mind shifted towards what I truly believe to be one of the most important facets of a child’s education — shaping character. Thinking about whether or not we are raising our students to be genuine, kind men and women of society can often fall to the wayside in favor of mastering multiplication facts for the test or meeting the deadline in completing a personal narrative report. This year, my class has taken a particular look at the word empathy, which we’ve come to define as, “I’ll try to imagine how it is you are feeling before I speak or do anything.” This definition has served as a guidepost for how we host discussions in third grade, how we find our “teachable moments,” and how we select our Read Alouds!
I’ve compiled a list of Read Aloud texts (some picture books, some chapter books) that have not only sparked incredible discussion post-reading, but have also seeped their way into discussions throughout our school day. Empathy is at work when a child has a rough time losing in the competitive handball game at gym, or someone feels left out when her friends race over to the swings without her. Books have served as an indirect confidante for when those moments become too big for students to express themselves. In a moment of clarity, books can help them think about how someone else may be feeling.
Here is our Read Aloud list for empathy:
- The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
- The Potato Chip Champ by Maria Dismondy
- Uncle Rain Cloud by Tony Johnston
- Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
- Wonder by R.J Palacio
- Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka
The post Empathy spells understanding appeared first on The Horn Book.
Meet my fellow Chicago children’s book author, the lovely and talented Claudia Guadalupe Martinez who so generously agreed to share today’s Wednesday Writing Workout in celebration of the release of her second Cinco Puntos Press book, the YA novel PIG PARK.
As her biography notes, Claudia grew up in a close family in Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas. Reading the Spanish subtitles of old westerns for her father, she soon learned that letters form words. By six she knew she wanted to grow up to create stories. Her father, who died when she was eleven, encouraged her to dream big and write many books.
Cinco Puntos Press is located in El Paso, Texas, “a fact that informs every book that we publish,” publisher John Byrd shared. Along with others championing diversity in children’s books today, he considers PIG PARK and Claudia’s debut award-winning novel THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME to be worthy examples of the kinds of books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and WeNeedDiverseBooks encourage and seek. “Claudia,” Byrd wrote, “has a clear fronterizovoice: innocent, shy, witty, full of border culture and understanding. She used that voice well in THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFURME, earning herself a great deal of attention with readers, teachers and librarians looking for new and talented writers coming up out of the Hispanic community. That voice has matured in PIG PARK, still shy and clear, but now feisty as well and full of opinions as she chronicles the summer that fifteen-year-old Masi Burciaga and her neighbors came together to save Pig Park.”
I so appreciate Claudia’s willingness to share her insights and expertise on creating authentic characters with our TeachingAuthors readers and writers. Enjoy! Enjoy!
Esther HershenhornP.S.To enter our latest giveaway, a copy of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET 2015, check Carmela's Friday post. * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
Wednesday Writing Workout: Creating Authentic CharactersThis conversation isn’t new, but the mainstream is taking note, thanks to the success of the recent WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. I am more frequently asked for advice on writing diversity, specifically when it comes to authenticity. In such instances, I refer my fellow writers to author Mitali Perkins' tips for writing diversity. Mitali lectures widely on the topic. When it comes to authenticity in racial identity, she advises writers to ask, "How and why does the author define race?” She suggests writers consider the following:
“When race is explicit in a book, ask yourself and your students what would have been lost if a character’s race hadn’t been defined by the writer. Why did the author choose to define race?” The reason should be to establish something for the character, and not just to follow a trend or be politically correct. I, for example, wrote about young Chicana in THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME because I pulled from my own experiences growing up in a Texas border town. The Latino kids in PIG PARK were loosely based on my experiences in Chicago.
Alternatively, writers can ask, “Why didn’t he or she let us know the race of the characters?” If no explicit race is mentioned, will this cause readers to default to white characters, or do other cues establish diverse identity? Physical appearance, language, names, food can all be used to designate diversity.
While Mitali’s advice focuses on race, authors can apply it to creating authenticity for various other forms of identity. The point is to start thinking about how genuine the attempt at integration is.
To figure out what this might mean for you, whether writing inside or outside your experience, try this exercise.
Write a character biography based on his/her racial/ethnic identity. Answer the following questions:
When and how did he/she become aware of his/her identity? What role has the specific identity played in his/her life?
How does it affect his/her social activities? How does it affect his/her school activities?
In what ways does the character benefit from this identity? In what ways doesn’t the character benefit?
How does the specific identity affect your story? Variation: Write a biography based on another form of diverse identity (religious, sexual orientation, ability, etc.).
We live in a complex world where identity is both assigned and assumed. Authentic diversity isn’t casual or happenstance, but something that we as writers must develop as carefully as all other aspects of our story.
As Mary Ann mentioned on Monday, we're saying "farewell" to Jeanne Marie by linking back to one of our favorites of her 101 TeachingAuthor posts. And since today is Wednesday, I had the added task of choosing a favorite post that also lends itself to a Writing Workout. Turns out, that wasn't very hard. Last July, Jeanne Marie blogged about a picture book writing course she was taking. One of her assignments was to discuss the contents of her Writer's Toolbox. She shared an excerpt from her response to the assignment (which I encourage you to go back and read) and talked of the value of reflecting on one's own Writer's Toolbox.
For today's
Wednesday Writing Workout, I'd like to focus on the first tool/challenge Jeanne Marie mentioned:
"I think that one of the most challenging aspects of creating a rootable character is finding a way to make him/her likeable and flawed at the same time."
When I first read this, the term "rootable character" was new to me. I know now that it's simply a character the reader will want to root for. But creating one is not a simple task. In fact, it's something I'm struggling with in my current work-in-progress. Part of my challenge is that my story is set in 18th-century Milan, Italy, a time and place quite removed from my readers. How can I depict my character in a way that modern readers will understand her world well enough to empathize with and understand her feelings and choices?
One way is to find connections between me and my character that I can draw from.
In a presentation to the Federation of Children's Book Groups last March, Elizabeth Wein talked about how she found such connections while writing her award-winning historical novel
Code Name Verity (Disney-Hyperion) by looking for "modern parallels." But even if you're writing a contemporary story, whether fiction or nonfiction, it's not always easy to make your protagonist "rootable." Before trying the following workout, you may want to read these two articles on the topic: a post by Emilia Plater called "
Radical Empathy: Creating a Compelling Flawed Character" on the
YA Highway blog, and one by Alex Epstein for the
2012 Script Frenzy site called "
We Like Characters Because of Their Flaws, Not Their Virtues."
Writing Workout: Creating a Rootable Character
If you have a work-in-progress, consider your main character. Is he or she too perfect? If so, can you give the character a flaw that readers could relate to and understand? Or, on the flip side, have you created a character readers will dislike? If so, can you show why this character is this way?
Happy Writing!
Carmela
I don't want to give you guys the wrong idea. I am not anti-tech. My problem is that relying on technology for presentations has given me more grief over the years. I didn't have the right kind of cord. My Powerpoint was compatible with the school's operating system. Then there was that terrifying moment in a ballroom of librarians when my presentation appeared to have erased all my images (the captions were still there.) I literally screamed "Is there a media specialist in the house?"
My teaching workshops are usually in no/low tech areas...church basements, field houses, a
restored carriage house...none of which have Internet access, screens, etc. So I have relied on good old hands-on materials for my workshops. One of my favorites is Build a Character.
I am sure that some other author out there has used some version of this exercise, but this is my own drama major version. I used some of these techniques to build a "character" when I acted.
Over the years, I have amassed a library of what I brilliantly have labeled "Interesting Pictures." These are people pictures...no Grand Canyon shots, no funky Photoshopped stuff. Just plain old pictures of plain old people. Some of them are contemporary, some archival. I have found most of them online and printed them off. Since I am only making one copy for educational use, I am not violating anybody's copyright. Besides, if the copyright holder usually disables the ability to copy their work without paying a fee.
Because I mostly teach children, ages eight to fourteen, the people in the pictures are of similar age. There are a few "grown-ups" in some of them, but they are not the focus of the scene. I also try to keep the picture composition simple...no more than four or five people in the shot. The pictures should also be no smaller than 5 x 7 so they can be easily seen. I glue the pictures to construction paper, and then laminate each picture. That way they hold up for years.
In the interest of not getting sued for copyright infringement in this blog, I am using one of my own family pictures for this exercise. Yes, the only person not wearing sunglasses, the girl on the left, is me, age fourteen. Just for the record, the rest of these people are my parents (the couple in the middle) my aunt and uncle, and my cousins. This picture cracks me up, and is probably responsible for my present day addiction to sunglasses.
But for the purposes of this exercise I am going to pretend I have never seen any of these people before. I will pick two of them to build into characters. (Surprise surprise...I am picking the two girls.)
Now it's time to play Twenty Questions. I actually have a list of fifty questions that I hand out with the pictures. I tell my students that they do not have to answer all fifty. They can add other questions they might think of as well.
Here is an example exercise.
1. Look at the way the people are dressed. Does this look present day, or as if it took place awhile ago? (Nailing down an exact date is not the purpose....it is a decision the writer makes to ground their story in a particular time.)
2. Name the girls. Let's call them Mary Ann and Melissa (which just happens to be the names of the actual subjects.) Decide how old they are.
3. What is the relationship of the two girls? Are they related? Friends? Total strangers who just happened to wind upon the same picture?
4. Look at the way the two girls stand. What does their posture say about them?
5. It appears that they are on a boat dock with the adults. Why are they on a boat dock? What is about to happen? Or has something already happened? Who are the adults? Are they important to the story of not?
6. What is Melissa's favorite game?
7. What is Mary Ann's least favorite subject?
8. Where are they? Are they in their home town? Are they on vacation?
There are forty two more of these questions, plus whatever your student wants to add to the list. Keep the "answering the questions" time to about twenty minutes. Once that time is up, see if your students can construct a five paragraph beginning to a story with the information they have "found."
This is meant as a story "starter" for those students who stare into space, trying to "think of something"
to write about.
Posted by Mary Ann Rodman
Some writers are teachers, others help aspiring authors when asked, some feel they don't want to muddle the process of learning by injecting their own opinions on how to accomplish the task of writing.
Then comes the times when we wish we could be the teachers so our own pet peeves could be relieved. Once and for all, we could explain to all writers "this is a better way to do that, not the way you are doing it!"
So, if you could teach other writers a better way to do something, what would it be? What would you like other writers to know? What would YOU teach?
To answer my own question, I would teach a course on Character Building. I would relate character making to learning a dance. Each step leads into the next and the next, seemingly flawless as it progresses. The best characters are not flawless, they are not stunningly beautiful or brawny, they have troubles, and the closer a writer becomes to his/her character, the deeper the emotions, the more meaningful each flaw becomes. The more depth a character has, the more involved the reader will be. Complexity takes on new meaning when dealing with a character's personality. A leading character has many layers, and I would have my students fill out a profile for each character they are planning to create:
Character Questionaire:
* Name, age, race
* Physical Description: sex, eye color, hair color, physique, scars or other distinguishable markings; other physical traits - bad knee, poor eye sight, etc. How does he talk - drawl, street slick, up-tight? How does your character dress:
* Pets: past or present
* Family: build a history of family - good and bad, names, location of home, etc.
* Favorite music: be specific - this may help develop your character quirks, endearments, etc.
* Eating habits: likes/dislikes; does he eat by himself, go home to family? eat on the run? Everybody eats - make this as specific as possible
* Sleeping habits: is he restless, sound sleeper, nap?
* Mode of preferred transportation: horses? bikes? trains? How does your character move from point A to point B?
* Any hobbies: sailing, boxing, knitting?
* Any habits: smoking, chewing gum, nail biting?
* Favorite sayings: swearing or cursing? slang or other current sayings?
* Favorite hero: who would your character look up to? why?
Emotional Questionaire:
* Name your character's insecurities: what is your character worried about? List at least three.
* What does your character yearn for: understanding? money? love? justice? Explain in detail.
* What does your character fear: a spouse? police? demons? children? failure? success?
* What does your character dream about: this may already be answered in the above questions, if so, find a deeper level of understanding to relate to your readers.
*What will it take to make your character grow or feel he succeeded in his conflicts: catch the bad guys, find justice served, overcome a fear he's harbored too long, find his truelove, etc.
Once this generic profile is complete, then I would explain this is the starting point in describing a character for a book. This is the tip of the pencil, not the completed character. Now, as a writer, you have something to work with and develop. Give this character conflict worthy of his existence. Give him something to do, accomplish or learn. In other words, make him real. Give him life and allow him to move about and think for himself.
What would you teach other writers? Share with us!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
My absolute favorite character building exercise was creating a playlist for my main character. It's good way to get into her head and differentiate her voice from my voice (which can sneak in more than I like to admit). I have to remember that my MC is a contemporary 17 year old, which means she was born in 1993. Smells Like Teen Spirit is an oldie to her. So I've had to push myself and discover
0 Comments on The story... as of 1/1/1900
Bright Gems for His Crown,
93 Devotionals to Help Build Qualities of Character in Children.
by Maxine Randall
"This book is designed to help elementary and junior young people love and live for Christ now, and to develop qualities of character that will help them shine for Him. The title is inspired by the much loved hymn for children which is entitled "When He Cometh," written by William O. Cushing about a century and a half ago. The devotionals are in the format of 31 biblical truths and character traits, one for each day of the month. Each daily truth/trait is repeated for 3 months, with a different devotional for each month. They can be started any month of the year; months may be skipped in between, etc. Each devotional has a scripture text, a title, a brief meditation on the topic at hand, and a sentence or question requiring an immediate response. Then there is an optional activity for each devotional, which is to be done later in the day. Many of these activities are geared to encourage parental input."
One of the most difficult aspects of writing books for children, in my opinion, is writing books that parents will want to read to them, or want them to read, while pleasing the children and making it fun. You are trying to please two audiences at the same time.
In my Rooter and Snuffle book series I tried to make the stories adventurous and fun for the kids while at the same time helping them to deal with sharing, caring about others, dealing with bullies, listening to their parents, not taking what isn't theirs, and other issues children face. My picture book "Nothing Stops Noah" is about perserverance, and problem solving.
You have to balance what children want with what parents want and do it without preaching to the kids. Still, I think it is important that children's books teach them something while entertaining them. Character building is important. Reading is about communication, passing on information, learning.
I would love to know what issues parents and teachers would like to see dealt with in children's books? Are parents and teachers looking for the same thing?
Meet Betty Needlemayer. She is a teenage girl who loves to create Green Art. She takes
old clothing, fabrics and other junk and with her magical needle turns them in to wonderful toys
for children all over all the world. She tucks little message inside each toy. Her very own wish
for the child. Seems these toys have special powers and can get in trouble here and there. Still working on the whole concept. That is the hardest part for me. Coming up with the pictures
is easy, putting a story together is something totally different. Being dyslexic doesn't help. he he he
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Loved this post. Dashed over to Laurie Halse Anderson's website.
Loved that. Signed us up with Wordpress so I could leave a comment.
Couldn't leave one.
Oh well.
Thanks
Thanks, Pen N Ink. I tried to post on Anderson's blog and couldn't either. I mentioned this on her Facebook page and she said her website is having issues. You can comment on her Facebook page though.
Hope you're writing away!