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This unique paper-based activity is designed to help students explore the complex depths of fictional characters by peeling back the layers of their personas. Many of us have designed character sweaters before, but what about taking it one step further?
 
This resource provides an array of shirts (short sleeve and long sleeve), sweaters, and overcoat outlines, serving as the canvas for students to piece together the parts of characters in any text.
 
How Does It Work?
Exploration: Students begin by choosing a character from a book or story they're studying.
Visual Representation: They will then use our printable layers, each representing different aspects of the character. The innermost layer, the shirt, is where students delve deep into the character's most authentic self. Here, they write traits or a reflective paragraph that reveals who the character truly is.
Outer Layers: Moving outward, students work on the long-sleeved shirt, sweater, and hoodie layers. These represent how the character is portrayed to the outside world and what others think of them. For each layer, students write traits and include supporting text evidence to reinforce their analysis.
Creativity Unleashed: Additionally, the art/creativity element allows students to color and design the clothing layers to visually represent the character.
Layering it Together: Finally, students staple the layers together, with the outermost layer being what the world sees. This visual representation of the character's various facets offers a powerful insight into the complexity of their personas.
 
This activity combines literary analysis with artistic expression, making it a fun and immersive experience for students, perfect for the cozy fall and winter months.
Encourage critical thinking and text analysis as students support their character traits with evidence from the text.
It's versatile and suitable for a wide range of ages and literary works, adaptable to different reading levels and classroom settings.
Use it to facilitate meaningful discussions among students, allowing them to explore characters in depth.
The editable instructions allow for you to make this yours - and make the activity as simple or as complex as you'd like.