Using evidence from 'Ada Twist, Scientist' to write a character description
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can write descriptive sentences about the main character of a story.
Key learning points
- A character description can be generated using evidence from the text
- We know that Ada is curious because she asks lots of questions
- Adjectives can be used to describe a character
- Two similar ideas can be joined together using 'and'
- 'Because' can be used to explain your ideas
Keywords
Character - a person or animal in a story
Description - using words to help someone imagine what something is like
Adjective - a word that describes a noun
Joining word - a word that joins words or ideas
Adverb - a word that describes a verb
Common misconception
Pupils may struggle to retrieve personality traits from the book that aren't explicitly mentioned.
Refer to things that Ada does, what she is interested in and model how to retrieve this from the text and then infer what type of person this makes her.
Teacher tip
Supplement the slides with quotes from the text to help the process of retrieval and inference.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the 2016 Abrams Books for Young Readers edition of 'Ada Twist, Scientist' by Andrea Beaty.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Complete this sentence. In the story 'Ada Twist Scientist, Ada is the main ...
Q2.Which of these can be described in a character description?
Q3.Which of these words is the verb in the sentence? Ada's brother looks shocked.
Q4.Which of these words are the nouns in this sentence? Ada wears a red, spotty dress.
Q5.Which of these are adjectives in this sentence? Ada wears a red, spotty dress.
Q6.Which of these is the correctly punctuated sentence?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the terms to their definitions.
a full description describing a character's appearance and personality
what someone is like on the inside
what someone or something looks like
Q2.Which of these expanded noun phrases might describe someone's appearance?
Q3.Which of these expanded noun phrases might describe someone's personality?
Q4.Which of these words can replace 'Ada Twist' to show you are talking about her?
Q5.When you use the joining word 'and', what does 'and' replace?
Q6.Which of these sentences is punctuated correctly?
To help you plan your 1 English lesson on: Using evidence from 'Ada Twist, Scientist' to write a character description, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 1 English lesson on: Using evidence from 'Ada Twist, Scientist' to write a character description, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 English lessons from the 'Ada Twist Scientist': reading and writing unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.