Creating a character yearbook is a unique ELA project you can try with your students to shake up your routine. It’s the perfect resource for middle school or high school English Language Arts teachers looking to infuse creativity into their end of the year, semester, or unit reviews. You don’t need to settle for dull character summaries that simply list character traits. Instead, invite your students to embark on a unique journey of literary exploration with this creative project.
This post will cover what you need to know to implement a character yearbook analysis in your secondary ELA classroom. Read on for info, tips, and links to helpful resources.
What’s a Character Yearbook?
A character yearbook project is a unique way for students to study characters, without the ho-hum regurgitation of character traits. Instead, students analyze characters creatively by preparing a yearbook page for their selected character or characters. This requires students to not only know the traits of their character, but to make some applications and analysis inferences in order to complete the page.
Why Use a Character Yearbook?
This ELA project is great for character analysis. Students participating in this project will analyze characters from any text, and interact creatively with the information. This English project allows students to look beyond dull character summaries that simply list character traits. Instead, students are encouraged to set off on a distinctive adventure in literary discovery. It also works with any character from any text you choose. The project itself works for a variety of student abilities and purposes such as end-of-year assessments or an end-of-unit project.
How to Use a Character Yearbook
The Character Yearbook is already an innovative and engaging ELA project. You can adjust whatever will fit your class size and culture, but here are some suggested strategies.
You will first need to decide what characters will be required for this project. For example, you may focus on just main characters, but you might choose to add minor characters also. You need to decide if all students will complete the same set of characters or if they will have to select different characters.
You will also need to decide how to divide your students. While I do think this is an easy project to have each student work on independently, I love group aspects. Students can work in small groups where each person has a small set of character yearbook pages to work on before putting everything together to present. Students might also work with partners instead.
Students might also benefit from a gallery walk if you use this English project as an end-of-year project. Have each student or group of students work on different texts from the year, thus covering different characters. Students can then look through all the character yearbook pages, or you can make copies for students to have as a study tool.
I also recommend having a template ready for students to use. It takes out some of the time and work that students might spend on design rather than analysis. It also ensures all students include the same information.
Done-for-You Character Yearbook Project
If you’d like to use my specific project complete with templates, instructions, rubric, and samples, find it here in my shop! It’s ready to print and use right now. You can also engage your students in a whole new way with the Google Slides digital companion, fostering collaboration and interactive learning experiences. Plus, with an editable rubric in Google Docs format and Canva worksheet templates, customization is at your fingertips, ensuring that the Character Yearbook Project adapts seamlessly to the unique needs of your classroom.
Utilizing a Character Yearbook in secondary English Language Arts classes serves multiple purposes. Students analyze characters broader than simply listing traits. They must take what they know of the character and develop a biography, as well as make creative analysis choices to complete categories such as “most likely to…”. This project can be used independently or as a collaborative activity, so it can encourage student interactions. Students work on analysis skills, but do so in an engaging way.
If you’d like to see more tips and project ideas for middle school and high school ELA projects, you can find them here on my blog. I also have a TPT shop full of goodies and projects and resources for the ELA teacher. Check it out!
Let me know what you think of the Character Yearbook project, or any other unique projects that you like to utilize with middle school and high school students. Drop a comment below or follow me on Instagram to join the conversation.
Happy teaching!
