Grade 6 ELA Activities

Who is your child’s favorite fictional character? Who is her favorite character from real life? A wide range of characters exist in books and movies as well as in our neighborhoods, families, and among our friends. Part of getting to know a person is learning about which characters, real and fictional, they care about and admire. By closely observing a character, we can gain a deeper understanding of the people we know in real life. With this understanding, we can see who we are and why we do what we do with more clarity.

This family game will challenge your child (and any other players) to bring her favorite characters to life by asking her to stand in the character’s shoes.

	Small adhesive labels or tape and paper labels

On the labels, write the names of real or fictional characters whom the game players know. Put one sticker on the back of the first player. The goal is for this player to figure out the character on her back by asking questions. For example, she might ask the others, “How would my character act if she were at the beach on a rainy day?” The best questions to ask are those that reveal the traits of the character. “What is my character’s favorite color?” for example, is a question that reveals less about the character than a question such as “What job would my character take?”

As the player with the sticker on her back hears each response, she gathers clues and tries to identify the character. As your child discovers which questions are best for revealing the defining traits of the character, limit the number of questions that can be asked before the player with the label must guess who the character is.

By examining characters closely, your child will identify the traits that make characters unique, particularly those of characters she meets in books. As you continue to play “Behind the Back” with your child, encourage her to apply questions from the game to real-life situations and to her understanding of literary characters.

 Grade 6 ELA Activities