This amazing lesson came from a book given to me by a co-worker called "100% Engagement" (Grades 6-12) by Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber. This project is called a "character mindmap", where students chose a character from our class book ("When Stars Are Scattered" by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed), draw them, then identify and label the following to show they truly read the book and understood the character:
-A thought bubble. What would this character be thinking about?
-A belief under their feet. What beliefs do they hold?
-Something in their hands to represent what they give, their responsibilities, and/or burdens they carry.
-A challenge they overcame or way they grew in the story written by their leg to represent the difficulties they walked through.
-A heart labeled with their deepest desires. What do they most want?
Below is a checklist I used as the rubric from the book mentioned above. This assignment aligns with the high school ESOL WIDA standards, though I did not include the standards it meets.
