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The following was originally published January 9, 2010 at http://threadsofreading.com/blog/2010/01/09/understanding-the-characters/ In our diverse culture, students bring their own culture to the reading experience. We can help students better understand the characters in the fiction they are reading by asking them to consider the perspectives a character might have rather than looking at the issues or problems from their own background or cultural perspective. Some questions we can ask that can help guide students in their thinking are the following: 1) Would you have felt like that if (event) happened to you? 2) How might you have felt (reacted) in that situation? 3) How is (character) different from you? 4) Since (character) is different in this way, how do you think s/he might have felt in this situation? 5) What clues in the story tell you how s/he might have been feeling?

This type of discussion helps students focus more on //why// something happened and also helps them learn to identify a different perspective from their own. This may also help students better accept different perspectives and reactions in their own world.

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