“By using the product, they were so excited and they learned so much...”–K-5 Librarian and Instructinal Technology Teacher
In this activity, students create an outline for the characters in the story, paying close attention to the physical characteristics and the character traits of both major and minor characters. Students can also provide detailed information regarding the character’s actions, how they influence other characters, and how the main character changed over time.
Characters included in this characters map are:
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a character map for the major characters.
Grade Level 6-8
Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)
Type of Assignment Individual, Partner, or Group
Type of Activity: Character Map
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character Picture & Scene | The characters and scenes are both appropriate for the book's characters. | Many of the characters and scenes match the book's characters. | More than half of the characters and scenes do not match the characters in the book. |
| Accuracy of Notes | Most of the information of the notes is correct. | Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing. | Less than half of the information of the notes is correct and relevant. |
| Effort | Work is complete, thorough, and neat. | Most of the sections of the character map were at least attempted and work is presentable. | Character map is unfinished and/or disorganized. |
In this activity, students create an outline for the characters in the story, paying close attention to the physical characteristics and the character traits of both major and minor characters. Students can also provide detailed information regarding the character’s actions, how they influence other characters, and how the main character changed over time.
Characters included in this characters map are:
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a character map for the major characters.
Grade Level 6-8
Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)
Type of Assignment Individual, Partner, or Group
Type of Activity: Character Map
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character Picture & Scene | The characters and scenes are both appropriate for the book's characters. | Many of the characters and scenes match the book's characters. | More than half of the characters and scenes do not match the characters in the book. |
| Accuracy of Notes | Most of the information of the notes is correct. | Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing. | Less than half of the information of the notes is correct and relevant. |
| Effort | Work is complete, thorough, and neat. | Most of the sections of the character map were at least attempted and work is presentable. | Character map is unfinished and/or disorganized. |
Guide students to analyze why each character makes certain choices. Ask open-ended questions about their motivations and connect those to their actions in the story. Encourage students to use evidence from the text to support their ideas.
Encourage students to cite specific lines or events from "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" when discussing character motivations. Model how to reference the text and explain why this strengthens their responses.
Foster an environment where students can disagree respectfully about what drives each character. Establish ground rules for discussion and prompt students to listen and respond thoughtfully to peers.
Ask students to relate the characters' decisions to their own lives or current events. Invite students to share personal experiences or observations that mirror the dilemmas faced by the characters.
Have students write a short reflection on which character's motivations they found most interesting and why. Encourage them to use both discussion points and text evidence in their responses.
A character map for 'Rikki-Tikki-Tavi' is a visual organizer that helps students outline key details about each character, including their physical traits, personality, relationships, and important actions in the story.
To create a character map, have students identify major characters, choose visual representations, and fill in text boxes with traits, relationships, and defining moments for each character. Using digital tools or drawing by hand both work well.
Major characters include Rikki-tikki, Teddy, Teddy's parents, Nag, and Nagina. Minor characters are Darzee, Darzee's wife, and Chuchundra.
Students should include physical characteristics, personality traits, each character’s relationships with others, and a defining moment or key action for every character.
Creating a character map helps students analyze character development, understand relationships in the story, and track how the main character changes over time, deepening reading comprehension.
“By using the product, they were so excited and they learned so much...”–K-5 Librarian and Instructinal Technology Teacher
“I'm doing a Napoleon timeline and I'm having [students] determine whether or not Napoleon was a good guy or a bad guy or somewhere in between.”–History and Special Ed Teacher
“Students get to be creative with Storyboard That and there's so many visuals for them to pick from... It makes it really accessible for all students in the class.”–Third Grade Teacher