Analyze Characters

Ready-to-teach lesson

STANDARD

identify some elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and explain how they help communicate meaning

WHY THIS LESSON EARNS THE CODE

Students read the ending as Analyze Characters and analyze how his voice and presentation communicate his admissions.

PLACEMENT

TEACHES - the student task directly practices the cited expectation. The canonical lesson follows unchanged.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Education, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language, 2023.

Verified 2026-09-08 · strict winner-only audit

TUMBLETA · SKILL LESSON

Analyze Characters

Boy Soup · Grade 3 · Book 4163

Full lesson

TIME

30 minutes

OBJECTIVE

Read the letter at the end as a letter, and identify the admissions the giant makes in his own voice.

STUDENT PRODUCT

Rows for each thing the giant says in his letter, with a box for whether anybody had accused him of it

FOCUS

A letter in a character's own hand and voice, with his own underlining

page 1

Essential question

Why does the book finish with a letter instead of carrying on the story?

Materials

• The book

• The letter pages copied

Text to mark before teaching

• Passage 9 — a big hand-lettered letter, Kate holding it open

• Passage 10 — the lower half of the same letter, Kate leaning on it

• Passage 11 — a restaurant full of children in striped aprons

Focus:

Teacher direction:

Prepared text:

A text inside the story with its own handwriting Show the letter and ask, before reading it, how the class can tell it is not the storyteller.

Passage 9 2 What he admits · 10 min Write each thing the giant admits on this page, and whether anybody had accused him of it.

page 2

That the book is old, that giants used to do it, that Kate is right it is wrong, and that he thinks he knew that already. Nobody accused him - he is the one who raises it.

Passage 9 3 The thanks · 9 min Read the rest of the letter and write what he thanks Kate for and what he has done since.

He is glad she tricked him, because he would have felt bad once he realised. He has told all the giants there will be no boy soup for him.

Passage 10

A form chosen to let a character speak alone Ask why the author gives the giant a letter instead of another scene.

Passage 11

Teacher guidance

Why this text works: The letter is hand-lettered rather than typeset, carries the writer's own underlinings, and is signed and every admission in it is his, since none of the children is present when it is written.

Expected answer:

He says the medical book is from long ago, that giants did boil boys then, that Kate is right that it is wrong, and that he guesses he knew it - but being sick tempted him. He says he is glad she tricked him because he would have felt bad afterwards, and that he has told all the other giants. He signs it Big G.

Model: This is not the story talking any more - it is the giant's own handwriting, with his own lines drawn under the bits he thinks matter. So everything in it is what he chose to say.

Support and extension

Above: Say what the underlining in the letter tells you about which parts the giant thought were most important.

Below: Say who wrote the letter and who it was sent to.

Assessment

Look for: Recognises the letter as written by the giant himself. Names at least two things he admits.

Notices he says he already knew it was wrong.

page 3

Short version

TIME

15 minutes

OBJECTIVE

Read the letter at the end as a letter, and identify the admissions the giant makes in his own voice.

STUDENT PRODUCT

Rows for each thing the giant says in his letter, with a box for whether anybody had accused him of it

FOCUS

A letter in a character's own hand and voice, with his own underlining

Essential question

Why does the book finish with a letter instead of carrying on the story?

Materials

The book The letter pages copied

Text to mark before teaching Passage 9 — a big hand-lettered letter, Kate holding it open Passage 10 — the lower half of the same letter, Kate leaning on it Passage 11 — a restaurant full of children in striped aprons

Lesson sequence

1 Whose writing · 4 min

Focus:

A text inside the story with its own handwriting

Teacher model:

Show the letter and ask how the class can tell who wrote it.

Prepared text:

Passage 9 2 What he admits · 6 min

Teacher direction:

Write what the giant admits here.

Expected answer:

That the book is old, that it was wrong, and that he thinks he already knew.

Prepared text:

Passage 9 3 The thanks · 5 min

Teacher direction:

Write what he thanks Kate for.

page 4

Expected answer:

For tricking him he says he would have felt bad afterwards.

Prepared text:

Passage 10

Teacher guidance

Why this text works: The letter is hand-lettered rather than typeset, carries the writer's own underlinings, and is signed - and every admission in it is his, since none of the children is present when it is written.

Expected answer:

He says the medical book is from long ago, that giants did boil boys then, that Kate is right that it is wrong, and that he guesses he knew it - but being sick tempted him. He says he is glad she tricked him because he would have felt bad afterwards, and that he has told all the other giants. He signs it Big G.

Model: This is not the story talking any more - it is the giant's own handwriting, with his own lines drawn under the bits he thinks matter. So everything in it is what he chose to say.

Support and extension

Above: Say what the underlining in the letter tells you about which parts the giant thought were most important.

Below: Say who wrote the letter and who it was sent to.

Assessment

Look for: Recognises the letter as written by the giant himself. Names at least two things he admits.

Notices he says he already knew it was wrong. Boy Soup · 4 lessons · How to use TumbleTA (PDF)

page 5