Collaborative Explorations of Character Experience

Book excerpt: Many middle grade novels published in the past 50 years focus on the personal experiences of a prominent fictional world individual age 10-14. This singular focus on one adolescent character, which is sustained for the full length of the novel, is most common in contemporary realistic or period novels. To explore the personal experiences of a prominent fictional young person with middle grade students, teachers will select novels whose exclusive focus is the lived experiences of one fictional world individual age 10-14 and guide students’ efforts to develop full and enlightened understandings about these individuals. Collaborative Explorations of Character Experience: Reading Actively in Middle Grade Language Arts draws on the personal experiences of eight fictional young people in an effort to answer three key questions: What can middle grade students learn about a prominent adolescent character in a middle grade novel by focusing on the personal experiences of that individual? In what ways do middle grade students benefit from reading assigned novels with a sustained focus on character experience and the personal experiences of a fictional young person? How can middle grade language arts teachers help their students to read assigned novels with a sustained focus on character experience?