Character Analysis Lessons for Pupils who don't like reading (Shrek, The Hate U Give, Little Women)

This unit of work (7 lessons including EOU questions) uses the movie Shrek and the movie adaptations of The Hate U Give and Little Women to study core principles of storytelling: archetypes, protagonists vs. antagonists, and the Hero’s Journey

This lesson requires no additional resources, just slides, unless you want to print out scripts for the close reading sections.

I recently tutored an able pupil who did not like reading, watched few films, and was struggling with the aspects of literacy that require deeper analysis and interpretation. It is a little unorthodox but could work if you tutor a pupil who is similarly averse to reading or long-form media and needs support with analysis.

Lesson 1: Character Traits and Analysis

• The lesson begins with introducing four key terms that will be revisited in each of the following lessons: perspective, archetype, trait and protagonist.
• The pupils links character traits to familiar characters (Shrek)
• Close reading of a scripted scene in Shrek in which the audience is introduced to Shrek and Donkey
• Compare and contrast of traits

**Lesson 2:Defining and Identifying classic literary archetypes **

• Vocabulary Starter
• Defining and applying well-known archetypes
• Discussing how fairytales use traditional archetypes
• Revisiting the script from the previous lesson to look at how Shrek and Donkey play against their own archetypes.

Lesson 3: Defining and Identifying protagonists and antagonists through the close reading of selected scripts

• Vocabulary starter
• Criteria of a protagonist and applying it to Shrek
• Introducing a new protagonist: Starr Carter, The Hate U Give
• Reading a script and synopsis to explain why Starr is clearly recognisable as the story’s protagonist.

Lesson 4: protagonists and antagonists

• Vocabulary starter
• Identifying the antagonists in The Hate U Give and Shrek using scripts and synopses.

Lesson 5: The Hero’s Journey

• Vocabulary starter
• Explaining the Hero’s Journey
• Applying it to Shrek
• Applying it to Little Women

Lesson 6 and 7 - Review and Assess