Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

 “What’s in a Name?”

In this activity, students will create a character and tell a story without using that character’s name to analyze and demonstrate the power in being both named and unnamed.

First, take five minutes to design and develop a character. Imagine them in their entirety and write down answers to the following question:

• What are three adjectives or traits you would use to describe the character?
• What are the character’s strengths and weaknesses?
• How does the character respond to conflict?
• What are the character’s goals?

Next, write one-paragraph narrative from your character’s perspective without naming them. Be sure to develop the characteristics you identified in the first part of the activity.

Finally, as a class or in your reading journal, discuss the following questions:

• What was it like to tell a story in which you could not give your main character and narrator a name? How did that affect the way you told the story?
• What power is there in a name?
• What power is there when someone is unnamed?
• What did we learn about the protagonist as an unnamed character?