Character Foils & Student Foils

Last week, seventh-graders were introduced to the literary term "foil."  A foil is a secondary character who serves to highlight the traits of the main character through contrast.  A foil often has similar circumstances as the main character but he/she acts differently, showing more clearly the main character's traits.

To help explain this idea, students identified ways in which Squidward serves as a foil for SpongeBob.

Then students put their new knowledge to work by identifying characters who serve as a foil for Tom in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Grace's handout: (click on picture to enlarge)

Finally, to cement this new learning, each student created a foil for her/himself.  For this assignment, students were given the task of creating a "character" that shared some traits in common with the student but that was also a contrast. Students had a lot of fun sharing their finished foils with the class.

Hailey G.'s foil:

Jason S.'s foil:

Jaclyn's foil:

 

Leah's foil:

Josh S.'s foil: