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:

 

Tracing Literary Patterns

In preparation for reading and analyzing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, seventh graders created a tool for tracing literary patterns. Each student was given a manila folder, two library pockets, and two index cards.  In order to set up the folders, students adhered the library pockets inside and then put an adhesive note on the front of each library pocket.

Then, from the list shown below, students selected two patterns to trace throughout the novel.

Whenever one of the patterns appears in the novel, students will note its context and page number on the index card.  Below, you see Evyatar's folder.  He is tracing Tom's acts of courage and Tom's traits as a leader.  He has already noted one example of Tom demonstrating a leadership trait. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

The search for these patterns helps students to read actively.  Moreover, at the novel's conclusion, students will use their notes to help them write an essay on one of the literary patterns.

Since we will be reusing these folders, for different novels, throughout the year, students had the opportunity to decorate the covers.  Below, you'll find some examples of their wide range of interests.

Tali's folder:

Hailey F.'s folder:

 David's folder: