University of Arkansas Fort Smith

School of Education Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Body Biographies

Unit Title: The Fault in our Stars

Grade Level: 9th

Subject Area: English

Dates: 11-10-11-14

Duration of Lesson: Four days

SOE Course: Young Adult Lit

Sara Tomlin
I.

II.

III.
IV.

V.

Standard- RL.9-10.3 Reading Literature Key Ideas and Details 3. Analyze how
complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over
the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the
theme.
Objective- By the end of the lesson students will have characterized and developed
their assigned characters and see how they have developed and work within the theme
of the text.
Pre-Assessment- To pre-assess that students are ready for this lesson I will have a
lesson prior to this that covers characterization. Students will also be required to take
notes on their assigned characters being either Hazel or Augustus and highlight
quotes. I will be required to check off the students notes for them to be put in groups
and begin their work.
Post-Assessment- Students will present their body biographies to class that will be
graded via a rubric included at the end of the lesson plan.
Planning- My students will be grouped in diverse ability grouping. They will need to
make body biographies by tracing another students bodies and then drawing to match
their characters, Hazel or Augustus, and then using quotes that they have gathered
from their reading use a symbolic illustration to represent the heart, backbone, hands,
feet, background, and head. There will also be an overall grade for presentation.
Students will have finished the book by this time and learned about characterization.
They will have to work together and do so in a timely manner. They will have one
day to get settled into their groups, assign tasks, gather quotes and decide what they
are going to use for their different body parts to symbolize. The second day will be
used to get a pencil version of the body biography completed. The third day will be
used to go over everything with markers or colors. This part cannot be done until the
pencil version has been checked by me. The fourth day will be for presentations of
the body biographies. If we run out of time we can add a fifth day to the project.
Engaging the Learner- For this section of the lesson, I will be showing the students
the movie trailer. After this lesson I will be showing the movie to the students so this
is a way to give the students a sneak peek into the movie, while also giving them a
glimpse of their characters coming to life. They will be watching this and getting to

see their characters come to life. After they watch the trailer I will put them into their
groups.
VI.
Methods- Students will be put into diverse ability grouping. They will have been
taking notes on a character that was assigned to them at the beginning of the book
without knowing any of their partners. This will assure that no one lets another group
member take all of the notes. Notes will be a part of their final grade. When they get
into groups and start working I will go to group to group constantly to make sure that
everyone stays on task.
VII. Activities- Students will be conducting a body biography of either Hazel or Augustus
by tracing a group members body and constructing an insightful symbol for the
heart, the backbone, the hands, the feet, an image in the background, the head, and
will be graded on overall appearance and presentation. All of these symbols must be
supported with a page number and a quote from the text.
VIII. Resources-Paper, colors, markers, colored pencils, pencils, sticky notes, novel,
erasers, internet, model of body biography.
IX.
PAL- If the internet is unavailable; the movie trailer can be skipped. If there are any
interruptions or schedule changes or the lesson simply takes more time than needed,
we can extend the lesson one or two more days if necessary. For IEPs and 504s I
can supply extra notes, quotes, and resources on characterization. For students with
sight issues I can supply large print.
X.
Collaboration- To collaborate this lesson I would talk to the other English teachers
and make sure we are all on the same page, we could do body biographies together
and display them in the hallway.

Category
Heart

Backbone

Hands

Feet

Background

Head

Overall

Notes

Group
Presentation

4
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, a
quote with a page
number are
present
The body
biography is neat,
colorful, creative,
and very insightful

3
An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

2
A symbolic
illustration is
present

1
An illustration is
present

An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

A symbolic
illustration is
present

An illustration is
present

An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

A symbolic
illustration is
present

An illustration is
present

An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

A symbolic
illustration is
present

An illustration is
present

An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

A symbolic
illustration is
present

An illustration is
present

An insightful and
symbolic
illustration, and a
quote are present

A symbolic
illustration is
present

An illustration is
present

The body
biography is neat,
colorful, creative
and provides some
insight

The body
biography is neat,
colorful, creative
and provides little
insight

Thorough notes
from throughout
the book are
present
This presentation
is figured in as
10% of the overall

Notes from
throughout the
book are present

Notes are minimal

but are from
throughout the
book.

The body
biography is neat,
colorful and
creative but
provides little
insight
Notes are
concentrated in
certain areas of the
book onlyl

final 100 point

grade and is not
included in the 36
possible points

The Fault in our Stars

Body Biographies
Your assignment for The Fault in Our Stars is to produce a visual representation of your
assigned character from the story. These will be completed in groups; however, individual grades
will be assigned. Follow the directions below.
While Reading:
Step one: Look for your assigned character throughout the novel as we read.
Step two: Gather information about your character from the story, and compile notes to
use for future reference. Quotes must come from the entire text and not be concentrated
to one area. Page number must be included.
After Reading:
Step one: You will need your notes taken during reading for this portion of the
assignment. Write your characters name at the top of your paper. Represent the
following aspects of your character symbolically on the body silhouette. You need to be
sure to relate all of these aspects to the ideas discussed in class. For each of these parts
you must have an illustration and a quote with a page number to back up your ideas.
The heart- Where should it be placed to best represent what this character
loves most? What should it look like and what shape, color, pictures, or
symbols should be included in it? If your character loves changes, find a
way to represent this visually.
The backbone- This should be presented in a way that visually conveys
what motivates the character most. For example, since Jack in Lord of the
Flies is obsessed with hunting, his backbone might consist of a series of
knives.
The hands-What does the character hold in his or her hands? Items that are
associated with the character either literally or physically should be
included.
The feet- What does your character stand for? This should be a symbolic
representation of the characters most important beliefs about life.
The background- Include elements that depict the characters environment,
background, or situation.

 The head- What does this character think about life in general? How does
this relate to the elements we have discussed?