Comparing and Contrasting Characters

The students will read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. As they read the book, they will choose two characters from the book and compare and contrast those characters.

Students need a copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Before you begin having them read their book, you can explain to them how to compare and contrast two characters. For example, you can make up two people and write down different characteristics under each one. Then, you can draw two circles on the board and overlap them in the middle. After that, you can write the name of each person above the two large circles. Then, you can write each characteristic of the characters in the two circles. If they have common characteristics, you can write those in the middle circle. This will help the students learn about different people and what they have in common.

When they understand the concept, you can have them read Fahrenheit 451 and choose two characters they want to compare and contrast. In order to help them organize their thoughts about the characters, they can draw the circles and write each of the characters personality traits in the appropriate circles. After that, they can write a paper comparing and contrasting the two characters.

You can grade them on their preliminary work of the circles and then on their comparison and contrast papers. You can check for correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph structure.