When doing my character study, I find it is important that students realize that characters experience many different types of conflict in the stories that we read. These conflicts play a huge role in the plot of the story! The conflicts experienced by these characters also play a role in the motives behind the actions of the characters.
4 Kinds of Conflict Characters Experience
When studying conflict, I introduce internal and external conflict first. The students are given multiple examples of these types of conflict. I then break these conflicts down into four categories.
- character vs. self
- character vs. character
- character vs. nature
- character vs. society
Once the students can easily identify each type of conflict using short pieces of text, I give them a larger piece of text. I then require they identify the type of conflict, explain why they identify this conflict, and then use evidence from the text to support their answer!
Tomorrow, we will be reading “Brave Irene”. (Tip: If you don’t have access to this book, you can find it read for free here: Brave Irene read by Al Gore – YouTube) In this book the main character faces multiple “character vs. nature” conflicts. I like to use this book because the target is easily assessed. I want to know that they students can identify types of conflict while using evidence from the text to support their claim.
Free Graphic Organizer
I have a freebie for you!! I have created an easy to follow graphic organizer that students can use to organize their thoughts. On the back, the students create a structured paragraph to express their ideas. This is easy to assess, and easy to follow for the kiddos. You can download this product by clicking the link below!. When writing their paragraphs, I require my students to follow the “RACE strategy! To learn more about this amazing organization technique, CLICK HERE! 
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