Wonder Characterisation Unit: Years 3–6

Unit overview

1. Presentation: Wonder Characterisation — 16 slides

2. Characterisation Compass

3. Character Evidence Sort

4. Perspective Path

5. Direct or Indirect? and Character Clues

6. First Impressions and Through Their Eyes

7. Relationship Web

8. Character Change Tracker

9. Writing with Heart

10. Character Creator

11. Quiz: Wonder Characterisation — 10 questions / 22 slides

12. Assessment: Character Arc Studio

13. Rubric: Wonder Characterisation Unit Rubric

Move students beyond simple trait labels and help them explain how an author builds a believable, changing character. This Years 3–6 English unit uses the world and themes of Wonder as a springboard for close reading, perspective taking and original narrative craft.

Students identify direct and indirect characterisation, make evidence-based inferences, compare viewpoints, explore how relationships reveal motives, trace a character arc and write emotion through action, thought, dialogue and sensory detail. The sequence is designed to support 10 lessons across approximately five weeks and can be adapted for whole-class, small-group or independent work.

What's included

• 24-page Unit Plan PDF
• 16-slide editable PowerPoint presentation
• 22-slide editable PowerPoint quiz with 10 alternating question-and-answer pairs
• Characterisation Compass colour display
• Character Evidence Sort cards and black-and-white recording mat
• Perspective Path colour board game and challenge cards
• Direct or Indirect? worksheet and answer page
• Character Clues worksheet and answer page
• First Impressions to Final Judgement worksheet and answer page
• Through Their Eyes viewpoint worksheet and answer page
• Relationship Web worksheet
• Character Change Tracker and answer page
• Writing with Heart worksheet and answer page
• Character Creator activity
• Two-page Character Arc Studio assessment
• Five-level Wonder Characterisation Unit rubric

Learning focus

• Direct and indirect characterisation
• Claim, evidence and reasoning
• Perspective and narrator viewpoint
• Relationships, motives and values
• Character arcs, conflict and turning points
• Showing emotion through narrative craft
• Character creation, feedback and revision

Classroom use

Use the presentation to introduce and model each concept, then select the display, game, sort or worksheet that suits the lesson. The quiz checks understanding through multiple-choice, true/false and short-answer questions. The assessment asks students to plan and write a focused character-arc scene, annotate craft choices and reflect, with the rubric supporting consistent teacher judgement.

Formats, counts and answers

• Unit Plan PDF: 24 pages
• Editable presentation: 16 PowerPoint slides
• Editable quiz: 22 PowerPoint slides
• Answer support: six red model-answer pages for structured worksheets
• Open-ended pages: Relationship Web, Character Creator and Character Arc Studio assessment use teacher judgement

Teacher benefits

• A coherent pathway from noticing character clues to creating and revising an original character
• Flexible tasks suitable for mixed Years 3–6 classes
• Colour resources for instruction and interaction, plus low-ink black-and-white student pages
• Ready-to-use assessment and a five-level rubric
• Editable presentation and quiz files for classroom delivery

Digital product and licence

Digital download only; no physical item will be posted. Wonder is not included, so teachers and students will need access to the text or selected extracts. For use by the purchasing educator and their students. Do not redistribute the files or post them publicly.