Character Development

In class, we have been learning about how to grow ideas about our characters based on evidence in the book and then determine how characters grow and change over time. We talk about the events that make our characters change. Here is an example:

In the beginning of Fourth Grade Rats, Suds was a caring, sweet boy who loved his mom. He always did what his mom said and was always kind to other kids. When he became a 4th grader, his best friend, Joey, tried to turn him into a 'rat'. Joey tried to make him push kids off of swings and take their snacks. One time Suds was about to push a 1st grader off of a swing, but the 1st grader got too scared and ran off. He was relieved.  He just couldn't bring himself to be a rat because he had integrity. Throughout the book, Suds notices that Joey gets the attention for all of the 'rat-like' things he does like letting a bee sting him. When Suds sees that Judy Billings, the girl of his dreams, likes Joey because he is a 'rat' Suds begins to question himself. Soon after, he practices becoming a 'rat' by messing up his room, letting spiders crawl on him, and telling his mom 'NO'. At first he feels good about it and is so excited to get Judy to like him, but after Judy turns his back on him, he realizes that he doesn't want to be a rat at all. At the end, he is relieved that he gets a second chance to go back to being his normal, kind self.