Missing+Person's+Report

Missing Person's Report
Section 5.2, (Instructional Strategy 5)

Rationale: Students of literature should gain an overall understanding of characters based on the authors' descriptions. The Missing Person's Report asks students to pay close attention to these details in order to create a description of their own, one that could be used in an actual police department to alert a community. The adequacy of the report will reflect the extent to which students have done a good job reading the descriptions of the character.

Instructions: 1. Show students how to find key details about a character in a text. 2. Explain the nature and format of a Missing Person's Report and show an example. 3. Tell students to include the necessary details relating to physical attributes as well as the last known circumstances of the character. 4. Remind students to also discuss the character's personality traits.

Application to Language Arts: Students studying Romeo and Juliet could be asked to write a Missing Person's Report for one of the titular characters from the play. Ask students to skim the play to find descriptions about the character's appearance, personality, and circumstances. Students should then write the report, after which they can share with the class, either in groups or in a formal presentation format accompanied by posters or a digital display.