1. C HARACTER T YPES Sixth Grade ELA Teachers

2. I NTRODUCTION This lesson is about the different types of characters found in literature. The different types I will cover in this lesson are the protagonist and antagonist. I will explain what each of these entail so that you can identify types of characters in stories that you read.

3. P ROTAGONIST /A NTAGONIST It is easiest to think of the protagonist and antagonist characters as the "good guy" and the "bad guy" respectively.

4. H ERO AND VILLAIN In order to understand protagonist and antagonist, you can think of the protagonist as the hero and the antagonist as the villain.

5. H OW TO R EMEMBER The prefix pro means good, or positive. The prefix ant means bad, or negative. ProAnt

6. P ROTAGONIST Central character of story Can be male or female Written as being "good" most of the time, but in some instances can be "bad." Story usually told from protagonists point of view.

7. A NTAGONIST Causes or leads the conflict against the protagonist Not always human, but can be a group or force as well. Mirrors protagonist Whatever the protagonist does that is good, the antagonist will work to undo. Usually the antagonist attempts to disguise him/her/itself.

8. E XAMPLE Consider the story The Three Little Pigs. In the original story, the three pigs are the protagonists and the wolf is the antagonist. A new book titled The Real Story of The Three Little Pigs is written in the wolf's point of view and he becomes the protagonist and the pigs are the antagonists.

9. P ROTAGONIST /A NTAGONIST Completely different and in most cases, complete opposites Can both be very complex Just because the protagonist is the central character in the story does not mean that he/she/it is any more complex than the antagonist.

10. H OW TO IDENTIFY Think about which character is central to the story. (protagonist) Think about which character (or what force) is acting against that central character (antagonist). Usually you can consider which character is good and which is bad. In most instances, the good character is the protagonist and the bad, or opposing character, is the antagonist.