Cell Phone Characterization Activity

Activity · Grades 7–10 · PDF + slides · $3

Students pick a character from what you're reading (or a historical figure) and build that person's phone. Every choice has to connect back to the character's personality, conflicts or setting, so it's characterization practice that doesn't feel like a worksheet.

The slides lay out the full project plus three smaller assignments you can run on their own: a phone wallpaper with symbols, 3-5 fictional text messages, and a 5-song playlist. Each one asks students to explain their choices in writing, and the wallpaper slide has a sample explanation using Percy Jackson. The handout gives them a phone template to build on.

What's included

• Slides with instructions for the full Cell Phone Characterization project
• Separate assignment slides: Wallpaper, Playlist (5 songs with a rationale for each) and Text Messages (3-5 messages)
• A model wallpaper explanation (Percy Jackson)
• Printable cell phone handout (PDF) with name, date and period lines

How teachers use it

• As a project during or after a novel or short story unit
• Assign just one piece (wallpaper, texts or playlist) for a one-day activity
• Cross-curricular with history using a historical figure
• A good sub-day or end-of-unit option

Topics: literature, reading, ela, bilingual, spanish, ell, esl, slides, powerpoint, presentation, middle, school, high, grade, 7, 8, 9, 10