Amos and Boris does not have many characters in the story. A fun way to get your students to connect with and understand the two main characters is to have them compare and contrast their qualities. William Steig focuses a lot on how different the giant whale and the tiny mouse are physically but how their personalities are similar.
Students can use the text to find character traits and physical traits of Boris and Amos. Students can work individually or in pairs to research and compile a list of evidence. Once students have traits for each character, they can compare/contrast. Students will describe the traits they compiled about Amos on one side and the traits they discovered of Boris on the other. The traits that they both share will go in the middle. Using the T-Chart layout, students can create their version of a Venn Diagram!
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that compares and contrasts Amos and Boris.