Refugee Character Map Activity

Refugee weaves together three stories in one book, so it has many characters, both main and supporting. A character map can be a helpful tool for students to keep track of the characters in the book, especially since Refugee switches swiftly from story to story every chapter.

In this activity, students will create a character map of the characters in Refugee, paying close attention to the physical attributes, and the traits of both major and minor characters. Teachers may choose to have students focus on one set of characters for either Josef's, Isabel's or Mahmoud's story. Or, teachers may have students make a storyboard that contains all three sets of characters. This example demonstrates how that can be accomplished with a grid of three rows, one for each story. Students can also provide detailed information regarding the challenges the character faces, the challenges the character imposes, and the importance of the character to the plot of the story.