1. Begin looking around your house or wherever you may go (Wal-Mart even works!). Keep your eyes peeled for unique looking characters. They may come in the form of stuffed animals, drawings, cartoon strip characters, or even T.V. Find one that you like the most and bring it to class with you one day. Set the animal/character in the front of the room and begin talking to students about what they notice about him/her. For a writing opportunity, you may want them to begin without talking to anyone else, but have them write their responses for a few minutes. Students will typically begin with the physical characteristics of the animal. Once they have expressed what they see, begin asking questions that require them to use their imagination. Such as: Why do you think he is missing one eye? What do you think he would do for fun? Do you think he has any friends? If so, who? How old do you think he is? Where has he been? etc....
Once you have discussed several things, students can begin to create characters of their own to share with everyone else.2. Another suggestion would be for students to begin by describing themselves or someone else they are very close to. Many students will share a great deal about something they are very familiar with. Before they write anything, lead a discussion with the class on what type of things you need to know about people in order to really know them. Write their responses on the board/overhead, or have them keep track. While they are offering their ideas, be sure to challenge them to think beyond the physical details, but not to dismiss them. Have them write their responses and then introduce whomever they wrote about. When they are finished, you may want to offer other students the opportunity to ask any more questions about that character/person.
3. Another suggestion would be for students to answer some of the same questions mentioned earlier, but to do so in a worksheet format. I also like to have students include a drawing of their character in order give us visual idea of the character, as well as a resource for them to make sure they have adequately described the character to us. One example of a worksheet to follow is linked below.