Discuss the three elements of characterization with the students; the physical appearance, behavior and actions of the character and the character's interaction with others. Ask the students to name a favorite character from a movie. You can also have them select a favorite character from a book. Provide worksheets to have the students write about that character based on the characterization elements. Bring the class back together and go over everyone's answers. You can also assign two people the same character and see how closely or how different they view these characters.
Place students in groups and assign them a group of characters from books they have read that are similar. For instance, you can give one group classic fairy-tale princesses, such as Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Give another group contemporary misfit characters such as Greg from "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," Percy Jackson from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" and Peter from "Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing." Have the students write out the character elements of each main character and discuss how they are the same and different. Each group will then present their findings to the class. You can also have them analyze secondary characters or the antagonists of each book.
Have the students write out a character sketch of someone they know, very well, such as a parent or sibling. Make it a homework assignment and have the students come back with a poster board presentation of their chosen person's character, with a picture of the person the board. They should provide information about their character using elements of characterization. Afterward, have each student write a short story about their real-life character based on their character sketch.
Place the students in pairs and assign each group a character from a book the class has read together. Have the students work together to create a list of adjectives about the character from the character's perspective. Work the adjectives into a sketch in which one person is the character and the other person is a reporter interviewing the character at a certain point in the story. Another idea is to have them do two interviews, one based on the character at the beginning of the story and one at the end of the story. That way, after the skit, the class can discuss how the character evolved or changed or didn't change, throughout the story.