Explain what characterization is to your students. Give them an example from a piece of writing they are currently reading, and then ask them for more examples. They can each provide one of their favorite characters from literature, and explain what the author did to make it their favorite character. Make suggestions such as physical characteristics, contextual details, such as details about his or her past, interactions with other characters and internal thoughts.
Ask your students to create their own ninth-grade student, and to write down as many characteristics about him or her as they can. What is the character's sex, race and appearance? Where was he or she born? Is the character kind or nasty, hopeful or pessimistic, an over- or underachiever, clumsy or graceful, thin or fat, prone to illness or healthy? Have them write down a paragraph in which the character wakes up in the morning.
Discuss with your students the importance of minor characters in a work of fiction. What purposes can they serve? Point out how a minor character can do many things, such as enhance the setting, provide back story or a side story, provide humor, be a foil for a protagonist and others. Ask them to give an example of one memorable minor character from literature.
Take your students to an area where a lot of strangers walk by, such as a park or a commons. Ask them to choose one stranger walking by, and quickly write down the noticeable characteristics he or she exhibits. Then, back in the classroom, ask them to write a paragraph or two describing the person they think they observed, in detail. Make sure they include personality and behavioral features, instead of only surface characteristics.
On the chalkboard, draw a large square. Tell your students to imagine they have just visited another ninth-grader's bedroom, and to tell you what they see in it. Encourage them to go beyond the standard fixtures, such as a bed and a desk, and to invent personal items as well. Once the room has been filled with items, ask each student to tell you one characteristic of the person who inhabits it.