Middle school students begin a study of protagonists and antagonists by first understanding how characters are shaped. The protagonist is the mover in a story and the action surrounds him. Characters can either be static or dynamic, meaning they grow and change throughout a story or they stay the same. Most protagonists are dynamic and their growth is often the main point of the story. The antagonist does whatever he can to get in the way of the growth of the protagonist. Middle schoolers identify these actions in the story to identify the protagonist and antagonist.
Middle school students can analyze characters by creating a chart comparing the protagonist and antagonist's traits, listing anything the character says or does and descriptions that other characters say about him. For instance, an adult character might speak of a young character's bravery or brag about him, indicating that he is the mover or protagonist in the story. Students could draw pictures of the characters in their surroundings, based on specific passages. Often an antagonist is described physically or socially in a more negative light and the pictures would reflect those differences between protagonists and antagonists.
Middle school students can identify the protagonist and antagonist in award-winning middle school books by noting who moves the action and who impedes it. In "Touching Spirit Bear," for example, Cole Matthew is sent to Alaska to undergo Circle Justice after committing a crime. The protagonist of the story, he is a dynamic character who changes from a bitter young man to a forgiving, accepting one by the story's end. The bear serves as an antagonist, as he both injures Cole and teaches him. Paul Fisher, the protagonist in "Tangerine," must fight through a disability, a move to another school and many other family problems. His biggest antagonist is his brother Erik, who holds the secret of how Paul became blind in the first place. By helping others in his community, Paul becomes a hero and helps himself in the process.
Female middle school students relate well to the universal struggles in "Esperanza Rising," in which Esperanza must deal with the death of her father and consequently living in a California work camp. The protagonist of the story, her dynamic growth is seen in how she deals with adversity. Her antagonists are Tío Luis and Tío Marco, who try to get her mother to marry and make life more difficult for Esperanza. In "Walk Two Moons," Sal is the protagonist who drives across the country to her mother's grave. Along the way, she helps her friends and her grandparents and learns to accept her mother's death. The main antagonist is her absentee father.