Antagonist

Teacher Guidelines ▶ pages 1 – 2

Instructional Pages ▶ pages 3 – 4
Activity Page ▶ page 5
Practice Page ▶ page 6
Grade Level: 3 – 4 Homework Page ▶ page 7
Answer Key ▶ page 8
Classroom Procedure: Approximate Grade Level: 3 – 4
1. Show a short video clip of a movie or show with
Objectives:
an antagonist and protagonist, spotlighting the The students will be able to define antagonist and
problem. identify examples from a story, book, movie, or TV
show. The students will be able to write a short story
2. Ask students to identify the main character. which includes an antagonist.
Ask students what distinguishes the main
Common Core State Standards:
character from other characters.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3
3. Allow responses and discussion. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.3
Class Sessions (45 minutes):
4. Ask students who, or what, was causing problems 1 - 2 class sessions
for the main character(s) in the movie.
Teaching Materials/Worksheets:
5. Allow responses and discussion. Antagonist content pages (2), Activity page, Practice
page, Homework page
6. Introduce the term antagonist to the students.
Student Supplies:
7. Distribute Antagonist content pages. Read and handouts
review the information with the students. Use Prepare Ahead of Time:
additional examples if necessary. Allow students Prepare/locate a short video clip to show students in
to share examples related to the final question on the opening to the lesson. Copy handouts.
page 2. Additional Resources:
https://uniondale-
8. Distribute the Activity page. Pair the students. ela.wikispaces.com/file/view/Protagnoist+vs+antagonis
9. Review the instructions carefully. Remind the t+practice.pdf (More advanced content)
http://www.lifeinfifthgrade.com/2015/08/teaching-
students the story must flow smoothly, and each
protagonist-and-antagonist.html (Content)
new sentence must be related to the previous https://litworkshop.wordpress.com/ (Content)
sentence. http://www.lessonplanet.com/lesson-plans/antagonist
(Links) VIDEOS:
10. Once completed, allow each pair of students read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvIKx4BQas
their final story aloud to the class. Pick students to (4 min.)
identify the main character and the antagonist(s). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXSQh_eJfBE
(1 min.)
11. Distribute the Practice page. Review the example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzGlza0bC4&list=
12. Give students sufficient time to complete the work. PLB40G1KZtmBGAcjZS_1BIwx5IanA3BSdD&index=4
(3 min.)
The students’ responses may vary.
Allow students to share with the class. Options for Lesson:
Switch homework/practice pages as an assignment.
13. Distribute the Homework page. Check and review Use additional photos for students to identify the main
the next day. character, problem and antagonist. Assign a popular
short story to each student where they can identify the
14. In closing, ask students: Who is your favorite antagonist, main character, problems. Allow them to
character from a book, movie, or otherwise, and share their responses with the class.
ask them who or what the antagonist was of their
favorite character.

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Teacher Notes
The Antagonist lesson is an introduction to a character in a story that is often confusing for students. They
may always be seeking a “bad guy” to be an antagonist, but that is not always the case. The lesson could
also be used in conjunction with a protagonist lesson. Most of the additional resources include information
about protagonists as well.

2
Antagonist
You decide to make yourself a
peanut butter and jelly
sandwich. You take out the
bread, peanut butter, jelly, and
a knife. You are looking forward
to eating the sandwich. You
have thought about it all
morning. However, into the kitchen runs your dog
who keeps jumping onto you trying to get a taste of
the bread, jelly, or peanut butter. He is begging for
food. You are having difficulty making the sandwich.
The dog is preventing you from your goal and a
tasty PBJ sandwich. You may give up, but you also
you might change your plans.
The above may have happened to you. It is a very
short story with two characters: you and the dog.
The dog is causing you to struggle to reach your
goal of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You are thinking about changing your plans.
The character of the dog in the story is called an antagonist. The antagonist in a story may be a person
or thing that goes against the protagonist, which is the main character in a story. You are called the
protagonist; the dog is the antagonist.

A few things to know about an ANTAGONIST:

1. Character or thing in a story that goes against or opposes the protagonist:
a. may be a person, force of nature, imaginary character, animal, anything
b. Places obstacles, challenges, or barriers between the main character (the protagonist) and
their goal or objective.
2. Example: The dog jumping on the boy in the story, begging for food.
a. The antagonist is not always a bad person or thing.
b. Example: The dog is not a bad thing; it is preventing the boy from making a PBJ sandwich.
3. An antagonist can also be found in TV shows, movies, plays, and even comic books.

In the story above, the dog (antagonist) is preventing the boy (protagonist/main character) from making a
PBJ. The dog is putting obstacles between the boy and the boy’s goal of making a sandwich. The dog
may also cause the boy to change his plans. Antagonists go against the wishes or desires of a character
in a story.

3
Steps in identifying the ANTAGONIST:

1. Identify the main character of the story. The story would not exist without this character. This person or
character is called the protagonist.
2. What other character(s), force, person, or action is going against the main character you identified in
Step 1? This person or thing is the antagonist.
3. Sometimes the “good” character is the protagonist and the “bad” character is the antagonist. However,
this is not always true.

Here are some examples of antagonists you may already know:

ANTAGONIST MAIN CHARACTER(S)/PROTAGONIST
Voldemort Harry Potter and friends
The wolf The Three Little Pigs
Roadrunner (cartoon) Wiley Coyote
Darth Vader Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
The fox Goldilocks

In each of the examples above, the antagonist is causing problems for the main characters or the
protagonists. In other examples, such as a Superman comic book or movie, there may be more than one
antagonist. In disaster movies, the antagonist may be a hurricane, earthquake, volcano, plane crash, or
aliens from another planet.
In summary, the antagonist causes problems for the main character of a story. Can you name the
antagonist in a favorite book, movie, or TV show?

4
Activity Name __________________________ Date __________________
Instructions
1. With your partner, decide who will be the main character of your story.
2. Your story must be at least 12 sentences, include details, and be written correctly.
3. The main character will begin with 1 to 2 sentences, opening the story to the reader.
4. The antagonist will then write 1 to 2 sentences related to how he or she will cause problems for the
main character.
5. The main character will then write two more sentences about how he/she will overcome the obstacles.
The story must make sense. (You will share it with the class.)
6. Continue back and forth until the story is completed. Use the following to write your story:
Main Character (MC) ___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Antagonist (A) ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
MC _________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
A __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
MC _________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
A __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
MC _________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
A __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
MC _________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
A __________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

5
Practice Name __________________________ Date _________________
Every story will have an antagonist and a main character (protagonist). Every picture can be
turned into a story. Use each picture to decide the main character, problem, and antagonist with
details.
EXAMPLE:
Main Character: Baby is crying.

Problem: Mother left him with a baby sitter.

Antagonist: His mother, because she is leaving and he

is going to miss her being there.

Main Character:

Problem:

Antagonist:

Main Character:

Problem:

Antagonist:

Main Character:

Problem:

Antagonist:

6
Homework Name __________________________ Date ________________
Read the story and answer the questions below
One morning, after a night of tossing and turning, Diana finally hopped out of bed to get ready for school. She was
in the fourth grade and was excited about a spelling bee in class today. She knew she would have to study hard to
advance to the state finals. She grabbed the dictionary off the shelf and decided to study while she ate her
breakfast. As she sat down to a bowl of cereal, she opened her book to concentrate on the words. Her little
brother, though, Timmy, began making noises while he was eating so she was unable to concentrate. She was
unable to study any of the words. Well, she said to herself, I will have to study on the bus. She left the house and
ran to the bus. The driver opened the door and greeted her with a good morning. She sat in the very last seat all
alone, and once again pulled out her dictionary to study. She memorized two or three words, but then her best
friend spotted her and sat down in the empty seat near Diana. Her friend began chatting and Maria was forced to
close the dictionary and listen. She began to wonder if she would ever get a chance to study. There was still one
more hour until the spelling bee, so walked into class and immediately opened the dictionary the third time. Before
she could study the first word, two boys near her bean throwing paper back and forth. Diana gave up and hoped
she had studied enough words the night before. An hour later the spelling bee began and believe it or not, Diana
had a chance to win it all if she could spell the final word. The teacher read the word to Diana, “Spell: antagonist.”
Diana smiled as she spelled the word correctly.
1. Who is the main character of the story? __________________________________________________
2. Why do you think she had a night of tossing and turning? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What or who are some of the things that caused problems for Diana? ___________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Who is/are the antagonist(s) in the short story? ____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Why do you think Diana smiled before she spelled the word? _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Explain about a time when someone was an antagonist in your life: ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

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 ANSWER KEY
Homework Name __________________________ Date ________________
Read the story and answer the questions below
One morning, after a night of tossing and turning, Diana finally hopped out of bed to get ready for school. She was
in the fourth grade and was excited about a spelling bee in class today. She knew she would have to study hard to
advance to the state finals. She grabbed the dictionary off the shelf and decided to study while she ate her
breakfast. As she sat down to a bowl of cereal, she opened her book to concentrate on the words. Her little
brother, though, Timmy, began making noises while he was eating so she was unable to concentrate. She was
unable to study any of the words. Well, she said to herself, I will have to study on the bus. She left the house and
ran to the bus. The driver opened the door and greeted her with a good morning. She sat in the very last seat all
alone, and once again pulled out her dictionary to study. She memorized two or three words, but then her best
friend spotted her and sat down in the empty seat near Diana. Her friend began chatting and Maria was forced to
close the dictionary and listen. She began to wonder if she would ever get a chance to study. There was still one
more hour until the spelling bee, so walked into class and immediately opened the dictionary the third time. Before
she could study the first word, two boys near her bean throwing paper back and forth. Diana gave up and hoped
she had studied enough words the night before. An hour later the spelling bee began and believe it or not, Diana
had a chance to win it all if she could spell the final word. The teacher read the word to Diana, “Spell: antagonist.”
Diana smiled as she spelled the word correctly.
1. Who is the main character of the story? _________Diana____________________________________

2. Why do you think she had a night of tossing and turning? ____________________________________

_____________She was worried or concerned about the spelling bee_____________________________

3. What or who are some of the things that caused problems for Diana? Timmy, began making noises

while he was eating. Her friend began chatting to her on the bus. Two boys near her began throwing

paper balls back and forth.

4. Who is/are the antagonist(s) in the short story? Timmy, her friend, two boys, or the interruptions

themselves could be the antagonist

5. Why do you think Diana smiled before she spelled the word? She was probably confident she would

get it right, plus she may have known the meaning of the word and she thought about her day.

6. Explain about a time when someone was an antagonist in your life: Answers will vary_____________

____________________________________________________________________________________