During Reading Activities

Although there will be many occasions when teachers will wish to introduce a book and then let the children read it uninterrupted, during directed literature experiences, they will want to provide activities that will enhance students' understanding of the selection or focus their attention on particular themes, issues, characters, or events. Furthermore, teachers will want to provide activities that will prompt students to react to ideas, events, or characters or to identify with what they find interesting or meaningful. In other words, they will want to enhance the interactions between the students and the text (Literature-Based Reading Activities, 2nd Ed., Yopp & Yopp Ch.3).

Character Maps
Character maps may be used to help students to recognize the traits of selected characters in a book, as well as the relationships between characters. -- Taken from Literature-Based Reading Activities, 2nd Ed., Yopp & Yopp