Character Sketcher – Mr. Maxwell

Character Traits

1.                  Trait: Strong p. 2 par. 5

“Bill Maxwell was a big man.  He cut and split his own firewood, and he had the shoulders and arms to prove it.” – This paragraph shows that Mr. Maxwell is a very strong man who does all of his own work.

2.                  Trait: Environmentally Conscious p. 3-4 par. 4

“During his next three years of teaching Mr. Maxwell lived in a boardinghouse in the nearby town of Atlinboro.  During the summers he painted houses, and he saved every penny.  Then he bought forty-five acres of wooded land about fifty miles north of Whitson and built himself a log house.  He installed solar panels on the roof, and built a small generator system that made electricity from the stream that tumbled across his property.  Before his first winter set in, he figured out how to make a catalytic converter that would reduce the pollution in the smoke from his woodstove.” – This paragraph shows that Mr. Maxwell is a very environmentally conscious person.  It shows that he is concerned about the environment and wants to do everything he can to make it stay clean.

3.                  Trait: Prepared p. 4-5 par. 4

“Sitting at his desk on the morning of February thirteenth, the program was still eight weeks away.  Growing up, Bill Maxwell had been a Boy Scout, then an Explorer Scout, and finally, an Eagle Scout.  He took his Scout motto seriously: Be Prepared.  That’s why Mr. Maxwell’s preparations for A Week in the Woods had started back before Thanksgiving.” – This paragraph shows that Mr. Maxwell is very well prepared for everything he does.  It shows that he doesn’t wait until the last minute to plan important projects.

Character Goal

Mr. Maxwell’s goal is to plan and follow through with a program he came up with for his fifth graders called A Week in the Woods.

Problem

Mr. Maxwell’s problem is some of the teachers that he works with don’t like the woods so they don’t really want to participate in the Week in the Woods program.

Solution or Possible Solution

In order to make the Week in the Woods program easier on all of the other teachers, Mr. Maxwell does most of the preparations for the program himself.  He got together parent volunteers to chaperone, he reserved the campground, he got speakers to come teach the children about things they would be learning on their trip, he made the menu, talked to the park rangers, and got the parent information packets and permission slips together for every single fifth grade student.