What Makes a Teenager?

This semester is all about teenagers! Teenagers in literature and film. So to start our brains thinking about the image of the teenager, we created visual characterizations of typical teenagers. Due on Friday, February 13, 2009.

Here's what to do.

Grab a Characterizing a Teenager planning sheet from Heather. In it you will brainstorm the following characteristics of teenagers (in general, not necessarily specifically for you!):

1. SPEECH: What do teenagers say? How do they talk? What kind of dialogue do they have?
2. THOUGHTS: What do teenagers think about? What do they know or feel that they don’t tell others?
3. EMOTIONS: What do teenagers feel? What kind of emotions are typically teenager?
4. APPEARANCE: What do teenagers wear? What styles? What colors? What fabrics?
   
5. STUFF: What accessories are important to teenagers? Why?
6. ACTIVITIES: What do teenagers do? How do they spend their time?
7. SETTING: Where do teenagers – especially in NYC – go? What places are specifically teenager places? You may want to think about what places adults never go.

After you have A LOT of ideas, translate them into a visual (aka picture) characterization of a teenager. Make sure you include as many of the characteristics on your planning sheet as possible.

Here's are some examples: