CCSS Aligned Character Detectives
Table of Contents Page 1 Cover Page Page 2 Table of Contents Page 3 Standards Alignment Page 4 Recommended Books Page 5-6 Checklist of Traits Page 7-8 Physical/Internal Trait Posters Page 9 Question Stems Page 10 Feelings Vs. Traits Page 11-16 Graphic Organizers, Webs, Charts to use with any book Page 17-18 Task Card Recording Sheet and Answer Key Page 19-23 10 Task Cards Page 24-26 Identify character actions, words and feelings (Can be used in small group or partner practice before introducing traits) Page 27 Credits
COMMON CORE Reading Literature Standards 3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events 4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character s thoughts, words, or actions) 5.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
Recommended Books for Teaching Character Development o Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman o Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes o Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco o The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch o A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon o The Recess Queen by Alexis O Neill o Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melton by Patty Lovell o The Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish o Charlotte s Web by E.B. White o The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric o Amos and Boris by William Steig o A Day s Work by Eve Bunting o Enemy Pie by Derek Munson o One Grain of Rice by Demi o The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen o Donovan s Word Jar by Monalisa DeGross o Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
My List Of Character Traits Positive Trait Words Adventurous Brave Cheerful Considerate Caring Dependable Energetic Fair Friendly Funny Gentle Generous Giving Honest Helpful Intelligent Loyal Leader Obedient Polite Responsible Talented Trustworthy Negative Trait Words Arrogant Angry Boring Bossy Clumsy Cruel Cowardly Dishonest Disrespectful Gloomy Greedy Grouchy Inconsiderate Impolite Jealous Lazy Mean Messy Selfish Silly Stingy Unfriendly Unappreciative
My List Of Character Traits Adventurous Brave Cheerful Considerate Caring Dependable Energetic Fair Friendly Funny Gentle Generous Honest Helpful Intelligent Kind Loyal Leader Obedient Polite Responsible Talented Trustworthy Arrogant Angry Bossy Clumsy Cruel Cowardly Dishonest Disobedient Disrespectful Gloomy Greedy Grouchy Inconsiderate Impolite Jealous Lazy Mean Messy Selfish Silly Stingy Unfriendly Unappreciative
Character Traits PHYSICAL How a character looks on the outside EXAMPLES: Tough Strong Black hair Graceful Freckles Red-haired Tall Short
Character Traits INSIDE Character s Actions, Thoughts or Dialogue, Feelings EXAMPLES: Responsible Mischievous Daring Loyal Friendly Helpful Grumpy Brave
Character Trait Stem Questions Which words BEST describe? How would you describe How does change throughout the events in the story? How does feel after? How does s attitude change at the end of the story? How are and alike/different?
Feelings An emotion that changes Ex: sad, mad, glad, tired, lonely, excited Vs. Describes what the character is like on the inside. Traits usually do not change. Ex: honest, responsible, hardworking, brave Traits
Character Trait Organizer Book Title: Character Name: Character s Goal in the Story: R.L.3.3 Write About Reading: Use the traits above to describe your character. List Character Traits: Draw an illustration of the character
Character Trait Organizer Character Name: Character s Thoughts, Words or Feelings R.L.4.3 Write About Reading: Use the character s thoughts and words to describe them in depth below. Use text evidence from your organizer and the book.
CHARACTER TRAIT WEB Write a trait that describes the character in the center. Add evidence from the text to support your choice. Trait : Trait : Character: Trait : Trait :
Character Trait Chart Choose three characters and list the traits that they displayed in the text. Use evidence from their words or thoughts, actions and feelings. Character Name Character Trait Type of Evidence Pg. Pg. Pg.
Character Motivation Chart Use your inference skills and text based evidence to determine the character s motivation for an action, thought or words from the text. Character s Actions/Thoughts/Words What did they do? Character s Motivation Why did they do it?
Character Actions and Trait Use the character s actions to determine the character trait that fits best. As you read, pay attention to your character s actions. Character s Actions What did they do? Character Trait What word describes the action best?
Task Card Recording Sheet 1. 6. 2. 7. 3. 8. 4. 9. 5. 10
Task Card Answer Sheet Possible Answers listed 1. Mischievous, Naughty 6. Dishonest, Selfish, Cowardly 2. Helpful, Responsible, Caring 7. Helpful, Compassionate, Friendly, Thoughtful 3. Brave, Courageous, 8. Loyal, Caring, Trustworthy 4. Impatient, Energetic, Selfish 9. Irresponsible, Selfish, Unreliable 5. Studious, Responsible, Determined 10. Conceited, Arrogant, Insensitive,
1 Jessie climbed up the big oak tree, holding tightly to her ragged doll. She knew her mom didn t approve of her being outside without her shoes on but she couldn t resist. She looked for her top secret box tucked into the small curve in the trunk. She smiled like an evil scientist and rubbed her hands together. Jessie heard voices coming down the street and quickly moved to a better seat with three water balloons in her hands. As the voices passed under the tree, she launched all three balloons and watched as her brother and his two friends screamed like a choir. Jessie fell back in hysterical laughter. She scurried down the other side of the tree to get powdered sugar. Time to make snowmen out of these three! She thought with a grin. Which character trait best describes Jessie? Mallory knew her mom would be so surprised and happy when she woke up. Last night, the party for her grandparents anniversary was a huge success but there was a huge amount to be cleaned up. She knew her mom and dad had worked hard on throwing the party. Mallory had decided she would wake up in the morning and help clean up all by herself. She started in the living by picking up scraps of confetti, empty cups and candy wrappers. Then, she moved on to the backyard to throw away any paper products that were left behind. Finally, she had made it to the kitchen, which looked the worse. After an hour, Mallory had washed every dish and wiped every surface. Mallory beamed and the kitchen sparkled. Which character trait best describes Mallory? 2
3 Andre walked slowly through the reptile exhibit at the zoo. His hands were clammy and he started to sweat. Why did I come here? He thought following his class. Andre, come one! We re going to see the pythons next! his best friend shouted. Andre s stomach turned to mush and he felt like crying. As the class gathered around the glass, he stood frozen. Lily, the new girl, noticed Andre missing from the group and walked over to him. You know, when I left my old school, I was nervous about coming here. I thought no one would like me she shared. Andre wiped his tears and asked, So what helped you get over it?. She said, Learning that there are good friends everywhere. Andre smiled and took a deep breath. He walked over to the glass and waved at the giant python. Which character trait best describes Andre? Hurry up, we are going to miss all the fun, Leah whined pulling her dad s arm. They were at the state fair and Leah had been hopping like a hare since they arrived. She jumped up and down as they passed the cotton candy stand. Can we get some, please? she begged with her hands clasped together. Her parents sighed and bought her a stick of cotton candy. She ate it so fast that her parents had to frown. Come on, come on! Let s go to the petting zoo, she yelled and took off running. Her parents were out of breath trying to catch her. Leah, you can t run--- LEAH! her dad shouted as Leah bolted to the front of the line, skipping everyone. Hey, you re skipping! a little boy grumbled. I don t want to wait in a long line! she said boldly. Which character trait best describes Leah? 4
5 Tia plopped down at her desk and opened her science book. She had a major test on Monday and planned to spend all weekend studying. She wanted to earn a perfect grade. After an hour, her big sister asked if she wanted to go to the mall. Tia said she had to study and that would waste time. Soon, her dad knocked on the door and asked if she wanted to go to the home improvement store with him. Tia politely said she couldn t because her grades were too important. Her mom popped her head in the room and asked if Tia wanted to help her cook spaghetti and meatballs since it was her favorite. Tia s mouth watered at the thought and realized she hadn t spent anytime with her family. She chose to help her mom for a little bit and then eat dinner with her family. After dinner, she finished studying. Which character trait best describes Tia? Oh, no! thought Eric. He had just kicked a soccer ball into Mrs. Goldenrod s tomato garden. He tiptoed next to the garden and his mouth dropped. All of her precious, ripe tomatoes were flattened and smashed. I'm going to be in big trouble, he thought sadly. He took a deep breath and tiptoed back into his house. Hours later, his family was eating dinner and his dad started talking about Mrs. Goldenrod s disaster. She says she came outside to check on them in the morning and they were fine. Now they are destroyed. She has no idea what happened! he shared. Eric tried to look as if he was surprised. Eric, weren t you outside today? Did you see anything or anyone near hear tomatoes? his mom asked sincerely. Eric s eyes became huge and he said, No, I haven t seen a thing, Mom! Which character trait best describes Eric? 6
7 Class, we have a new student, Hector the teacher sang. The students looked up uninterested and continued working. Only Louis noticed how nervous and bashful Hector was. The teacher sat Hector two seats behind Louis. Throughout the morning, Hector didn t say much and kept his head close to his desk. Once lunchtime arrived and the students were finding their seats and friends in the cafeteria, Louis looked for Hector. Hector seemed frozen as he searched for a seat. Hey, Hector over here. I saved you a seat! Louis shouted to him. Hector smiled as wide as the ocean and hurried over. Thank you he said quietly and began eating. Hector and Louis talked about cars, action figures and sneakers. After lunch was recess, and the two boys became inseparable from that day on. Which character trait best describes Louis? Alicia and Emilia were best friends. They had been tied at the hip since kindergarten. People called them two peas in a pod. One day, Kenya decided she wanted to be best friends with Alicia but not Emilia. Hi, Alicia. Do you want to play with my new Frisbee? she asked Alicia but ignoring Emilia. Emilia felt left out but hoped her best friend would stick with her. Hey, Emilia. I will be right back. I m just going to play for a little bit Alicia said and ran off with Kenya. Emilia s heart dropped and her eyes watered. She started playing on the swings alone when she heard her name being called. She looked up and saw Alicia waving at her. Get over here! You re my best friend and I would never leave you out! Emilia laughed and raced over to play. Which character trait best describes Alicia? 8
It was a Saturday morning and Jake was supposed to be having his first lemonade stand. His friend, Maria, was his partner and she was going to bring the lemonade and make the sign. Jake, how is it going so far? his dad asked. Jake s arms were folded and he wore a frown on his face. Terrible! Maria was supposed to be here an hour ago. I had to turn down three people already, he mumbled. His dad patted his back and said, I think that s Maria coming on her bike. Maria rolled to a wobbly stop and wiped her forehead. Sorry Jake. I woke up late and then stopped by the ice cream shop. Mint chocolate is the best! she said. That s not fair. We were a team and now I don t want to do the lemonade stand anymore. Thanks for nothing! he grumbled walking into his house. Which character trait best describes Maria? 9 Maya put the finishing touches on her science project. It was a replica of an old Viking ship. She couldn t wait to share it with her classmates. Owen, the class know-it-all, walked up to her and sniffed the air. What are you doing? Maya questioned as he made circles around her table. He stopped and pushed up his glasses. I m just observing your project. I think it is okay but of course, I am going to win! I win everything! he boasted. Maya was certain she had done a phenomenal job but somehow his comment made her confidence take a dive. I worked really hard on my project and Mr. Ramirez smiled when he saw it. She tried to keep her voice steady. That s fine. He knows that I am the greatest project maker in the room. Good luck though, you can thank me later when I walk out with the trophy! he sneered. Which character trait best describes Owen? 10
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