Activity Directions Preparation: 1. Print the scenarios for the anchor chart (pages 3-5). 2. Create the “base” of the anchor chart (shown below on the left). 3. Print out the character trait labels (bottom of page 2). Cut them apart. Tape them onto cups. If the numbers aren’t visible, rewrite the number on each cup. 4. Print out the character trait sentence strips on cardstock (pages 6-7). Cut them apart. 5. Print out the interactive notebook foldable (page 11). Print one per student. Lesson Procedure: 1. Using the anchor chart you started, review what character traits are, and how they can be inferred by analyzing a character’s feelings, actions, thoughts, and dialogue. 2. Read each anchor chart scenario to your students. Have students help determine whether the author focused on feelings, actions, thoughts, and dialogue to help the reader infer the character trait. Glue the scenario in the appropriate space on the anchor chart. Then, label the bottom of each square with the sentence, “We can infer that (character name) is (character trait).” 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Show students the 6 labeled cups. Explain that the labels display six common character traits that we are going to focus on today. Discuss the meaning of each character trait. Tell students that you are going to read a short description to them, and they should hold up fingers showing which character trait matches the description. (1 finger for optimistic, 2 fingers for pessimistic, 3 fingers for insensitive, 4 fingers for compassionate, 5 fingers for deceitful, and 6 fingers for courageous.) Read the first sentence strip and check the students’ answers. Choose someone who answered correctly to explain their reasoning. Ask everyone to think about whether it was an example of feelings, actions, thoughts, or dialogue. Randomly choose a student to answer the question. Place the sentence strip in the appropriate cup. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the remaining sentence strips. If there is time at the end of class, have students complete the interactive notebook activity. Optimistic 1 Pessimistic 2 Insensitive 3 Compassionate 4 Deceitful 5 Courageous 6 Thoughts Dialogue Feelings Actions “This is how we’re going to split the work,” Daniela said sternly. “I’ll work on the poster while you two work on what we’re going to say for the presentation.” When Seth saw the pile of junk, a feeling of excitement bubbled up inside him. He couldn’t wait to begin building the object he was imagining. Brandon glanced at his math assignment and sighed. It would take too long to do these five story problems. He quickly scribbled some random numbers on the lines and slammed his book shut. Done. Kelly wondered what would happen if she told her dad that her mom said the sleepover was okay, and if she told her mom that her dad had already approved the sleepover. Kelly grinned. I think it will work! Erica wanted to be in the same class as her best friend, Meredith. When she finds out they have different fourth grade teachers, she decides this is for the best. She feels hopeful she will make new friends. When the orthodontist finishes putting braces on Anna’s teeth, Anna looks in the mirror and smiles. As she and her mom leave the office, she pictures herself with perfectly straight teeth two years from now. “We don’t need to be nervous about going to camp,” Jeff says. “From what I hear, we are going to have a blast!” As soon as Rachel woke up on the first day of school, she peeked out the window. There wasn’t even a sliver of sunshine poking through, but that didn’t matter. This is going to be the best school year ever! Tomorrow was the first day of track practice, and Alex was dreading it. He felt like he was at the base of a mountain, and he knew that it would be impossible for him to reach the peak. He felt mad at his dad for making him join the track team. Connor trudged slowly into his new school behind his mom. His shoulders were slumped, and his face was twisted into a scowl. When the school secretary welcomed him, he stared straight ahead, refusing to crack a smile. Becca was tired of hearing Kara talk about tomorrow’s game. “You know that the team we are playing is undefeated, right?” she snapped. “We have no chance at all of winning.” Perry glanced at his science notes, and then stuffed them back into his backpack. It’s a waste of time for me to try to study for tomorrow’s test. I’ll never pass it. Lucy felt relieved when Mr. Thorson finally changed the subject. They had been talking about neglected animals for twenty minutes and Lucy was bored to death. As Luke struggled to read the paragraph aloud, Callie rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. When Luke read a word incorrectly, Callie immediately corrected him. “Are you crazy? You can’t make a speech in front of the entire school,” Shannon said. “You st-st-stutter all the time, remember?” Why is Mrs. Mather getting so emotional about a pet bird? Mike thought. Did she expect it to live forever? After watching the news and seeing the devastation caused by the tornado, Carter felt sick to his stomach. His heart hurt for the families that had lost their homes. When Nick arrived home from school, he spotted a scrawny little kitten on his porch. He went inside and immediately returned with a dish of milk. “Mom, will you drive me to the bank?” Abbie asked. “They are accepting donations there for the Miller family, whose house burned down last week. I’d like to donate part of my allowance.” Like usual, Mark was the last person to be picked for a team. Tyler noticed Mark’s shoulders slump a little more each time another person’s name was called. The next time I’m chosen to be a captain, Mark is going to be one of the first people I pick, he thought to himself. Unlike his brother, Daniel didn’t feel at all sorry about telling his mom the lie. In fact, he felt proud that he came up with such a believable story! Will looked right, and then left. No one was around. He quickly slid the five dollar bill into his pocket. “Just tell your mom that you’re going to help me with a school project on Friday night,” Juanita commanded Alexa. “She doesn’t need to know the truth.” I didn’t really tell a lie, Micah told himself. I just left a few things out of the explanation. Even though Max’s heart was pounding, he also felt confident. He didn’t care if Josh turned around and started teasing him. He was determined to stand up for Brandon. Even though angry protesters surrounded her, six-year-old Ruby walked up the steps and into the school with her head held high. “Hey, Luis, why don’t you pick on someone closer to your own size… like me,” said Jalen. I refuse to let my fear of speaking in front of an audience stop me, Sarah told herself. I’m going to prepare a speech and run for student council. Erica wanted to be in the same class as her best friend, Meredith. When she finds out they have different fourth grade teachers, she decides this is for the best. She feels hopeful she will make new friends. optimistic- F When the orthodontist finishes putting braces on Anna’s teeth, Anna looks in the mirror and smiles. As she and her mom leave the office, she pictures herself with perfectly straight teeth two years from now. optimisticA “We don’t need to be nervous about going to camp,” Jeff says. “From what I hear, we are going to have a blast!” optimistic- D As soon as Rachel woke up on the first day of school, she peeked out the window. There wasn’t even a sliver of sunshine poking through, but that didn’t matter. This is going to be the best school year ever! optimisticT Tomorrow was the first day of track practice, and Alex was dreading it. He felt like he was at the base of a mountain, and he knew that it would be impossible for him to reach the peak. He felt mad at his dad for making him join the track team. pessimistic- F Connor trudged slowly into his new school behind his mom. His shoulders were slumped, and his face was twisted into a scowl. When the school secretary welcomed him, he stared straight ahead, refusing to pessimisticcrack a smile. A Becca was tired of hearing Kara talk about tomorrow’s game. “You know that the team we are playing is undefeated, right?” she snapped. “We have no chance at all of winning.” pessimistic- D Perry glanced at his science notes, and then stuffed them back into his backpack. It’s a waste of time for me to try to study for tomorrow’s test. I’ll never pass it. pessimistic- T Lucy felt relieved when Mr. Thorson finally changed the subject. They had been talking about neglected animals for twenty minutes and Lucy was bored to death. insensitive- F As Luke struggled to read the paragraph aloud, Callie rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. When Luke read a word incorrectly, Callie immediately corrected him. insensitive- A “Are you crazy? You can’t make a speech in front of the entire school.” Shannon said. “You st-st-stutter all the time, remember?” insensitive- D Why is Mrs. Mather getting so emotional about a pet bird? Mike thought. Did she expect it to live forever? insensitive- T After watching the news and seeing the devastation caused by the tornado, Carter felt sick to his stomach. His heart hurt for the families that had lost their homes. compassionate- F When Nick arrived home from school, he spotted a scrawny little kitten on his porch. He went inside and immediately returned with a dish of milk. compassionate- A “Mom, will you drive me to the bank?” Abbie asked. “They are accepting donations there for the Miller family, whose house burned down last week. I’d like to donate part of my allowance.” compassionate- D Like usual, Mark was the last person to be picked for a team. Tyler noticed Mark’s shoulders slump a little more each time another person’s name was called. The next time I’m chosen to be a captain, Mark is going to be one of the first people I pick, he thought to himself. compassionateT Unlike his brother, Daniel didn’t feel at all sorry about telling his mom the lie. In fact, he felt proud that he came up with such a believable story! deceitful- F Will looked right, and then left. No one was around. He quickly slid the five dollar bill into his pocket. deceitful- A “Just tell your mom that you’re going to help me with a school project on Friday night,” Juanita commanded Alexa. “She doesn’t need to know the truth.” deceitful- D I didn’t really tell a lie, Micah told himself. I just left a few things out of the explanation. deceitful- T Even though Max’s heart was pounding, he also felt confident. He didn’t care if Josh turned around and started teasing him. He was determined to stand up for Brandon. courageous- F Even though angry protesters surrounded her, six-year-old Ruby walked up the steps and into the school with her head held high. courageous- A “Hey, Luis, why don’t you pick on someone closer to your own size… like me,” said Jalen. courageous- D I refuse to let my fear of speaking in front of an audience stop me, Sarah told herself. I’m going to make a speech and run for student council. courageous- T 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Interactive Notebook Directions Cut around the OUTSIDE of the foldable. Cut between the dotted lines. Fold each flap in by folding along the two vertical lines in the middle. Open your notebook to your next blank page. Across the top, write “Character traits can be inferred by analyzing…” On the front of each flap, write one of the things that help readers analyze for character traits. Think of a book you have read recently. Beneath each flap, write any evidence provided by the author that helped you determine a character trait for one of the characters. © by Deb Hanson http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Deb-Hanson Fonts by Please click here to read my blog post if you would like to know how I structure this activity! Feel free to check out my related teaching resources (available in my TpT store)!
