Identifying Character Traits

1. Identifying Character Traits Adapted from a printable of the same name on Read Write Think from the lesson Action is Character and from the Character Revision Bite from BBC KS3 Bitesize.

2. Characters do things.

3. They feel things.

4. They hear things.

5. They say things.

6. They think things.

7. They go places.

8. They can walk, run, leap, and jump.

9. They may sip tea in a chair.

10. They may just lie in bed, sleep, and dream.

11. But the important thing is that characters act.

12. And these actions show us what kind of people these characters are: • friendly • sad • nosey • happy • love struck • confused • angry • inventive

13. What is a character trait?

14. What is a character trait? • When we talk about character, we often describe that character in terms of character traits. • Character traits are specific adjectives that tell us the specific qualities of the character.

15. Examples of character traits • Active • Rough • Serious • Selfish • Mean • Friendly • Gloomy • Tall • Clever • Honest • Sly • Weak • Brainy • Polite • Now take turns with your face partner, and tell him/her what 3 of these words mean.

16. What are character traits? • We might use these same kinds of words to describe ourselves. • Pick 3 words that describe you. • “Ms. Roberts is clever, funny, and bizarre.” • Share them with a partner. • But, we can also use these to describe fictional characters.

17. Stop and review! • Answer these questions with your shoulder partner. Be prepared to share your answers with the class. • What is a character trait? • Name 3 character traits.

18. How do we find a character’s traits?

19. How do we find a character’s traits? • The author may tell us these traits directly: • Jim Wellings was not a man to be glanced at. But nor was he a man to be stared at. To say he was a big man is like calling Buckingham Palace a big house. He was a man who filled whatever space there was. He wasn't fat, though; just big. • Tell your face partner what Jim is like. • How do you know?

20. How about this example? • Stanley didn't have many friends at home. He was overweight and the kids at his middle school often teased him about his size. Even his teachers sometimes made cruel comments without realising it. On his last day of school, his math teacher, Mrs Bell, taught ratios. As an example, she chose the heaviest kid in the class and the lightest kid in the class, and had them weigh themselves. Stanley weighed three times as much as the other boy. Mrs Bell wrote the ratio on the board, 3:1, unaware of how much embarrassment she had caused both of them. 'Holes' - Louis Sachar • Tell your face partner what Stanley is like. • How do you know?

21. How do we find a character’s traits? • BUT, more often, the author will show us these traits in action. • Our job as readers is to draw conclusions about the character’s traits (to infer them) from what the character: • Says • Thinks • Does

22. How do we find a character’s traits? • Now we’re going to look at another extract from Holes. Stanley has just arrived at the prison camp. • Pay attention to what Mr. Sir (the man in the cowboy hat) says, does, and thinks. • We will use this to help us describe the character of Mr. Sir. • Some important phrases are in bold to help you.

23. How do we find a character’s traits? A man was sitting with his feet up on a desk. He turned his head when Stanley and the guard entered, but otherwise didn't move. Even though he was inside, he wore sunglasses and a cowboy hat. He also held a can of cream soda, and the sight of it made Stanley even more aware of his own thirst. He waited while the bus guard gave the man some papers to sign. "That's a lot of sunflower seeds," the bus guard said. Stanley noticed a burlap sack filled with sunflower seeds on the floor next to the desk. "I quit smoking last month," said the man in the cowboy hat. He had a tattoo of a rattlesnake on his arm, and as he signed his name, the snake's rattle seemed to wiggle. "I used to smoke a pack a day. Now I eat a sack of these every week." 'Holes' - Louis Sachar

24. How can you find a character’s traits? Think about what you SEE • Statement – What is the observation about a character • Evidence – What proof is in the story to show you that the character deserves those traits? • Explanation – What do you know about people based on things you observe them doing?

25. Statement Evidence Explanation Mr. Sir likes to be in charge. He sat with his feet up on People who are in charge the desk can do what they want AND it kind of scares others when they do so Mr. Sir wants to make an He wears sunglasses and a Dressing this way makes impression on you cowboy hat inside him stand out Mr. Sir is SELFISH and He doesn’t offer Stanley or He doesn’t want to share CRUEL the bus guard a soda the soda, so he’s selfish, AND he’s really cruel for drinking it right in front of 2 very thirsty people

26. Statement Evidence Explanation Mr. Sir must be short - He stopped smoking When people stop tempered recently smoking, their bodies have to get used to not having all those chemicals in their body, so they get cranky Mr. Sir is a bully He has a rattlesnake tattoo He probably has a scary snake tattoo to try to scare other people into being afraid of him Mr. Sir is disgusting He eats a ton of sunflower He stopped a really gross seeds habit, but he just replaces it with another one

27. So, Mr. Sir must be a disgusting, selfish, bad-tempered bully! Quick! Think with your shoulder partner about other ways to describe Mr. Sir.

28. But wait! There’s more! • All of our evidence from SEE just helps us pinpoint what characters say, do, and think. • So, let’s use SEE again!

29. Here’s your evidence! Things Mr. Sir does!

30. And some more evidence! Things Mr. Sir does!

31. Pause to review! • Our evidence for Mr. Sir’s character was all about what he does. • Can you and your face partner name two other kinds of evidence about a character?

32. How about another example? • Read this final excerpt from Holes. • Think about how to SEE. • What statements about Stanley can you make? • What is your evidence? • How would you explain the connection? • Write down your answers and be ready to share with the class.

33. How about another example? Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger he used to play with stuffed animals, and pretend the animals were at camp. Camp Fun and Games he called it. Sometimes he'd have them play soccer with a marble. Other times they'd run an obstacle course, or go bungee jumping off a table, tied to broken rubber bands. Now Stanley tried to pretend he was going to Camp Fun and Games. Maybe he'd make some friends, he thought. At least he'd get to swim in the lake. 'Holes' - Louis Sachar

34. Check your work!

35. Ticket out the Door • What does SEE stand for? • Why do we SEE?