Identifying Character Traits and FeelingsActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for identifying character traits and feelings because young students grasp abstract emotions and personalities more concretely when they embody them. Moving, sorting, and discussing in structured ways builds memory and deepens comprehension beyond passive listening or reading alone.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify specific actions and expressions that reveal a character's traits in a story.
- 2Compare the feelings of two different characters within the same story, citing textual evidence.
- 3Explain how a character's established traits might influence their reactions in a new, hypothetical situation.
- 4Classify character traits as either consistent (personality) or temporary (feelings) based on story events.
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Pairs: Emotion Charades
Prepare cards with story character feelings and actions. One student acts out the feeling using expressions and gestures from the story, while the partner guesses and cites story evidence. Switch roles and discuss matches between action and emotion.
Prepare & details
Analyze how a character's actions reveal their personality.
Facilitation Tip: During Emotion Charades, model exaggerated facial expressions first so students understand how to communicate feelings without words.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Small Groups: Trait Sorting Stations
Provide printed story actions on cards. Groups sort cards into trait categories like brave, kind, or grumpy, then justify choices with story quotes. Rotate stations for different stories to compare characters.
Prepare & details
Compare the feelings of two different characters in a story.
Facilitation Tip: At Trait Sorting Stations, circulate and ask guiding questions like 'What did the character do that makes you think they are patient?' to prompt evidence-based reasoning.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Whole Class: Character Role-Play Circle
Read a story excerpt aloud. Students stand in a circle; call a character's name and situation, students volunteer to act out predicted reactions based on traits. Class votes and explains evidence from the text.
Prepare & details
Predict how a character might react in a new situation based on their traits.
Facilitation Tip: In the Character Role-Play Circle, sit in the circle with students to model turn-taking and emotional expression, creating a safe space for participation.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Individual: Feeling Faces Draw
Students draw a character's face showing a feeling from the story, label the emotion, and write one action that caused it. Share drawings in pairs for peer feedback on accuracy.
Prepare & details
Analyze how a character's actions reveal their personality.
Facilitation Tip: For Feeling Faces Draw, provide mirrors so students can study their own expressions before drawing to improve accuracy.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic by grounding abstract concepts in concrete actions and visual cues. Avoid relying solely on verbal explanations; instead, use drama, art, and sorting tasks to make traits and feelings tangible. Research shows that when students act out emotions or sort traits while discussing evidence, their inferencing skills improve more than with worksheets alone. Keep the language simple and repetitive, using anchor charts with trait and feeling words displayed prominently.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students confidently connecting actions to traits, explaining how expressions reveal feelings, and using vocabulary like 'generous,' 'frustrated,' or 'hopeful' to describe characters. They should also justify their ideas with evidence from the text or their own performances.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Emotion Charades, some students may assume feelings are only expressed through words.
What to Teach Instead
During Emotion Charades, pause the game to discuss how facial expressions and body language often show feelings more clearly than words. Have students repeat a scene without speaking to highlight this.
Common MisconceptionDuring Trait Sorting Stations, students may think traits change frequently throughout a story.
What to Teach Instead
During Trait Sorting Stations, ask groups to compare cards from the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Have them explain which traits stay the same and why feelings shift.
Common MisconceptionDuring Feeling Faces Draw, students may believe only words describe traits, not actions.
What to Teach Instead
During Feeling Faces Draw, provide action cards (e.g., 'sharing a snack,' 'crossing arms') and have students draw the face that matches the feeling. Then ask, 'What does this action tell us about the character?'
Assessment Ideas
After Emotion Charades, show three facial expression cards (e.g., happy, angry, surprised) and ask students to point to the one matching a character from a familiar story. Have them whisper the answer to a partner and explain their choice using a feeling word.
After Trait Sorting Stations, ask students to complete a worksheet with two columns: one side shows an action (e.g., 'helped a friend'), and the other side asks for a trait word and a feeling word. Collect these to check for accuracy and use of evidence.
During Character Role-Play Circle, after each scene, ask the class, 'What did the character do? What trait does that show? How do you think they felt?' Record their responses on chart paper to review as a class and address any misconceptions immediately.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge early finishers to create a new scene where the character behaves differently, explaining how this change affects their trait or feeling.
- Scaffolding for struggling students: provide sentence stems like 'The character feels ___ because ___.' or offer a word bank of trait and feeling words.
- Deeper exploration: Ask students to compare two characters from different stories, noting how their traits and feelings contrast and why these differences matter to the plot.
Key Vocabulary
| Character Trait | A consistent quality or characteristic that describes a person's personality, like being kind, brave, or shy. |
| Feeling | A temporary emotional state a character experiences, such as happy, sad, angry, or surprised. |
| Action | Something a character does in a story that can show their personality or how they feel. |
| Expression | The look on a character's face or their body language that shows their emotions. |
| Infer | To figure something out based on clues or evidence, rather than being told directly. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for English
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