The Magic of Narrative · Term 1

Character Traits and Feelings

Identifying how authors use words and illustrations to show how characters feel and act.

About This Topic

In Year 1 English, students identify character traits and feelings by analysing how authors use words and illustrations in stories. They notice descriptive language like 'grumpy frown' or 'bouncing with joy,' alongside visual cues such as wide eyes for surprise or slumped shoulders for sadness. This work meets AC9E1LT01, where students respond to literature, and AC9E1LT02, focusing on character roles and events. Key questions guide them: How can you tell how a character feels? What if we changed a trait? Act out feelings at story points.

Students link these elements to predictions and personal connections, building vocabulary for emotions and traits like brave or shy. This foundation supports narrative comprehension and empathy, essential for discussing plots and motivations in later years. Group talks reveal diverse interpretations from the same text, sharpening evidence-based reasoning.

Active learning suits this topic perfectly. Role-playing scenes, drawing feeling maps, or mirroring illustrations helps students embody traits, bridging text to real experience. These methods boost engagement, memory of cues, and confident sharing in class discussions.

Learning Objectives

• Identify specific words and phrases authors use to describe character feelings and actions.
• Analyze illustrations to determine a character's emotional state and motivations.
• Compare how different word choices or illustrations might change a character's perceived traits.
• Demonstrate understanding of a character's feelings by acting out a scene from the story.
• Explain how a character's actions contribute to the plot of a narrative.

Before You Start

Identifying Main Characters and Settings

Why: Students need to be able to identify who the story is about before they can analyze that character's feelings and traits.

Understanding Basic Emotions (Happy, Sad, Angry)

Why: A foundational understanding of common emotions helps students connect descriptive words and illustrations to specific feelings.

Key Vocabulary

Trait	A special quality or characteristic that makes a person or character unique, like being brave or shy.
Feeling	An emotion a character experiences, such as happiness, sadness, anger, or surprise.
Illustration	A picture or drawing in a book that helps tell the story or shows what characters look like and how they feel.
Describe	To use words to explain what something or someone is like, including how they look, act, or feel.
Predict	To make a smart guess about what might happen next in the story based on what you already know about the characters and events.

Active Learning Ideas

Pairs Drama: Emotion Freeze Frames

Read a story aloud. Pairs select a scene, discuss word and picture clues for the character's feeling, then strike a freeze frame pose to show it. Switch roles and have the class guess the emotion, linking back to text evidence.

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

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Small Groups: Illustration Detective Hunt

Provide story pages with illustrations. Groups list three visual clues for feelings (e.g., tears for sad), match to word descriptions, and create a group poster. Share posters, voting on strongest evidence.

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

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Whole Class: Feelings Timeline Walk

Draw a story timeline on the board. Class walks along it, pausing at points to act out or describe the main character's changing feelings using author clues. Add sticky notes with evidence as they go.

⏱ 30 min·Whole Class

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Individual: Trait and Feeling Journal

Students choose a character, draw three pictures showing different feelings with labels from the text, and write one sentence per feeling explaining the clue. Share one entry with a partner for feedback.

⏱ 20 min·Individual

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Real-World Connections

Actors in a play or movie use their voice and body language to show how their characters feel, just like characters in a book.

Animators for cartoons like 'Bluey' carefully draw characters' facial expressions and body positions to communicate their emotions to the audience.

Therapists working with children use picture cards showing different emotions to help kids identify and talk about how they are feeling.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Characters feel the same way throughout a story.

What to Teach Instead

Stories show feelings change with events; students track shifts via word and picture clues. Role-play timelines helps them see progression, as acting different emotions reveals how authors build development through evidence.

Common Misconception

Illustrations do not provide clues about feelings, only words do.

What to Teach Instead

Both words and pictures work together to show traits. Group hunts for visual evidence alongside text builds this understanding, with peers challenging single-source ideas during shares.

Common Misconception

Character traits cannot change.

What to Teach Instead

Traits evolve with story actions. Drama activities let students test 'what if' changes, using text cues to discuss impacts, fostering flexible thinking through embodied exploration.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students a picture of a character from a familiar story. Ask: 'What feeling do you think this character has? Point to the part of the picture that shows me this feeling.' Record student responses.

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a sentence strip. Ask them to write one word that describes how the main character felt at the end of today's story. They can also draw a small picture to show the feeling.

Discussion Prompt

After reading a short passage, ask: 'The author used the word 'grumbled.' What does grumbled tell us about how the character was acting? What feeling might go with grumbling?'

Frequently Asked Questions

How do authors show character feelings in Year 1 stories?

Authors use descriptive words like 'trembling with fear' or 'giggling happily,' paired with illustrations showing facial expressions, body language, and colours. Students practise by circling clues in texts and mimicking them, which strengthens recognition and vocabulary for emotions across narratives.

What activities teach character traits Australian Curriculum Year 1?

Use drama freezes, illustration hunts, and feeling timelines aligned to AC9E1LT01 and AC9E1LT02. These hands-on tasks help students cite evidence from words and pictures, discuss changes, and predict outcomes, building key literature response skills.

How to use active learning for character feelings in English?

Active approaches like role-playing scenes or group emotion mapping make abstract traits tangible. Students act out clues from texts, discuss peer poses, and link to illustrations, improving comprehension, empathy, and retention far beyond passive reading. This fits Year 1 energy levels and boosts participation.

Addressing misconceptions about character traits Year 1?

Common errors include fixed feelings or ignoring pictures. Correct via evidence hunts and drama, where students track changes and compare multimodal clues. Peer feedback in groups clarifies, ensuring they use full text details for accurate trait identification.