Character Feelings and Actions

Active learning helps first graders move from simply noticing what a character does to understanding why they feel and act the way they do. When students physically act out emotions or discuss a character’s choices, they connect abstract feelings to concrete behaviors in ways that stick.

• 1st Grade
• English Language Arts
• 3 activities
• 10 min–25 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify a character's feelings based on their actions and dialogue in a story.
2. Explain how a character's feelings change from the beginning to the end of a narrative.
3. Describe the relationship between a character's internal feelings and their external actions.
4. Compare and contrast the feelings and actions of two different characters in the same story.

Role Play

⏱ 15 min·Individual

Role Play: Emotion Statues

The teacher reads a sentence from a story describing an event. Students must freeze like a statue showing how the character feels, then explain to a partner what clue in the story told them to make that face.

Prepare & details

What can a character's actions tell us about what they are thinking?

Facilitation Tip: During Emotion Statues, freeze the scene after students identify a feeling to give them time to observe each other’s body language.

Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging

Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 10 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why Did They Do That?

After a read-aloud, the teacher asks about a specific character action. Students talk with a partner to find one reason from the story that explains the character's choice before sharing with the class.

Prepare & details

How do characters change from the beginning of a story to the end?

Facilitation Tip: During Why Did They Do That?, model your own thinking by saying, 'I think the character felt ____ because I see ____ in the picture.'

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 25 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Character Trait Maps

Small groups are given a character and a pile of trait cards (brave, shy, kind). They must look through the book's pictures and words to find 'proof' for which cards describe their character.

Prepare & details

Why do authors give characters specific traits and personalities?

Facilitation Tip: During Character Trait Maps, have students use different colored markers to trace how a character’s feelings change from the start to the middle to the end of the story.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should avoid telling students how a character feels before they figure it out themselves. Instead, guide them with questions like, 'What do you notice about the character’s face or body?' Research shows that when students generate their own explanations, even if they’re not perfectly accurate at first, their comprehension grows over time as they practice. Focus on one character at a time to avoid overwhelming young readers.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students using text clues and illustrations to explain a character’s feelings and actions without being told directly. They should point to specific evidence and use words like 'because' to show their thinking.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Why Did They Do That?, listen for students who only mention dialogue as evidence. Stop the discussion and ask, 'What does the character’s body look like in this picture? How does that help us understand their feeling?'

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Emotion Statues, give each student a blank face outline. Ask them to draw the character’s feeling at the end of the story and write one sentence explaining what happened to cause that feeling.

Discussion Prompt

During Why Did They Do That?, pause at a key moment and ask the class to turn to a partner and explain the character’s feeling and action. Listen for students to use specific evidence from the text or illustrations.

Quick Check

After Character Trait Maps, show two illustrations of the same character from different parts of the story. Ask students to point to the one that shows a change in feeling and explain what caused it using the map they created.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to retell a story from the perspective of the character, using their feelings and actions to explain their choices.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like, 'The character feels ____ because ____.' or 'I see ____ in the picture, so I think ____.'
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to compare two characters from different books and discuss how their feelings and actions are similar or different.

Key Vocabulary

feeling	An emotion or sensation that a character experiences, like happy, sad, angry, or scared.
action	Something a character does, which can include speaking, moving, or making a choice.
clue	A piece of information from the text or pictures that helps us understand a character's feelings or thoughts.
trait	A special quality or characteristic that describes a character, like being brave or shy.