Who were Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton? High schoolers examine the character traits of these historical figures and watch the video, The Duel. Hamilton vs. Burr: An Event that Changed History (available from PBS), to gain an...

Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...

Designed for homeschoolers (but equally as effective for independent learners), this worksheet focuses on Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Middle and high school readers summarize, define vocabulary, and answer questions about the...

An excellent, 3-activities-in-one worksheet goes along with the book, Rescue Josh McGuire. Learners complete short answer, vocabulary, and crossword puzzle activities. A great literary resource!

Explore positive and negative character traits and universal themes in the story of Cinderella with primary learners. Story elements are reviewed and discussion questions are listed. Learners practice retelling the story and begin a...

A 46-slide presentation focuses on ways to describe characters in stories, how to create story characters, and how to show a character's personality in a student-created story. The colorful and engaging slides provide lots of great ideas...

Exploring character traits is a fascinating process. First, read Song of the Trees, by Mildred Taylor, and then utilize technology to determine the character traits of the main characters from the story. The Microsoft Word files needed...

Making connections with characters in literature is a great way to engage young children in reading. This task is made much easier with this Venn diagram template that asks young learners to compare and contrast themselves with a...

Teaching young learners about similes is easy as pie with this primary grade language arts lesson. Following a class reading of the children's book, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, young readers learn the definition of a simile as...

Characters are built with more than just what the author directly says about a character (ex: she is smart). Help your pupils focus on several elements of characterization with a graphic organizer that has space for two characters....

Use the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to teach your third grade class about descriptive writing. Following a teacher read-aloud of the story, the class brainstorms a list of adjectives describing the main character. Students use this list...

Use this handout to focus on the character traits of George and Lennie in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Readers are given a set of specific traits to search for in the first chapter. They are required to list two textual examples of...

A fancifully illustrated guide to Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, this series of lessons, activities, and tasks could be used in its entirety or picked apart and used piecemeal. Have young readers investigate the traits of foxes in...

Character analysis is a skill we use when we read literary works or want to write a good story. Learners will use drama to practice character analysis while focusing on the details that make characters act the way they do. They'll each...

First the class analyzes the painting, Rodeo-Pickup Man by Frank Mechau, then they get to work. They explore the painting through verbal descriptions, focusing on vivid language to describe detail. They then compose a written piece using...

Guide your readers to explore character traits. As a class, discuss and record the traits of a commonly-known fairy tale character. Then do the same with the main character in the class novel. Finally, have learners use magazines and...

Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...

What ingredients make up a character? A cup of honesty, a dash of humor, a pinch of cynicism? Based on real cookbooks they review in class, learners at any grade level three and up write recipes to describe characters familiar to your...

After reading Holes, by Louis Sachair, learners focus on the main character of Stanley Yelnats. They will identify the traits he shares with his grandfather. To finish, they write an essay on one of the traits that Stanley possesses.

Young historians identify Harriet Tubman, her character traits, and role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. They create an escape map using map legends and the Cardinal directions. This plan utilizes one of my favorite video...

Here is a fun resource that your kids will love. While reading the book Because of Winn-Dixie, they analyze the story's main characters by creating an online scrapbook. The purpose is to have them identify character traits and use...

In this character traits lesson, learners define responsibility, dependability, punctuality, honesty, and effort as they read Mr. Griggs' Work. Readers brainstorm how these characteristics are important to a career. Group your pupils...

Young readers learn about a hero of the Underground Railroad in this short passage that highlights the fundamentals of Tubman's story. In the graphic organizer that follows, they track her character by citing her actions and other clues....

Spark your learners' imaginations while discussing mythological characters. Using any story with mythology, assign a character to each student. Every individual reviews character traits and personalities in order to "be" that character,...