Character Traits Worksheets To Print:
Traits of Fiction - We ask you to dream up some thoughts on this one. Choose a character from a book or story that you have read. What is the primary trait of that character? How does the author demonstrate that particular trait throughout the whole story?
Quotes and Dialogue - Talk about judging a book by it's cover... Read the quote from each character below. Decide who said it. Write that character's identifying
letter on the line next to the quote.
Indirect Traits - This is somewhat of an inference activity for you. This worksheet will require you to state evidence from the text to back up your answer.
Personality Traits - A character trait is something about a person that both influences and is revealed through their words, thoughts and actions.
It's All About Your Character - List 10 character traits of Huck. Yup, that Huck! We provide you with a nice size reading passage to work off of.
Character Traits and Story - Using the clues about Jeremiah provided on the left (his character traits, motivations, and feelings), write the rest of the story, one sentence at a time, on the lines to the right.
Sensing It - For each character trait below, describe an action, thought or words that would demonstrate that a person possessed that particular trait.
Where is It Hiding? - List as many character traits as you can think of to describe Ginger. She is a complicated person.
External/Internal - This is a really nice organizer to help you look into a particular character of interest.
Meaning of This - Define the word. Then think of an action that should show each trait, and write that action on the line.
Best Friends - Think about your best friend. What do you like best about him or her? You will describe them and then examine some thoughts about them.
Demonstrate It! - Think about a character in the book you have read. What do you like best about him or her?
Morris the Mouse - Below is the opening of a story and a list of character traits. Choose which character traits you think Morris the mouse would have. Then write the rest of the story so that the character traits you chose are revealed through the action of the story.
Friendship - Think about a time when you and your friend had a really good laugh together. What was the situation?
Amy and Ms. Jenkins - Read each version of the scenario. Identify three-character traits that Amy displays in each version.
In Fiction - Choose a character from a book or story that you have read. How does the author demonstrate that particular trait throughout the whole story?
A Through L - Attribute these personal classifications to each of these scenarios.
Picturing It - Look at each picture. Identify something that each person is displaying.
My Family - Think about someone in your family and tell us all about them and your thoughts on them.
Picture This - You are given an image to guess what is going on.
Favorite YouTuber - Who is your favorite YouTuber? In the box, draw a picture of the person. T
Label It - A nice way to get through any text.
Interaction - Look at the specific events and interactions that your personas encounter across the work.
Visualize - See if you can envision what the cast looks like.
Real Life - Relate a fictional work to real life. Think about real people that you know, or use your imagination.
Fiction - Examine all of the effort that the author put into their work.
Be Descriptive - Read the description of each person and label the characteristics that are displayed.
Your Perspective - Look at each picture and tell us your thoughts on the person in each image.
Someone I Know - Think about someone that you know well and describe them
Internal and External - There are things going on inside the mind of a character and things that are visible.
Picture Me - Study each picture and describe the scene.
I Admire - What can you say about someone that you deeply admire.
Positive or Negative - Look at the characteristics that are described are they beneficial or punitive.
Support It - This will help you pull evidence from a text.
Characterization Worksheets To Print:
Elements of Characterization - Choose one of your main character's main traits. How
will you use each characterization technique in your story to reveal this more?
Personality - Briefly describe a cast member's personality. In the boxes below, provide the text evidence for your answer.
Dialogue - Read each picture/scenario pair. Think about what the person pictured might say in that scenario. Say the words out loud before you write them, to see if they sound realistic.
Indirect - Rewrite it using indirect characterization to portray the same trait.
Analysis - Breakdown a store and cite pieces of evidence.
Visualize Them - Based on the passage above, what does main actor look like?
What a Character - Starts with their names and then based on how they look, what do you expect them to do.
Mapping - What can you see on the surface of the story and what is being hidden or unsaid?
Presence - What do they say? How do they sound? What do they think about? How do they affect others?
Quick Thoughts - A great way to get you think about a story of any kind.
What Character Traits Are Commonly Found in Stories?
These traits are qualities that the personas found within a story may exhibit over the course of the story. The center around the individual behavior and attitude. It is important to note that while, in real life, character traits are seen as a relatively stable dynamic in fictional and even nonfiction stories they can seem to waver much more frequently. The factor that most often gets overlooked is time. A story can bridge several decades from chapter to chapter. In real life, we do not change much in a week, but given decades our nature does seem get skewed.
We use adjectives to describe these traits. While there are many ways to use these adjectives, there are some fundamental factors that we will identify when evaluating each character:
1. Surgency - This is the level of cleverness they display when in a social situation. It is often gauged by how introverted or extroverted the character is. This often indicates what social situations favor the persona.
2. Dependability - This indicates a great deal about the organization and planning ability of a person. Which is often aligned to intelligence in many stories. This also indicates if the persona is a rule follower and whether they shy away from the admiration of others.
3. Pleasantness - How agreeable a persona is helps indicate if the character will most likely have a great number of friends or enemies.
4. Culture - This indicates how closed off a character is to the use of imagination, intellect, and being open to interacting with others for various reasons.
5. Mental Fortitude - Do display a great deal of mental stability? If not, there will many occasions where this overwhelms all the other traits exhibited. As a result, this can often change the focus of story in seconds.
Why Are They Important to Stories?
When an author creates a story, there is usually a motive behind the creation of their work. It can be to simply tell a story, share message, drop some knowledge, or any number of reasons behind the work. Authors create primary characters to accentuate this message and push it forward. It is interesting that many readers often do not take the time to understand the primary and secondary personalities of the actors of a story. Most of the audience will divert their attention to the leading character, when in fact the secondary personas may actually drive the intent of the story. When we begin to understand the nature of the figures of a story it can help us understand where the plot is heading. It can also help us better understand the significance of when something arises that is completely unexpected. As story begins to unfold, we can understand the motivations of the actors and understand the true significance of a body of work. This can also lead us to understand the decisions that character may choose along the way. This helps put the reader in the shoes of the character so that they may be able to experience the level of tension and anxiety that they may endure as they make choices.
How to Determine Character Traits in Fiction?
When we look at the amazing mass of characters that have been dreamed up over the years, it is amazing. There have been villains that we rooted for and heroes that we hoped would fail. All of our emotional connections to these characters are formed by understanding the types of behaviors and mindset we perceive them to have. Readers find certain traits to be appealing such as being daring or brave. Other traits turn us off to characters such as being deceitful or immoral.
The traits of a character can make them have a positive or negative impact on the story based on the context of situation. Being murderous is usually not a good thing. But, if your homeland is being invaded, having a murderous neighbor might actually be so bad; if they are on your side. How do we, as readers, ascertain the motives of characters? I find the best way to measure the core values of a character is to place positive and negative values attributed to each character. I use a plus/minus scale. If there is a value of two in either direction (plus or minus), I label that character as having good or poor morale character and influence on others.
What Is Characterization?
When reading a book, we fall in love with the characters, relate to their struggles and challenges, and are sad when the book ends. This is what book lovers call magic. But authors have a process to make this magic happen, which is called characterization.
In Literature
What is characterization in literature, and how does it help an author create a character we sympathize with and relate to? Let's find out.
Characterization is an author's tool that helps them create a character, such as its personality, physical characteristics, background story, etc. Characterization can be achieved in a written and visual format. Dialogs and descriptions help us relate to a character in a written format. In contrast, we also have hair, costumes, and other physical clues in a visual format. Characterization is important before starting a novel or movie because authors can use these character profiles when developing the story and how the character will act in any given situation.
Types of Characterization
Direct characterization is purely informative. In this type, the author uses the narrator or the protagonist to describe the physical and emotional characteristics of a character.
The indirect form is a subtle method of characterization in which the author uses the actions, thoughts, and dialog of a character to let the audience decide their personality. You can also learn about a character by how other characters feel about them. Authors often use this type of characterization as each person interprets the character differently.
Both direct and indirect characterizations are used in conjunction in a novel or movie to best describe a character and help the audience understand and relate to them.
Methods of Characterization
Authors use a formula or acronym, called S.T.E.A.L, to cover all basis of characterization and develop a well-rounded personality. S.T.E.A.L refers to: Speech . Thoughts . Effects on Others . Actions . Looks
Speech
What a person says and how they say it says a lot about a character. For example:
If a character uses complex words, they are intelligent.
If a character refuses to talk about a subject, they are guilty.
If a character tasks fast, they are nervous or excited.
Moreover, the vocabulary and accent also tell us a lot about a character.
Thoughts
The main things readers relate to are the thoughts and emotions of a character. How they think and act the way they do, the purpose behind it, etc. For instance, if a character justifies crime or killing, you can immediately characterize them as troubled or disturbed.
Effects on Others
How your character interacts with others is equally important. Are they caring? Do people follow them or fear them? Their interactions, way of talking, and more say a lot about their social understanding and empathy.
Actions
Actions speak louder than words. Thus, a person's true character emerges in crucial situations. How your character acts in an emergency, in a life or death situation, or when they stand to gain advantage from a situation says a lot about them. Do they care what will happen to others? Do they sympathize with the other characters? Are they selfish?
Looks
Physical characteristics are equally important. How they look, their hair color, dress, etc., tell us about their social standing and priorities. It also helps the reader relate to characters with similar characteristics as them.
A lot goes into developing a great character. You can use different methods and techniques but make sure you cover all the above elements for a complete character profile.
