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Who's Who?

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Lesson Plan

Who's Who? A Character Deep Dive

Students will be able to infer character traits and motivations by using specific details and evidence from the text.

Understanding characters helps us better comprehend stories and even understand people in real life. By learning to look for clues, you'll become a super reader!

Audience

3rd Grade

Time

15 minutes

Approach

Students will learn to infer character traits through direct instruction, guided practice, and independent application.

Materials

Character Clues Slide Deck, Character Detective Worksheet, and Short Story Reading

Prep

Preparation Steps

10 minutes

Step 1

Connect to Prior Knowledge

3 minutes

  • Teacher: Begin by asking students what they know about characters in stories. "Who are characters? What do they do?"
    * Teacher: Introduce the idea that characters have traits, just like people, and we can figure them out by looking at what they say and do.

Step 2

Model the Skill

5 minutes

  • Teacher: Use the Character Clues Slide Deck to explain character traits, motivations, and how to use text evidence to infer them.
    * Teacher: Model with a short example (either from the slide deck or a brief, familiar story), thinking aloud as you identify a character's action and infer a trait. For example, "The character shared their lunch with a new student. That makes me think they are kind because sharing shows care for others."

Step 3

Guided Practice

4 minutes

  • Teacher: Distribute the Short Story Reading. Read the first part of the story aloud as a class.
    * Teacher: Lead a discussion, prompting students to identify character actions or dialogue and infer traits together. Use the questions on the Character Detective Worksheet for the guided practice portion, filling in the first example together.

Step 4

Independent Application

3 minutes

  • Teacher: Distribute the Character Detective Worksheet. Have students continue reading the Short Story Reading independently or with a partner and complete the worksheet, inferring character traits and motivations using text evidence.
    * Teacher: Circulate to provide support and answer questions. If time, bring the class back together for a quick share of their findings.
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Slide Deck

Who Are Characters?

Every story has characters!

  • Who are they?
  • What do they do?
  • What are they like?

Welcome students and introduce the idea of characters having personalities. Ask them to think about their favorite book or movie character.

Character Traits

Character traits are words that describe a character's personality.

  • Kind
  • Brave
  • Curious
  • Grumpy
  • Clever

Explain that character traits are like personality words. Give a few examples (e.g., brave, shy, kind) and ask students to think of some for themselves or people they know.

Being a Character Detective

How do we know what a character is like?

We look for clues in the story!

These clues help us infer traits.

Emphasize that we can't always just be told what a character is like. We have to be detectives! We need to find clues.

Clue #1: What They Say

Listen to their words!

  • Do they speak loudly or softly?
  • Are they polite or rude?
  • Do they say encouraging things or complain?

Explain the first type of clue: what a character SAYS. Give an example.

Clue #2: What They Do

Watch their actions!

  • Do they help others?
  • Do they give up easily?
  • Are they always exploring?

Explain the second type of clue: what a character DOES. Give an example.

Clue #3: What Others Say

What do other characters think or say about them?

  • Do friends trust them?
  • Do enemies fear them?

Explain the third type of clue: what OTHER characters say about them. Give an example.

Character Motivations

Motivations are the reasons why a character does something.

  • Why did they help?
  • Why did they run away?
  • Their traits often explain their motivations!

Introduce motivations - why characters do what they do. This links closely to their traits.

Inferring Character Traits

When we use clues from the text to figure out a character's traits or motivations, we are inferring.

  • Clue + My Brain = Inference!

Summarize the key idea: using clues to make an educated guess.

Practice Time!

Scenario: Lily saw a lost kitten shivering in the rain. She carefully picked it up, took it home, and gave it a warm blanket and a bowl of milk.

What trait describes Lily?
What was her motivation?

Quick practice together using a simple scenario.

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Worksheet

Character Detective Worksheet

Name: ____________________________

Story: Short Story Reading

As you read, be a character detective! Look for clues in the story to figure out what the characters are like (their traits) and why they do what they do (their motivations).

Character Clues

Character Name: Maya

  1. What did Maya say or do? (Text Evidence)



  2. What character trait does this show?



  3. Why do you think Maya said or did this? (Motivation)



Character Name: Alex

  1. What did Alex say or do? (Text Evidence)



  2. What character trait does this show?



  3. Why do you think Alex said or did this? (Motivation)



Character Name: (Your Choice!)

  1. What did this character say or do? (Text Evidence)



  2. What character trait does this show?



  3. Why do you think this character said or did this? (Motivation)



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Reading

The Lost Compass

Leo loved exploring. Every Saturday, he would pack a small backpack and head into the woods behind his house. He wasn't allowed to go too far, but even the small patch of trees felt like a giant jungle to him. His most prized possession was a shiny, brass compass that his grandpa had given him.

One sunny morning, Leo set off. He hummed a little tune as he followed a winding path. Suddenly, he heard a faint whimpering sound. He stopped, listening closely. The sound came from behind a thick bush. Curiosity bubbling, Leo pushed aside the branches.

There, huddled and shaking, was a tiny puppy. It had soft brown fur and big, sad eyes. A small cut was on its paw. Leo felt a pang in his chest.

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Who's Who? • Lenny Learning