CHARACTER TRAITS AND MOTIVATION 8th Grade Reading Ramsey/Ford August, 2012

Qualities of a character, such as their personality. What are Traits? Qualities of a character, such as their personality. Ask yourself, What kind of person would behave, think or interact in this way? What adjectives would you use to describe your characters core qualities? Is your character skillful? persistent? friendly? thoughtful? concerned? lazy? intelligent? fearful? capable? dishonest? determined? wise?

Internal External Active Pretty Dangerous Cute Curious Tall Hopeful Short Crafty Big Fearless Blue eyes Scared Student Studious Athlete Cheerful Ugly Adventurous Smelly Determined American Talented Brunette Compassionate Freckles Restless Blonde Diligent Petite Traits can be Internal or External External can be seen Internal describes a character’s Inside: fears, frustrations or feelings

Finding Traits in a Character In order to determine what traits the characters in a book have, or the people in life you meet, you could use these Methods of Characterization: Physical Appearance Speech, Thoughts and Actions What Other Characters Say about Them

Physical Appearance This is what the character looks like, what they wear, body language and facial expressions. Example: The beautiful red-headed maiden with lips as red as a rose seems to glide everywhere she walks.

What the Character Says, Does and Thinks This is the Dialogue the character uses to help the reader understand what they are thinking or feeling about a certain situation. It is also what the narrator tells or the character may tell the reader that they are thinking about a certain situation. What the character does in certain situations also shows the different traits that the character possesses.

What Other Characters Think What Traits Do These Characters Have? Madeline’s classmates smirked and laughed as she walked by. Not only was she unfriendly, they concluded, but she took herself way too seriously. This is other’s impressions of the character. It is also what others say and feel about the character.

1.  Toby's teacher asked him to take the note down to the office. loud restless dependable 2.  Ron remained a true fan until the end of the game, even though his team was losing by twenty points. loyal proud shy 3.  The sinister villain stole all the money from the villagers and let all the animals run free. easygoing caring evil 4.  Quentin washed his laundry himself because his mom wasn't feeling well. able tolerant alert Practice

Character Motivation A character’s motivation is what makes him/her think, feel, or act in a particular way. When you know the reasons for a character’s actions, thoughts, or feelings, you understand his/her motivation. A character’s motivation influences his/her actions. The actions, in turn, reveal the character’s traits. Motivations can be internal or external.

What is the Character Motivation Here? Carlos spends two hours cleaning his room on a Saturday morning. What could Carlos’ motivation for cleaning his room be? Give an internal and an external reason.

What’s the Motivation In “Little Red Riding Hood,” a wolf wants to catch the girl. The wolf dresses up as Grandmother to trick the girl into coming closer. -The wolf’s motivation is: __________ -Is this internal or external? In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her companions travel to the Emerald city to see the wizard. -What motivates them to visit the wizard? ________