1. Character Traits and Development
When you read a story, treat the characters in the story as if they are real people, so you can get an in-depth look into their traits and personality.
Possible Traits: Adventurous, greedy, unhappy, loving, fearful, or aggressive

2. Character Traits Character traits are descriptive adjectives
Character traits help readers describe characters through their specific traits
An author may tell readers the character traits directly through direct presentation, but more often, the author will show readers these traits by what the character does, which is indirect presentation

3. To identify character traits, think of the following:
What does the character say and do? (Speech and Actions)
What does the character think and feel?
These are direct presentations of the character
How does the character look? (Physical description)
What do the other characters think about that character? (Speech and Actions of those characters in terms of the main character)
How does the character make you feel?
These are indirect presentations

4. Five Ways to Analyze Characters
Motivations: What causes the character to act?
Behavior: What does the character do?
Consequences: What results from the character’s behavior ?
Responsibility: Is the character held accountable for his/her actions?
Expectations: Are the reader’s expectations fulfilled or challenged? Why is this so?

5. Use an organizer while you read to analyze characters and their traits
The name of your character _______________
Then create separate boxes for the following ideas: What does the character say/do? What does the character think/feel? How does the character look? What do the other characters think about the character? How does the character make you feel?
The goal is to identify as many character traits as possible for the main character based on the previous boxes

6. Classifying Characters
Protagonist – main character or hero of the story
Antagonist – character or force opposing the protagonist
Flat Character – characterized by one or two traits – summed up in a few sentences
Round Character – complex, full developed, and many sided character
Stock Character – a type of flat, stereotypical character who has occurred so often in fiction that his/her nature is immediately known – sinister villain, good sheriff, etc.
Developing/Dynamic Character – undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his/her character, personality, or outlook – change is based on the events in the story
Static Character – unchanging character from the beginning of the story until the end

7. Purpose of Character Traits
Help readers to understand why characters speak and act they way they do
Help readers to understand what the characters think and why they have certain beliefs.
Help readers to understand a character’s relationship with the other characters in the text.
Help readers to predict what the character may do next
Help readers to make inferences and to draw conclusions about events in the story