Understanding Characters in Stories
Understanding Characters in Stories Objective: Students will be able to describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges using details from the text.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the main characters in a story.
- Recognize major events or challenges in the story.
- Describe how characters respond to events using details from the text.
Materials Needed
- A short story suitable for 3rd graders (print or digital)
- Paper and pencils
- Character response worksheet (simple chart with spaces for event and character reaction)
Key Vocabulary
- Character
- A person, animal, or figure in a story.
- Event
- Something important that happens in the story.
- Response
- How a character acts or feels after something happens.
Detailed Activities
Read and Discuss a Story
- Read a short story aloud together with your child.
- Pause to talk about the characters and what happens in the story.
- Ask your child to name the main characters and describe what happens to them.
Character Response Chart
- Help your child fill out a simple chart listing important events in the story.
- Next to each event, ask your child to describe how the character responded or felt.
- Use the story to find answers and encourage your child to use exact details.
Retell the Story
- Have your child retell the story focusing on the characters and their responses to events.
- Encourage your child to speak clearly and use details from the story.
- Praise their efforts and gently correct or add details as needed.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- This lesson helps your child think about how characters feel and act, which builds reading comprehension.
- You do not need to be an expert reader; just read together and ask simple questions to guide your child.
- Make the story time fun and relaxed to encourage your child’s interest in reading.
Assessment Questions
- Who is the main character in the story?
- What important event happened to the character?
- How did the character respond to that event?
- Can you tell me one detail that shows how the character felt?
Extension Ideas
- Draw a picture showing one event and the character’s reaction.
- Write a few sentences about what you would do if you were the character.
- Read another story and repeat the activity to practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try re-reading the story or the part with the event slowly, and ask guiding questions like ‘How do you think the character felt here?’ or ‘What did the character do after that?’
Yes, but choose a story with clear characters and events that are easy to understand. Picture books or simple chapter books work well.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Children may think characters always react the same way to every event.
- They might focus only on what happens, not how characters feel or respond.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Use shorter, simpler stories with clear emotions.
- Provide sentence starters to help describe character responses.
For Advanced Students:
- Ask your child to compare how different characters respond to the same event.
- Encourage writing a short paragraph explaining a character’s response with details.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Allow about 15 minutes for reading and discussion.
- Spend 15 minutes completing the character response chart together.
- Use the remaining 15 minutes for retelling and review to reinforce understanding.
Standards
- 3.RL.7 — Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story.
Printable Worksheet
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