Character Resources for Reading

Characters are a huge part of reading. Most of our fiction texts have characters. I would go as far as saying characters are what make reading so much fun.


It is exciting to meet a new character! To find out you have something in common with them. To connect with them. There are characters we love. Characters we laugh with and cry with. And of course those characters we love to hate.

Teaching students about characters gives them a foundational base for understanding what they are reading.

Beginning at the Kindergarten level, we introduce students to what a character actually is. Then we build on that base and begin to discover character traits supported by evidence in the text. We then launch even deeper by trying to understand why characters act the way they do. Deeper still, we start comparing characters and evaluating their actions.

Since characters are so important, I have put together a collection of blogs, articles, links, and videos for you to refer to when teaching characters.

Blogs, Articles and Links about Characters 

Just click on the titles to follow the link!

Teaching Character Traits in Reader’s Workshop

Teaching Characterization with Mentor Texts

Defining Characterization

Reading: Characterization on Pinterest

Teaching Character Traits on Pinterest

Character Traits Activities on Pinterest

Teaching Character Traits: Low Prep Activities  

5 Steps to Teaching Any Character Trait

Videos about Characters 

Learnzillion: Understanding a Character’s Personality Traits

Character Traits by Ms. DeEllen 

Character Traits & Characterization 

Characterization in Literature ( more in-depth)

Characterization in Literature 2 ( more in-depth) 

Resource

I also have a great resource on characters! This resource is dedicated to teaching our students all about characters through the use of editable digital anchor charts. These Digital Anchor Charts have an organized appearance for easy learning. (They finally look like the ones on Pinterest!)

Areas covered include character basics, as well as, traits, heroes vs. villains, types of characters, analyzing characters and so much more!

Do you have any great ways to teach characters?