Character Traits in Literature

I have found that teaching my first graders character traits in relation to literature can be a bit challenging. The response I usually get from them when I ask them to describe a character is something along the lines of “good, nice, happy, and sad.” I guess they don’t really have enough life experience to come up with much more, but since these kinds of questions are part of our reading assessment I need to provide them with some ideas for an appropriate response.

I found a resource that I thought was very helpful, so I thought I would pass it on. It is these posters by Genia Connell, which I love. I also love her simple way of defining character traits. Genia has a whole lesson laid out for teaching character traits, but it is intended for 3^rd–5^th graders and probably more than my first graders are ready for.  

Here is the link to download the posters for free. You can also check out Gina's article "Teaching Character Traits in Reader's Workshop."

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2012/11/teaching-character-traits-readers-workshop

While I love the posters I needed more examples of character traits for my students, so I created a Power Point. It is student friendly and intended to help primary aged students develop a better understanding of what a character trait is. If you are interested in checking it out you can visit my TPT Store or my Teacher's Notebook Shop.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-are-Character-Traits-in-Literature-Power-Point-731404

or

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/anavarre/what-are-character-traits-in-literature-power-point