Character Traits Anchor Chart (4-Chart Printable)

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Two illustrated anchor charts teach how readers infer a story character's traits — through what characters say or think, do, feel, and how others describe them — each supplied in a completed poster version and a fill-in-the-blank interactive-notebook version. The chart pairs a four-category graphic organizer (thoughts/words, feelings, actions, and what others say) with a sentence frame, 'This character is (or has) ___. I know this because ___,' for students to justify a trait using text evidence. Teachers can print the completed posters for a bulletin board or hand out the blank versions for students to fill in as guided notes while reading a class novel or short story. Each page prints a standards code (RL 3, 7) referencing the reading-literature standards the chart is built around.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Identify a character's traits using clues from thoughts, feelings, actions, and descriptions.
Cite text evidence to justify a chosen character trait.
Apply the four trait-clue categories to analyze a character in a story.

Teaching tips

Display the completed poster as a permanent reference, and use the blank fill-in version as interactive notebook pages during a read-aloud.
Model the sentence frame with a familiar story character before students apply it independently.
Revisit the chart's four trait-clue categories chapter by chapter during a class novel unit.

Skills covered

Character trait inference — students identify a character trait using evidence from thoughts, feelings, actions, and other characters' descriptions.
Text evidence citation — students complete the sentence frame 'I know this because...' to support a trait claim with story details.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What is the difference between the two chart topics in this set?

The first chart maps four categories used to derive a character's traits (thoughts/words, feelings, actions, others' descriptions); the second explains the same four categories in sentence form and adds the 'I know this because...' evidence frame.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

CCSS.RL.1.3 — Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
CCSS.RL.1.7 — Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
CCSS.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Core concepts

character traits
text evidence
reading comprehension

Topics

anchor charts reading printable reading chart character traits reading notebook

More to explore

Character Traits Anchor Chart – 4-Chart Set

What's inside this resource