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Students learn to identify the people or animals that make a story happen.
Imagine you open a book and a tiny mouse in a tuxedo waves hello to you! Who is this mouse, and why is he in the story?
Characters are the 'who' of a story. They are the people, animals, or even talking objects that make the story happen. If someone in a book talks, thinks, or moves, they are a character!
Think of your favorite cartoon. The people or animals you see on the screen are the characters. They can be as small as an ant or as big as a mountain. In stories, characters are the ones who go on adventures and talk to each other. Without characters, there would be no one to tell the story!
Quick Check
If a story is about a talking toaster named Toby, is Toby a character?
Answer
Yes, because Toby is a 'who' in the story that talks and does things.
Most stories have one character who is the most important. We call this the main character. This is the 'star' of the show!
The story usually follows the main character from the beginning to the end. They are the ones who usually have a problem to solve or a goal to reach. If you are reading a book and one person is on almost every page, that person is likely the main character. You can think of them as the leader of the story's journey.
Read this short story:
1. Rex the Dog woke up hungry. 2. Rex looked for his bowl, but it was gone. 3. Rex barked until his owner brought him breakfast.
In this story, Rex is the main character because the story is all about him and his hungry tummy!
Quick Check
How can you tell who the main character is?
Answer
The main character is the person or animal the story is mostly about.
When we read books with pictures, we can use picture clues to learn about characters. We look at their appearance, which is how they look on the outside.
Look at what the character is wearing. Are they wearing a crown? They might be a king or queen! Are they carrying a magnifying glass? They might be a detective. We also look at their size, their color, and even the expression on their face to understand who they are and how they feel.
Imagine a picture of a character with these clues: 1. They are wearing a white lab coat. 2. They have messy hair. 3. They are holding a bubbling test tube.
Using these clues, we can describe this character as a scientist who is busy working on an experiment!
Look at a character who is a small mouse. The mouse is wearing shiny silver armor and holding a tiny toothpick like a sword.
1. Appearance: Small, gray, wearing metal armor. 2. Role: Even though he is a mouse, the armor tells us he is a brave knight. 3. Main Character Clue: If the book is called 'The Brave Mouse,' we know he is the main character!
What is a character?
If a story is mostly about a girl named Lily and her lost cat, who is the main character?
You can use a character's clothes to guess who they are.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to name one character from a story you know and describe one thing they are wearing.
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of yourself as a character in a story. What special item would you be holding to show what you like to do?