Explore the Internal and External Traits of Characters

A character trait is a quality that defines a particular character. These traits can be outwardly visible (such as physical traits) or internal (such as personality and emotions). Characters are often defined by a few overarching traits, and these tend to vary from character to character.

This digital activity has been designed to help your students identify the difference between an internal (inside) character trait and an external (outside) character trait. It contains 20 interactive slides with two different types of activities. 

• Activity 1 – Students look at the picture and read the description of the character. If the underlined trait is an inside trait, students must click on the “inside” speech bubble. If the underlined trait is an outside trait, students must click on the “outside” speech bubble.
• Activity 2 – Students look at the picture and read the character trait type (either inside or outside). Students must click on the character trait that matches the label from the two options provided.

With both activity types, students are directed to a “You got it right!” slide each time they choose the correct answer. If they make a mistake, they are directed to an “Oops! Try again” slide and have an opportunity to repeat the question.

Extending This Character Traits Activity

This resource looks deceptively simple at first glance… but it provides a great springboard for further investigation of story characters and their internal and external traits.

Why not challenge your students by prompting them to mention additional external traits by looking at the picture on the slide? Take this a step further by asking students to infer what the character’s internal traits might be, based on the information available in the image. 

Alternatively, why not see if the students can write some simple sentences, or even a short story, about one of the characters in the resource?

Digital Lessons Made Easy… Just Download, Project, Teach!

Use the Download button to access the Google Slides version of this resource.

Be sure to use this presentation in Slideshow mode in order to enable the interactive features.

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

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