Reading 5 Name ________________ _____ Score 1st Q

Module 2
adventurous Inferring Personality Traits
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Selection: The Pied Piper of Hamelin adapted from Robert Browning.
Characters do things. They feel things. They hear things. They say things. They think things. They go places. They can
walk, run, leap, and jump. They may sit and rock in a rocking chair. They may just lie in bed, sleep, and dream. But the important
thing is that character’s act. These actions show us the character’s personality (“personality” means what kind of person someone
is based on their thoughts, feelings and actions): friendly, sad, nosey, happy, lovestruck, confused, angry, etc.
When we talk about a character, we often describe that character in terms of character traits, descriptive adjectives like
“happy” or “sad” that tell us the specific qualities of the character.
They're the same kinds of words that we might use to describe ourselves or others, but we're using them to describe
fictional characters in something we've read.
The author may tell us these traits directly, but more often the author will show us these traits in action. Our job as readers
is to draw a conclusion about the character's traits (to infer them) from what the character says, thinks, and does.
We might infer a character trait from something a character does only once, or we might draw our conclusions from a
series of things the character says and does.
To help identify a character’s personality traits, look at Look at the main character’s personality:
 Look at the choices the character has to make and how those choices affect the character and other characters
in the story.
 Look at the character’s motives (reason for doing or not doing things).
 Look for changes in the character’s thinking, behaving or feelings.
 Think about how you relate to the character(s)—the feelings you get about the character, such as: “She’s a real
jerk,” or “I’m sad because of the way he was treated,” etc.
Examples of Personality Traits

adventurous cautious depressed frustrated

afraid cheerful determined funny
ambitious childish dishonest gentle
angry clever disrespectful grateful
annoyed clumsy doubtful greedy
anxious confident eager grouchy
arrogant confused easygoing guilty
bad cooperative embarrassed happy
bossy courageous energetic hard
brave cruel evil -working
busy curious excited helpful
calm daring fearless honest
careful demanding foolish hopeful
careless dependable friendly

…….
CHALLENGE YOURSELF!
FT1 Read each paragraph below and the words that follow. Choose from the given traits below the paragraph.
1. Pam was smiling as she watched her new puppy playing in the sun. Carefully she picked it up, stroked its soft fur,
and said, “I’ll take good care of you.” Pam had read several books about pet care, and she knew that a puppy would mean
work as well as fun. When she looked at her puppy, she felt that she was ready for the responsibility.
Pam is ____________________________________.
• caring • detached • responsible • nervous
2. Before going on to the next step, Brandon consulted his notes. He then reached for one of the chemicals on the shelf, which
he slowly poured into the container. Then, he checked the next step. He said to himself, “I’m not going to let anything go
wrong with this experiment.” Brandon is ___________________________________.
• diligent • thoughtless • meticulous • determined

Reading 5 page 2 1st Q

3. Arnold seems always to be in a bad mood lately. His sister has tried telling jokes to cheer him up but that hasn’t worked. His
parents have tried to get him to tell them what’s bothering him, but he has refused. At present, Arnold just seems to enjoy
being grumpy.
A. You learn about Arnold’s character traits ____________________________.
• through Arnold’s words • through Arnold’s thoughts
• through description • through Arnold’s actions
B. You can tell that Arnold’s sister and parents are ________________________.
• concerned • caring • foolish • moody
4. Barbara saw her sister, Ellen, heading across the street. “Who said you could borrow my bike?” Barbara yelled.
“It’s an emergency,” said Ellen. “My bike has a flat tire and I’m late for soccer practice.”
“You knew that tire was flat this morning,” said Barbara. “You never ask to borrow anything. You just take!”
Then Barbara took the handle bars and began leading her bike away
A. From this passage, you can tell that Ellen is ____________________.
• cheerful • shy • thoughtless • caring
B. From this passage you can tell that Barbara is _________________.
• cheerful • determined • shy • selfish
C. The characters are revealed _________________ ____.
• through description • through Ellen and Barbara’s words
• through Ellen’s thoughts • through Barbara’s description
FT2 Traits are words that describe characters. Read the examples and pick a trait that describes each character. Then explain your
answer.
Here are some character traits:
brave excited grumpy helpful honest intelligent jealous lazy loyal patient shy

1. Leo looked at his grandma as she tried to use her new phone. He saw the frustration in her eyes. He put his arm around her
shoulder. "It's ok, grandma," he said gently. "We can do this together." Grandma smiled and relaxed a bit.
Which character trait best describes Leo? _____ helpful__________
Why do you believe this? various
2. Robert hated the show that was on TV. He wanted to change it badly. He looked around the room for the TV controller. It was
all the way across the room. "Ugh," he groaned. Then Robert sighed and kept watching the show that he hated.
Which character trait best describes Robert? ______ lazy_________
Why do you believe this? various
3. "Does anyone know what two times two is?" Mr. Johnson asked. "How about you, Kylie?" Kylie froze. She couldn't move her
lips or make a peep. Her throat was dry, her muscles tense. It felt like the walls were falling on her. "Well, Kylie?" he pressed.
Which character trait best describes Kylie? _______ shy ___________
Why do you believe this? various
4. The commander looked at the men. They were scared. He couldn't lie to them. "We need a man to get to the top of that hill. It's
very dangerous. You may not come back. Any volunteers?" It was quiet for some time. Finally, Jamal spoke up, "I can do it."
Which character trait best describes Jamal? ______brave____
Why do you believe this? various
FT3 Read each descriptive sentence in the left column. Decide on one character trait (adjective) that the description reveals about
the character.
Positive, determined, hopeful, ambitious 1. She thought she could change the world through educating incarcerated youth.
Fearful, scared, afraid, terrified 2. Eddie sat on the edge of his seat all through the horror film and jumped every
time he heard a scary
noise.
Doubtful, pessimistic, undetermined 3. “I’m never going to make it to the top of this hill, wailed Danny as he pedaled his bike.
“It’s just too
steep.”
Caring, thoughtful 4. “Jacquelyn thinks of others first,” Molly said. “She always stops by to see how I am doing.”
Careless, thoughtless, misinformed, inconsiderate 5. When John arrived at the party, everyone stared at him because he was
wearing ripped jeans and a
raggedy old T-shirt instead of formal wear.
Brave, courageous, persistent 6. “No way,” thought the elderly woman as she refused to give up her purse to the robber.
Nosy, curious 7. Tara is sneaky and secretive when she finds out something she wasn’t supposed to know.
Grumpy, grouchy, peevish 8. “Derek is always complaining about all of the work he has to do,” Jujuan said.

END!