2.  Are words or phrases that describe the
personality and or actions of the characters in a
story.
 They don’t describe the physical traits of a
character, they describe the interior of a person.

3.  Sometimes, authors will state them directly in
the story…like,
 “Red was a bold girl who had no problem stating
her opinion.”

4.  What a character does in the story can give us
an idea of their traits…
 If a character is always telling others what to do(like
Lucy in Charlie Brown or Sheila Tubman in Tales of
a Fourth Grade Nothing), we can infer that she is
bossy

5.  We can discern character traits through
characters’ thoughts
 If a character in a story often afraid of things we can
deduce that he or she is fearful and timid.

6.  We can also learn about a character from what
they say
 If a character says, “Once again, I know the answer!
You all wish you were as smart as I am.”, we can tell
that they are obnoxious and conceited!

7.  The way that other people respond to a
character can also tell us about him or her.
 Let’s say Jane comes up to Sarah and Ashley and
asks to be part of their science group. They
sarcastically say “NO!”. After she walks off, Sarah
and Ashley whisper to one another…”Now she
knows what it is like to be left out.”
 This probably tells us that Jane may not always be
such a nice person and might exclude others