ENGLISH

ELEVENTH GRADE

 

Module 1 - Lesson 3

Character traits

Pretest

I.         Read the news story Standing Tall, as you read, identify 5 character traits of George Bell.. Use the given graphic organizer.

Standing Tall

By Vickie An

George Bell, 50, is used to people looking up to him. Literally! On Thursday, Guinness World Records named the towering 7-foot-8 sheriff's deputy, from Norfolk, Virginia, the "Tallest Man in the United States."

The search for the nation's tallest man kicked off in August. At present, Guinness only lists the world's tallest man. But the 2008 edition will include Bell, as well as the tallest men in several other countries. Bell's former wife entered him into the running online. His doctor confirmed the measurements, says a Guinness spokesman.

Reaching Great Heights

Bell stands two inches taller than the NBA's current tallest player, Yao Ming, of the Houston Rockets. But that's still too short to be the world's tallest living man. According to Guinness, that honor goes to Ukraine's 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk. Next in line is China's Bao Xi Shun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.

So how does it feel to soar above so many? "I have no choice but to like it," says the deep-voiced Bell. "I'm used to a small man's world. I've been dealing with a small man's world since I was a kid."

Bell reached 5 feet 4 inches at 9 years old. In middle school, he hit a whopping 6 feet. And by the time he graduated from high school, he was 7-foot-6. He played basketball in college, and then with the Harlem Wizards and the Harlem Globetrotters show teams. However, Bell became bored with the sport by the time he turned 30 and switched to a career in law enforcement instead.

Looking on the Bright Side

There are plenty of perks to being tall, says the lanky Bell, who wears size-19 shoes. Besides having an advantage on the basketball court, he usually gets free upgrades to first-class seating on airplanes as well. Attendants realize his need for extra legroom as soon as he arrives at the ticket counter.

Bell says his positive outlook comes from the encouragement he used to get from his late great-aunt, Etonia Johnson. "She always told me, 'Don't feel ashamed of yourself. Stand tall. God made you. Be happy and show your pride,'" he explains.

A Day of Challenges

The deputy's record height was revealed on Good Morning America yesterday as part of the 2007 Guinness World Records Day. More than 200,000 people from over 14 countries celebrated the annual event by trying to set their own records, including Texan Jackie Bibby's attempt to be recognized for a "Bath with the Most Rattlesnakes." He broke his own 1999 record by sitting in a bathtub with 87 of the slithering creatures. The secret: no fast movements.

Meanwhile, in London, England, Manjit Singh made a bid to break the world record for "Fastest Time to Pull a Bus 33 Feet Using Ears." Singh used a clamp to tie ropes to his ears. He connected the other ends of the ropes to the front bumper of a double-decker bus. The strongman was only able to move the 7.5-ton bus about 16 feet, but says he's ready to try again next year.

What is a character trait?

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 characters act. And these actions show us what kind of people these characters are: friendly, sad, nosey, happy, love struck, confused, angry, or inventive. 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.

  

How do we find a character trait?

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.

An easy way to think about characters is to use a simple chart like the one below. You can start anywhere. There's no wrong way to make your list:

§  Jot down actions that the character takes then match them with descriptive adjectives.

§  List character traits that match your character; then gather a list of actions from the book/ text that support the traits you've listed

§  Jump back and forth between the columns listing ideas as they come to you; then go back to fill in the matching information.

List of character traits


 

able

active

adventurous

affectionate

afraid

alert

ambitious

angry

annoyed

anxious

apologetic

arrogant

attentive

average

bad

blue

bold

bored

bossy

brainy

brave

bright

brilliant

busy

calm

careful

careless

cautious

charming

cheerful

childish

clever

clumsy

coarse

concerned

confident

confused

considerate

cooperative

courageous

cowardly

cross

cruel

curious

dangerous

daring

dark

decisive

demanding

dependable

depressed

determined

discouraged

dishonest

disrespectful

doubtful

dull

dutiful

eager

easygoing

efficient

embarrassed

encouraging

energetic

evil

excited

expert

fair

faithful

fearless

fierce

foolish

fortunate

foul

fresh

friendly

frustrated

funny

gentle

giving

glamorous

gloomy

good

graceful

grateful

greedy

grouchy

grumpy

guilty

happy

harsh

hateful

healthy

helpful

honest

hopeful

hopeless

humorous

ignorant

imaginative

impatient

impolite

inconsiderate

independent

industrious

innocent

intelligent

jealous

kindly

lazy

leader

lively

lonely

loving

loyal

lucky

mature

mean

messy

miserable

mysterious

naughty

nervous

nice

noisy

obedient

obnoxious

old

peaceful

picky

pleasant

polite

poor

popular

positive

precise

proper

proud

quick

quiet

rational

reliable

religious

responsible

restless

rich

rough

rowdy

rude

sad

safe

satisfied

scared

secretive

selfish

serious

sharp

short

shy

silly

skillful

sly

smart

sneaky

sorry

spoiled

stingy

strange

strict

stubborn

sweet

talented

tall

thankful

thoughtful

thoughtless

tired

tolerant

touchy

trusting

trustworthy

unfriendly

unhappy

upset

useful

warm

weak

wicked

wise

worried

wrong

young


 

 

 

Character trait’s

Practicing exercise

I.                 Using the character Charlotte from Charlotte's Web, read and fill in the given chart:

Things the Character Does, Feels, & Thinks

Related Character Traits

• thinks of a way to help save Wilbur

• writes words in her web

• knows how to get Templeton to do what she wants

 

 

• says, "I know a good thing when I see it. I stay put and wait for what comes."

 

 

• calls her egg sac her masterpiece.

• makes sure that her babies are taken care of after she is gone.

 

 

Character trait’s

Practicing exercise-Key

 

Things the Character Does, Feels, & Thinks

Related Character Traits

• thinks of a way to help save Wilbur

• writes words in her web

• knows how to get Templeton to do what she wants

Charlotte is wise.

Charlotte is smart.

• says, "I know a good thing when I see it. I stay put and wait for what comes."

Charlotte is patient.

• calls her egg sac her masterpiece.

• makes sure that her babies are taken care of after she is gone.

Charlotte is maternal.

Charlotte is caring

 

 

Character trait’s-quiz

I. For this short quiz, we'll use the character of Harry Potter from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Actions:

· chases Malfoy when he takes Neville's Remembrall

· runs to warn Hermione about the Mountain Troll on Halloween and helps Ron fight the Troll

· works to protect the Sorcerer's Stone and keep it away from Lord Voldemort

List three character traits they reveal:

  1.  
  2.  
  3.  

Character trait’s-quiz-Key

List three character traits they reveal:

  1. courageous
  2. brave
  3. daring
  4. audacious

~Answer will vary.

 

Character trait’s-test

Inferring Character

Directions: Read each descriptive sentence in the left column. Decide on one character trait word that the description reveals about the character. Write your answer in the column labeled “Inferred Character Traits.”

 

Descriptive sentences

Inferred Character trait

1. “I hate the idea of having all those people out there watching me,” whispered Violet.

 

2. Juan got up before dawn and made his way down to the pier. He would be the first fisherman on the water today.

 

3. “Dana waters her house plants every single day,” said Joyce.

 

4. John looked proudly at the new painting he had done and decided to enter it in the local art contest.

 

5. “Maybe I’m just not very bright,” Clovis thought. “I didn’t pass that basket-weaving class . . . again.”

 

6. Roosevelt can’t get along well with other people.

 

7. Diane looked towards the door, biting her nails and fidgeting with her keys.

 

8. Jimmy leaned against the barn. He pulled out the old red bandana from his overall pockets and wiped his sweaty brow.

 

9. Dr. Drew organized many blood drives for the Red Cross.

 

10. Mary thought about giving up, but she changed her mind and worked through the puzzle one more time.

 

11. He believed in using nonviolent resistance to bring about change.

 

12. Tom sat behind the window and sadly watched the world passing by.

 

13. “Get out of my way!” screamed Debbie screamed. “I was here first!”

 

14. “Janine never studies,” said Mrs. Johnson. “She thinks she already knows the answers.”

 

15. Old Nellie was the most stubborn mule that had ever found its way to T-Bone Ranch.

 

16. Jeff studied his American history notes every day for twenty minutes and got an A on the test.

 

17. “Yes, I made an important medical discovery. But I couldn’t have done it without my team,” said Dr. Jones.

 

18. Ruth finished spraying her hair. She smoothed the wrinkles from her pink silk dress and threw the cashmere wrap around her shoulders.

 

19. Ron looked at the mass of people at the DMV and thought about how much he hated waiting in lines.

 

20. Jessie was the kind of girl who would deliver the newspaper every day, no matter what the weather was like.

 

 

Character trait’s-test-Key

Descriptive sentences

Inferred Character trait

1. “I hate the idea of having all those people out there watching me,” whispered Violet.

Shy

2. Juan got up before dawn and made his way down to the pier. He would be the first fisherman on the water today.

Alert

3. “Dana waters her house plants every single day,” said Joyce.

Responsible

4. John looked proudly at the new painting he had done and decided to enter it in the local art contest.

Proud

5. “Maybe I’m just not very bright,” Clovis thought. “I didn’t pass that basket-weaving class . . . again.”

Frustrated

6. Roosevelt can’t get along well with other people.

Unfriendly

7. Diane looked towards the door, biting her nails and fidgeting with her keys.

Frightened

8. Jimmy leaned against the barn. He pulled out the old red bandana from his overall pockets and wiped his sweaty brow.

Tired

9. Dr. Drew organized many blood drives for the Red Cross.

Cooperative, responsible

10. Mary thought about giving up, but she changed her mind and worked through the puzzle one more time.

Brave

11. He believed in using nonviolent resistance to bring about change.

Peaceful

12. Tom sat behind the window and sadly watched the world passing by.

Worried

13. “Get out of my way!” screamed Debbie screamed. “I was here first!”

Upset

14. “Janine never studies,” said Mrs. Johnson. “She thinks she already knows the answers.”

Confident

15. Old Nellie was the most stubborn mule that had ever found its way to T-Bone Ranch.

Stubborn

16. Jeff studied his American history notes every day for twenty minutes and got an A on the test.

Intelligent

17. “Yes, I made an important medical discovery. But I couldn’t have done it without my team,” said Dr. Jones.

Humble

18. Ruth finished spraying her hair. She smoothed the wrinkles from her pink silk dress and threw the cashmere wrap around her shoulders.

Careful

19. Ron looked at the mass of people at the DMV and thought about how much he hated waiting in lines.

Impatient

20. Jessie was the kind of girl who would deliver the newspaper every day, no matter what the weather was like.

Strict

~Answer will vary

 

 

© Derechos Reservados

Escuela Virtual de Educación Acelerada Proyecto Salón Hogar Inc.

Nota:

Esta propuesta es propiedad intelectual de la Escuela Virtual de Educación Acelerada Proyecto Salón Hogar. Divulgar o compartir su contenido sin autorización entra en violación de la seguridad recíproca requerida. Se tomarán las acciones necesarias para asegurar que su uso sea sólo para beneficio de la matrícula del Proyecto.
    		•