What is a Character?

A character is a person, animal, or creature in a story. Stories usually have:

🌟 A main character — the most important one
🌟 Other characters — friends, villains, helpers

Examples:

Goldilocks, the Three Bears, Cinderella, the Big Bad Wolf

Describing Characters

We describe characters by their:

👀

How they look

tall, small, furry, green

💕

How they feel

happy, scared, brave, sad

🏃

What they do

runs, hides, helps, fights

💬

What they say

their words in speech marks

Character Feelings

Characters have feelings just like us. We can tell how they feel by what they do or say.

Excited: "She jumped up and down and clapped her hands."

Scared: "He hid behind the tree and held his breath."

Why Characters Matter

Understanding characters helps us:

✓ Follow what is happening in the story
✓ Understand why things happen (the character's choices)
✓ Feel connected to the story (empathy)
✓ Predict what might happen next

Meet Rosie the Fox

Rosie was a small, red fox who lived near a big gum tree. She had bright eyes and a fluffy tail. Rosie was very curious — she loved exploring the bush every morning.

One day, Rosie found a lost baby bird near the creek. The bird was crying. Rosie felt sorry for it. She gently carried the bird back to its nest up in the tree.

The bird's mother swooped down. "Thank you, kind fox!" she sang. Rosie wagged her tail happily and went home for breakfast.

Main character:
Rosie the fox

Feeling:
curious, sorry, happy

Action:
rescued the baby bird

Lesson Summary

✓A character is a person, animal, or creature in a story.
✓We describe characters using appearance (what they look like), feelings, actions, and words.
✓The main character is who the story is mostly about.
✓Understanding characters helps us follow the story and understand why things happen.

Characters in Stories