Character Traits Explained — King and the Dragonflies
From Crash Course Kids · 2025
6 min4th5th6thReading & Writing (ELA)
Summary
Uses Kacen Callender's award-winning novel King and the Dragonflies to show how authors reveal character traits through actions, dialogue, and thoughts — teaching students to cite specific evidence when analyzing a character.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Character analysis using a contemporary novel that deals with grief and identity.
- What is a character trait? Give three examples of traits from the video.
- How do authors show character traits indirectly — through what a character does or says rather than just telling us?
- Choose one character from a book you are reading. Name one trait and cite one sentence from the text as evidence.
- Can a character have traits that contradict each other? Does that make them more or less realistic?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: character trait, evidence, action, dialogue, thought, reveal, cite.
Try it: Draw a 'character evidence chart' with three columns: Trait, Text Evidence, What This Shows. Fill it in for one character from your current read. Share your chart with a partner and check each other's evidence.