Teach Character Description with Practical Worksheets

When it comes to describing characters, some students tend to write basic and obvious sentences, for example, “Her hair was brown,” “She was kind,” or “He ran fast.” However, character description encompasses so much more than just listing traits. It’s about revealing personality, emotions and motivations through a variety of techniques. Authors often use STEAL (Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, Looks) alongside descriptive language to build a complete picture of a character.

This resource makes it easy to teach your students about how to build character descriptions in narrative writing. It includes four passages, each about a focus character, accompanied by targeted questions that guide them to identify how the author uses STEAL and other descriptive details to shape the character’s identity.

The passages featured in this resource are:

1. The Discovery of Dr. Felix
2. The Reluctant Hero, Mira Blake
3. Mr. Caldwell’s New Friend
4. Lina the Daydreamer

This resource downloads as a black-and-white PDF or editable Google Slides file. Answers are also included in the download to make grading quick and easy.

Using These Character Description Examples in Your Classroom

This versatile resource enables your students to learn about the STEAL technique by engaging with authentic character description examples. Here’s how you might build a lesson around these worksheets:

• STEAL refresher – Start the lesson by briefly explaining each element of STEAL and why it matters for character development.
• Read and annotate – Read the first passage aloud and highlight examples of the STEAL technique and other descriptive language. Show how these details reveal the personality traits of the focus character.
• Textual analysis – Have the students work in small groups, pairs or independently to answer the questions. After, encourage them to share their findings. Ensure that students use textual evidence to support their responses.

These steps help students connect theory to practice and build students’ confidence in analyzing character descriptions.

Download These Example Character Descriptions

Getting started with this resource is quick and easy! Use the Download button above to access the full set of passages, accompanying questions and associated answer pages.

As this resource contains answer pages, we recommend printing one copy of the entire file, then selecting and removing the pages you wish to photocopy for the students.

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Teach How to Describe a Character with More Great Resources

Teaching narrative elements is easy if you have access to quality, age-appropriate materials! Click below to browse more teacher-created, curriculum-aligned resources to use with your elementary school students.

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Character Archetypes Teaching Slides

Download this character archetypes slide deck to help your students identify and analyze common character types in literature.

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STEAL Characterization Anchor Charts

Use the S.T.E.A.L. method of characterization to help your students ‘steal’ the show with their writings using handy printable anchor charts.