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English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 30 minutes

Character traits and motives

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.4.3England: Y4/5 ReadingEngland: KS2 SATs ReadingEngland: 11+ English

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Character traits and motives.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Characters and setting

Leads to: How characters change

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Characters and setting). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Bear yawned and stretched. "Time to sleep until spring," he said, and curled up in his cave. Who is the main character? (Spring / a bird / Bear / the cave) → BearPrompt: What does the character say and do?
  2. Nora shared her crayons with the new girl. "You can use my blue one," she said. What word describes Nora? (scared / kind / lazy / mean) → kindPrompt: What does the character say and do?
  3. Gus the goat loved to climb. He climbed rocks, hills and even the farmer's shed! What does Gus love to do? (sing / swim / climb / sleep) → climbPrompt: What does the character say and do?

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Character traits and motives. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: "I'm the fastest runner in the whole school," Kyle said for the tenth time that day. "Nobody can beat me." Which word best describes Kyle?
  • Step 1: A character's words and actions reveal what they are like and what they want.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: boastful
  • Answer: boastful
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Jon always checked his work twice, sharpened his pencils before every test and kept his desk perfectly neat. Which word best describes Jon? (rude / forgetful / messy / careful) → carefulPrompt: What does the character say and do?
  2. Ama saved her pocket money for months, then spent it all on a present for her sick grandmother. Which word best describes Ama? (generous / mean / impatient / boastful) → generousPrompt: What does the character say and do?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. "I'm the fastest runner in the whole school," Kyle said for the tenth time that day. "Nobody can beat me." Which word best describes Kyle? (nervous / kind / modest / boastful) → boastfulPrompt: What does the character say and do?

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Characters and setting.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: How characters change.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Character traits and motives

Name

Date

Score/ 6

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

The storm had been building all afternoon. By the time the sun set, waves as tall as houses were hurling themselves against the rocks below Gull Point Lighthouse, and the wind screamed around the tower like a wild animal. Nell pressed her face to the window of the little cottage. Her father had rowed to the mainland that morning to fetch the doctor for Mrs Penrose, and the sea had turned before he could return. Now, for the first time in her twelve years, Nell was alone at the lighthouse. She knew what that meant. Every night at dusk, the great lamp at the top of the tower had to be lit. Without it, ships would have no warning of the rocks. Nell grabbed the lantern and her father's oilskin coat, which hung down past her knees, and pushed open the door. The wind nearly knocked her flat. Bent double, she stumbled across the yard and into the tower. There were one hundred and twelve steps to the top. Nell had climbed them hundreds of times, but never in the dark, never with the whole tower trembling. Halfway up, her lantern flickered and almost went out. She stopped, cupped her hand around the flame and whispered, "Not now. Please, not now." At the top, her fingers were numb with cold. She trimmed the wick the way her father had shown her, filled the oil and struck a match. Nothing. A second match. Nothing. With the third, a tiny flame caught, grew and then blazed, and the great lens began to turn, sweeping its beam across the furious sea. Far out in the darkness, a ship's horn sounded twice. Nell did not know whose ship it was. But she knew that, tonight, it would find its way home.

  1. Question 1

    Read "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter". Which word best describes Nell?

    • A. selfish
    • B. lazy
    • C. courageous
    • D. careless

The Climbing Wall

The climbing wall at the leisure centre was twelve metres high, and from the bottom it looked like a mountain covered in brightly coloured sweets. Jaya had watched her older cousin, Ravi, scramble to the top of it a dozen times. Today was her first turn. The instructor clipped the rope to her harness and checked the knot twice. "Remember," she said, "use your legs, not just your arms. And don't look down until you're ready." The first few holds were easy. Jaya climbed quickly, buoyed by Ravi's cheers. But halfway up, the holds grew smaller and farther apart. Her arms began to burn. She looked down – and immediately wished she hadn't. The floor seemed impossibly far away, and her legs began to tremble. "I want to come down," she called. "You can," the instructor answered calmly. "Or you can rest. Lean back into the harness. The rope's got you." Jaya didn't believe her. But slowly, she let her weight sink back. The rope held. Her breathing steadied. She looked at the wall in front of her, not at the floor, and noticed a small yellow hold to her right that she hadn't seen before. Ten minutes later, she slapped the top of the wall. The leisure centre erupted in cheers – or at least Ravi did, which felt like the same thing.

  1. Question 2

    Read "The Climbing Wall". What changes for Jaya when she leans back into the harness?

    • A. She decides to give up.
    • B. She falls to the floor.
    • C. She becomes angry with the instructor.
    • D. She calms down and notices a new way up.

  1. Question 3

    Ama saved her pocket money for months, then spent it all on a present for her sick grandmother. Which word best describes Ama?

    • A. boastful
    • B. generous
    • C. impatient
    • D. mean

Pepper's First Week: A Diary

Saturday. Today we collected Pepper from the rescue centre. She is a skinny brown dog with one floppy ear and one ear that stands straight up. In the car, she shook the whole way home, and I held her blanket so she could smell it. I felt nervous too. Sunday. Pepper hid behind the sofa all day. Mum says rescue dogs sometimes need time to trust people because they do not know what is going to happen next. I lay on the floor and read my comic out loud so she could get used to my voice. Tuesday. A breakthrough! When I got back from school, Pepper crept out and sniffed my shoes. Then she licked my hand. I stayed completely still, although I wanted to cheer. Thursday. We went to the park on her lead. A bicycle rang its bell, and Pepper jumped behind my legs. I knelt down and talked to her calmly until her tail started wagging again. Friday. Tonight Pepper fell asleep with her head on my foot. I didn't move for an hour, even though my foot went numb. I think she has decided she lives here now.

  1. Question 4

    Read "Pepper's First Week: A Diary". Which word best describes the writer?

    • A. impatient
    • B. bossy
    • C. patient
    • D. careless

The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment

For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise. The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own. At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch." Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day. The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.

  1. Question 5

    Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". How did Jaden's attitude change?

    • A. He never noticed the rule.
    • B. He became angrier each week.
    • C. He stopped coming to lunch.
    • D. He went from seeing the rule as a punishment to looking forward to lunch.

The Last Lap

Ruby had trained for the school relay every morning since September, running laps of the park while her breath made clouds in the cold air. She was the fastest in her class, and everyone expected her team to win. On the day of the race, the team's second runner, Theo, tripped on the bend and dropped the baton. By the time he scrambled up, two teams were far ahead. Ruby, waiting for the last leg, felt her heart sink. When the baton finally reached her, she ran harder than she ever had. She passed one runner. The finish line rushed towards her. The crowd was roaring. Then, a metre from the tape, the leader dipped her shoulder and won by a hand's width. Theo couldn't look at anyone. Ruby walked over, still panting, and held out the silver ribbon. "Second place," she said, "and that comeback was the best part of the whole race." Later, the team hung the ribbon on the classroom wall, right next to the first-place trophy from the year before. Somehow it seemed brighter.

  1. Question 6

    Read "The Last Lap". What does Ruby's action in paragraph 4 show about her?

    • A. She only cares about winning.
    • B. She wants to leave the team.
    • C. She is generous and puts her teammate's feelings first.
    • D. She is angry with Theo.

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Answer key: Character traits and motives

  1. 1. C. courageous

  2. 2. D. She calms down and notices a new way up.

  3. 3. B. generous

  4. 4. C. patient

  5. 5. D. He went from seeing the rule as a punishment to looking forward to lunch.

  6. 6. C. She is generous and puts her teammate's feelings first.