Fun Reading Activities: Day 8 – Character Detectives

    Learning to read is difficult —  so we are making it easier with a series of fun activities that you can do with your child for reading practice.

    With each activity your reader will practice core reading skills such as inferencing, prediction, main idea, description, etc. AND you and your learner will be having  a great time!

    Let’s turn reading into fun!

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    Character Detectives I

    During the next three days we will be doing activities that deal with character.Begin a general discussion about character traits by talking to your child about one of their favorite people. Ask your child to describe this person. What makes them special? Why did they become their favorite? Have your child write their description down. Next, ask your child: How does he/she know these things about this person? If your child only points out visual descriptions, explain that he/she can also describe what the person does, what he thinks, what he says and (often more important!) how he says it.

    Character Detectives II

    Look at the character traits he/she’s written down and go over them with your child, identifying whether the traits were physical descriptions, actions, or memories of things the person said or did.

    Character Detectives III

    Explain to your child that you can also learn things about the characters in the stories he/she reads by noticing physical descriptions of the characters, their actions, their conversations with other characters, and their personal thoughts. Have your child begin reading the story. Early on in the story have him/her choose a favorite or interesting character. While he/she reads, ask him/her to place a sticky note on every page that reveals something about the character they chose. On the sticky note, ask your child to write down the character trait that is revealed on that page. By the end of the story, your child will have accumulated numerous words, thoughts, and actions with which to assemble a complete description of one of the characters in the story.

    Congratulate your child on an excellent job!

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