Comparing Characters in Stories

You will learn how to compare characters in different stories. This means you look closely at two characters and find the small details that make them alike and the small details that make them different. You will look at what each character does, what each character says, and how each character feels.

When you compare characters, you look at two characters from two different stories. You ask questions like: What does this character like? What does this character do when there is a problem? How does this character feel? Then you check if the other character does the same thing or something different.

For example, one story might have a girl named Mia who is scared of the dark. Another story might have a boy named Sam who is scared of loud thunder. Both characters feel scared, but they are scared of different things. That is one detail you compared!

To compare characters well, you cannot just say "they are different." You need to point to a detail. A detail is one small, exact fact from the story. You might compare:

What the character does: Does the character run, dig, climb, or share?
What the character says: Does the character ask for help or try alone?
How the character feels: Is the character happy, worried, brave, or shy?
What the character wants: Does the character want a friend, a toy, or an answer?

If you say "Mia is careful and Sam is careful too," that is a real detail you found in both stories.

Characters often go through an experience, something that happens to them in the story. You can compare two experiences by looking at what happened first, then next, then last. Maybe one character got lost at the fair and found her way back by looking for a red balloon. Maybe another character got lost in the woods and found his way back by following a stream.

Both characters got lost. Both characters found a way back. But they used different things to help them, a balloon and a stream. Naming this exact detail shows you compared their experiences closely, not just guessed.

A chart or two circles can help you sort your details. Put details that belong only to the first character on one side. Put details that belong only to the second character on the other side. Put details that both characters share in the middle.

Story one: Ben goes to the park and shares his ball with a new friend. Story two: Ana goes to the park and shares her jump rope with a new friend.

What is the same? Both characters go to the park. Both characters meet a new friend. Both characters share something.

What is different? Ben shares a ball. Ana shares a jump rope. This is one clear, exact detail that makes their stories different, even though the big idea, sharing with a new friend, is the same.

Compare: To compare is to look at two things and find ways they are alike and ways they are different.

Character: A character is a person or animal in a story who does things and has feelings.

Detail: A detail is one small, exact fact from a story, like what a character says or does.

Experience: An experience is something that happens to a character in a story.

Trait: A trait is a part of who a character is, like being brave or shy.

Similar: Similar means alike in some way.

Different: Different means not the same.

Read two short stories with a grown-up or a friend. Pick one character from each story. Write or say one detail that is the same for both characters and one detail that is different. Try to use exact words from the story, not just "different" or "same."

You can also draw both characters side by side. Draw a line to things they both have, like a backpack or a smile. Then circle things only one character has, like a hat or a pet.

Related lessons

• Comparing Character Adventures