English · First stories
Who is in the story?
Name the characters.
What is a character?
A character is a person or animal in a story. When you read a story, look for who is doing things. Those are the characters! A story can have one character or many characters.
Finding characters in stories
Characters have names like Sam, Mum, or Dog. They do things in the story. They talk, play, run, or eat. When you read, ask yourself: Who is this story about?
Characters are not places or things
A park is a place, not a character. A ball is a thing, not a character. Only people and animals can be characters. Look for who is doing something, not where they are.
Why characters matter
Characters make stories fun! We read to find out what happens to them. Good readers can name all the characters. This helps us understand the story better.
Worked examples
1. Ben went to the shop. He saw his friend Mia. Who are the characters?
- First, look for names of people or animals.
- Ben is a person doing something. Ben is a character.
- Mia is a person too. Mia is a character.
- The shop is a place, not a character.
- The characters are Ben and Mia.
2. A cat sat on a mat. A dog ran by. Who are the characters?
- Look for animals or people in the story.
- A cat is an animal. The cat is a character.
- A dog is an animal. The dog is a character.
- The mat is a thing, not a character.
- The characters are the cat and the dog.
3. Tom played in the garden with his ball. Who is the character?
- Find who is doing something in the story.
- Tom is playing. Tom is a person.
- The garden is a place. It is not a character.
- The ball is a thing. It is not a character.
- The character is Tom.
Try it yourself
Lily went to the park. She played with her brother Max. Who are the characters?
Ready to test yourself?
Take a short topic test — every question maps to a syllabus point so you’ll see exactly which parts you’ve mastered.