An outline of a character showing an overview of INDIRECT and DIRECT characterizations.

Interactive LessonGrades 9-12

Characterization Lesson

Skill: Characterizations

Learn how to identify how an author reveals who a character is. You will learn direct characterization and indirect characterization, plus the STEAL framework for the five kinds of indirect clues: Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks. Available at three reading levels for grades 3 to 12.

Reading Level

Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12

Before you begin

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What is Characterization?

How authors reveal character

How does an author reveal who a character truly is?
Two main techniques. Skilled writers use both.
Let’s learn to identify each one.

Narrator and Characters

Two roles in every story

Narrator = the voice telling the story
Characters = the people, beings, or figures in the story
The narrator can also be a character, as in first-person narration.

Narration vs. Dialogue

Dialogue = words spoken by characters (inside quotation marks)
Narration = everything the narrator says (outside quotation marks)
These two have different voices and carry different weight as evidence.
Example
I am the narrator, so my words do not get quotation marks. But when a character speaks, their words do. My friend John just walked up and asked, "Do you want to go outside?" John's dialogue gets quotes because he is a character. My narration does not, because narration is not dialogue.

Two Types of Characterization

The author can tell us… or show us.

Direct Characterization = the narrator explicitly states a trait
Indirect Characterization = the author conveys a trait through clues
Tell or show? That is the big question.

Direct Characterization

The narrator explicitly names a character’s trait in the narration.

Key Clues
The narrator names a personality trait in the narration.
The trait is explicit. The reader does not need to infer.
Example
Vivienne was a meticulous woman, the sort who alphabetized her spice rack and ironed her napkins.

Indirect Characterization

The author conveys a trait through clues the reader interprets.

Key Clues
The narrator never states the trait.
The reader must infer. The trait is implicit.
Example
Theo kept a mental list of who had said thank you and who had not. He held doors. He always remembered birthdays. He waited to see who noticed.

Explicit vs. Implicit

Explicit = clearly stated.
Ex: Keisha was ambitious.
Implicit = hinted or implied.
Ex: Keisha kept a list of every scholarship deadline taped above her desk.
Direct characterization is explicit. Indirect characterization is implicit. Let's look at another way to understand indirect characterization.

The STEAL Framework

Five categories of clues spell STEAL.

S = Speech: what the character says
T = Thoughts: what the character thinks or feels
E = Effect on others: how others respond
A = Actions: what the character does
L = Looks: how the character appears
Let’s look at each one with an example...

Speech

What the character says reveals who they are.

Look inside the quotation marks. Voice, word choice, and what the character chooses NOT to say all carry meaning.
Example
“Do whatever you want,” Kenji said, already opening the spreadsheet he had made for the group.
Trait: Frustrated, resentful, controlling
Speech is often strongest when the subtext matters.

Thoughts

What the character thinks or feels reveals who they are.

The narrator enters the character’s mind. Watch for signal verbs: thought, wondered, realized, hoped, feared, knew.
Example
Leah hoped that the apology sounded natural, even though she had practiced it in the mirror all morning.
Trait: anxiety, guilt, or deception
Careful: A narrated thought is indirect characterization unless the narrator directly labels the trait.

Effect on Others

How others respond to the character reveals who they are.

Track other characters’ behavior, speech, and even their silences around this one.
Example
When Principal Rojas entered the cafeteria, even the teachers straightened in their seats.
Trait: strict, respected, or intimidating
The clue sits in other people’s behavior.

Actions

What the character does reveals who they are.

Watch the character when they have a choice, especially when no one is watching.
Example
After the award ceremony, Talia corrected the announcer and named the teammate whose work had made the project possible.
Trait: honest, humble, or fair

Looks

How the character appears reveals who they are… when the description carries meaning.

The narrator selects details that point at something interior.
Example
Every sticker on Rowan’s laptop covered a scratch from a trip, a protest, or a failed experiment.
Trait: curiosity, activism, or pride

Mixed Characterization

A passage can tell and show.

Example
Jonah had a reputation for generosity. He volunteered for every fundraiser, smiled in every photo, and kept a private list of who thanked him publicly.
Sentence 1 is direct: the narrator says Jonah is generous.
Sentence 2 is indirect: Jonah's actions show that he may be generous, image-conscious, calculating, or all of these at once.
Good analysis allows traits to be layered, not flattened.

Characterization Review

Characterization is how authors reveal character traits.
Direct characterization: the narrator explicitly states a trait.
Indirect characterization: the narrator implies a trait through clues.
STEAL clues are Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks.
Now you’re ready to practice!

Review

Practice Review

Basketball practice officially started at 5:00, but Omar slipped into the gym an hour early, carrying his shoes by the laces so they wouldn't squeak across the hallway. He shot free throws alone until the rest of the team wandered in, and by then Omar's shirt was damp. When practice ended, he asked Coach Vela if he could stay an extra half an hour to continue practicing his free throw. What character trait is revealed about Omar?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Diego shifted his weight from one foot to the other in the slow-creeping line at the post office, half a step behind his uncle, who was awkwardly balancing three large boxes. The line had not moved in nearly ten minutes. "This is honestly incredible," Diego said. "I have always dreamed of standing on this exact tile for the rest of my natural life." His uncle snorted. The line still did not move. A single clerk waved one customer forward. "Wow," Diego said evenly. "At this rate, we should be done sometime around my high school graduation." Which character trait is revealed about Diego?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Mateo spotted the leather pouch beneath a bench near the dragon game, half hidden under a paper map of the theme park. Inside were twenty game tokens and a name card printed with "Kristina Bell." Mateo's friends were waving at him from the snack stand. Mateo looked once at the line, closed the pouch, and crossed the courtyard in the opposite direction. He went to the help desk at the arcade and turned the coin pouch into the lost-and-found. Which character trait is revealed about Mateo?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Carl opened the bright gold envelope that announced, in foil letters, that he had won an all-expenses-paid trip to a tropical island. He paused with the letter in his hands. He had never entered a contest in his life. The instructions asked him to mail back his full name, his home address, and the long account number printed across his bank card in order to claim his prize. He wondered, briefly, who would actually need every one of those numbers from him just to book a flight. No one gives away vacations for free, he thought, no matter what the gold foil claims. Then he carried the letter to the recycling bin and dropped it inside. Which character trait is revealed about Carl?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Helen wanted to feed a sparrow from her open hand. The first afternoon she sat on the bottom porch step and held out a small pile of seeds for nearly an hour without moving. The bird never came near. The second afternoon she sat for two hours. The bird hopped within arm's length, considered her, and flew. The third afternoon it darted in, snatched a single seed, and vanished. By the end of the second week, the sparrow stood on her thumb long enough to finish a meal. Helen never once tried to hurry the process, and she never once gave up on it. Which character trait is revealed about Helen?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

A single slice of pizza remained in the grease-spotted box, and Malik had not eaten since breakfast. His little cousin Dax kept stealing glances at it, then at Malik, as if waiting to see who would reach first. Malik's stomach growled loudly enough that Dax laughed. Without a word, Malik picked up the slice, tore it cleanly in two, and pushed the larger half across the table. "Go ahead, it's yours," he said, settling back with the smaller piece and eating it slowly, savoring every bite as though to stretch it twice as far. Which character trait is revealed about Malik?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Theo planted his swimming trophy in the center of the lunch table, angling it so that the light caught the gold. "I won this," he announced, "though it's no surprise. I always win. I'm the fastest on the team, probably in the entire league." Jordan offered a quiet but agreeable "Nice job." Theo brushed it off with a flick of his hand. "Nice doesn't cover it. I'm simply the best, and I'll still be the best next season, and the one after that." Jordan looked down at his sandwich and said nothing more. Which character trait is revealed about Theo?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Ms. Akers asked who could name the planets in order, and Hana, who knew every one, pulled her sleeves down over her knuckles and sank an inch lower in her chair. She kept her eyes locked on a scratch in her desk. When the teacher's gaze drifted toward her side of the room, heat climbed into Hana's face and she studied the desk harder, hand pinned firmly to her lap. Only afterward, walking out beside her friend, did Hana recite all eight planets in flawless order without pausing to think. Which character trait is revealed about Hana?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

The class meeting had one simple goal: name the new fish before lunch. It did not go well. "Bubbles is too silly," Camron announced. "Captain Finn is trying too hard. Goldie is so obvious it hurts my brain." Maya tapped her pencil on the voting sheet and asked, "Then what name do you actually like?" Camron leaned back, crossed his arms, and stared at the fish as if it had personally disappointed him. "I am not here to solve the problem," he said. "I am here to protect us from bad answers." Which character trait is revealed about Camron?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.

Grandma Rosa stood in the aisle weighing two cans of beans, one in each hand like a scale. The smaller can carried the lower sticker price, but she worked the math under her breath, lips moving. "More beans per dollar in the big one," she concluded, returning the smaller can to its shelf. From her bag she produced a worn folder thick with coupons and selected three with care. At the register she fixed her eyes on the screen, verifying each price as it rang up, ready to flag the first one that didn't match the prices that she recalled from the shelf. Which character trait is revealed about Grandma Rosa?

Choose one answer, then add your follow-up response.