Year 6 English: Compare And Contrast Characters In Literature 📚✨

Detailed Explanation of Compare and Contrast Characters 📚✨

When you compare and contrast characters in English literature, you are looking closely at two or more characters to see how they are alike and how they are different. This skill is important because it helps you understand the story better. It shows you what makes each character special and how their actions change the story.

Why Compare and Contrast Characters? 🤔🔍

• Understand the story’s message or theme.
• See how characters’ choices affect the plot.
• Think about how the author wants you to feel about each character.

This skill is part of the Year 6 English curriculum in UK schools and will help you write better answers in reading comprehension and creative writing.

How to Identify Characters’ Traits 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️

Character traits are the qualities or features that define a character. These can be:

• Physical traits: What a character looks like (e.g., tall, short, blue eyes).
• Personality traits: How a character behaves or feels (e.g., kind, brave, jealous).
• Emotions: How a character reacts to situations (e.g., happy, worried, angry).

How to Identify Motivations 🎯❤️

Motivations tell us why a character does something. Motivations can be:

• To help someone.
• To be famous or respected.
• To solve a problem.
• To protect themselves or others.

Thinking about motivations helps you understand the character’s reasons for acting in a certain way.

How to Identify Actions 🎬🚶‍♂️

Look at what the characters do in the story. Actions often show personality and motivation. For example:

• Does the character help others?
• Do they take risks?
• Are they honest or dishonest?

Steps to Compare and Contrast Characters 📝✅

1. Choose characters to compare: Pick two or more characters from your story.
2. List traits, motivations, and actions: Write down what you know about each character.
3. Find similarities: Look for traits or actions that are the same.
4. Find differences: Look for traits or actions that are different.
5. Use examples: Support your ideas with examples or quotes from the text.

Example: Comparing Two Characters ⚔️✨

Imagine you are comparing Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books.

Both characters are important, but their choices and reasons are very different.

Tips for Comparing and Contrasting Characters 💡✍️

• Always explain why the similarities or differences matter in the story.
• Use linking words like similarly, however, on the other hand to show comparisons clearly.
• Try to think about how these differences and similarities affect the story’s ending.

Remember, comparing and contrasting characters helps you think like a writer and reader. It is a skill you will use a lot throughout your school years and beyond!

20 Examination-style Questions with Answers on Comparing and Contrasting Characters for Year 6 English 📝🎓

Here are 20 examination-style questions and answers designed for Year 6 students focused on comparing and contrasting characters in English texts. These questions help practice identifying character traits, comparing motivations and behaviours, and drawing conclusions about characters, which are key skills in the UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 English.

Questions

1. Identify two character traits of the main character in your story and explain how they show these traits.
   Answer: The main character is brave because they face danger without fear, and kind because they help others.
2. Compare the behaviour of two characters when they face a problem. How are they similar or different?
   Answer: Both characters try to solve the problem, but one stays calm while the other panics.
3. What motivates the main character to act in the story? How is this different from another character?
   Answer: The main character is motivated by friendship, while the other character is motivated by personal gain.
4. Describe how one character changes during the story and compare this to another character’s development.
   Answer: The main character becomes more confident, but the second character stays the same.
5. How do the characters’ reactions to the same event differ? Give examples.
   Answer: One character laughs, showing they find it funny, while the other gets upset, showing they are sensitive.
6. Compare the way two characters speak. What does this tell you about their personalities?
   Answer: One talks politely and calmly, showing they are respectful, while the other uses rude language, showing they are angry.
7. Which character would you trust more? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.
   Answer: I would trust the main character because they always keep promises, unlike the other who lies.
8. How do the characters’ goals in the story differ?
   Answer: One character wants to win a race, while the other wants to make friends.
9. Describe two ways the main character and a supporting character are alike.
   Answer: Both are curious and brave when exploring new places.
10. Choose a character that you dislike. Compare them with a character you like and say why.
    Answer: I dislike the bully because they are mean, but I like the hero because they are helpful.
11. How do two characters show courage in different ways?
    Answer: One shows courage by speaking up, the other by standing up to a bully.
12. Compare the characters’ friendships in the story. What do they have in common and what is different?
    Answer: Both have close friends, but one trusts more easily while the other is more careful.
13. What do the characters’ actions reveal about their personalities? Give two examples.
    Answer: One shares food, showing generosity; another ignores others, showing selfishness.
14. Compare how two characters solve the same problem. Which solution do you prefer and why?
    Answer: One asks for help, the other tries alone; I prefer asking for help because it works better.
15. How does the author show the difference between the main character and the antagonist?
    Answer: The main character is kind and honest, while the antagonist is selfish and sneaky.
16. Describe how two characters’ feelings about the ending are different.
    Answer: One feels happy because they achieved their goal, but the other feels sad because they lost a friend.
17. Compare two characters’ priorities. What is most important to each of them?
    Answer: One values family, while the other values success.
18. How do two characters react when something unexpected happens?
    Answer: One stays calm, the other panics.
19. What lessons do two characters learn by the end of the story? Are they the same or different?
    Answer: Both learn about friendship, but one also learns to forgive.
20. Summarise the differences between the main character and a minor character in three sentences.
    Answer: The main character is brave and kind, while the minor character is shy and quiet. The main character helps others, but the minor character stays in the background. This shows the main character is more outgoing.

These questions help Year 6 students understand how to compare and contrast characters by looking closely at traits, motivations, actions, and changes. Answering them supports key English skills like inference, analysis, and comprehension expected at Key Stage 2.