Character Development

Student Concept Worksheet Answers (Leo - "The New Kid")

1. How does Leo feel at the beginning?

Leo feels sad, lonely, and hopeless. He thinks he'll never make friends.

2. How does Leo feel at the end?

Leo feels happy, hopeful, and confident. He's smiling and thinks the school won't be so bad.

3. What event caused Leo to change?

Leo changed BECAUSE Marcus invited him to play soccer, he scored goals, and Marcus invited him to sit with his friends at lunch.

4. What lesson did Leo learn?

Leo learned that he should give new situations a chance instead of giving up, and that being open to trying can help you make friends.

Practice Worksheet Answers

Passage 1: The Garden Project (Mia)

1. How does Mia feel about the garden project at the beginning?

Mia hates the project. She complains about getting dirty and thinks plants are boring.

2. What event caused Mia to start caring?

Seeing her own sprout/plant poke through the dirt made her excited and curious.

3. How is Mia different at the end?

At the end, Mia is excited about gardening. She has the biggest tomatoes and wants to do another garden project next year.

4. Complete the sentence

Mia changed from hating the garden and thinking plants were boring to loving gardening and wanting to grow more plants BECAUSE she saw her own plant grow and took care of it.

Passage 2: The Swimming Test (Carlos)

5. How does Carlos feel at the beginning? (with evidence)

Carlos feels scared and nervous. Evidence: "his heart pounding," "his legs felt frozen," "I can't do this."

6. What did Carlos believe about himself before the test?

Carlos believed he couldn't do it. He thought he would fail because he was afraid of deep water.

7. How do Carlos's feelings/beliefs change by the end?

Carlos becomes proud and confident. He now believes he can do hard things and even wants to try the diving board.

8. What caused Carlos to change?

Ms. Kim encouraged him ("One stroke at a time, I'll be right here"), and Carlos decided to try despite his fear. When he succeeded, he gained confidence.

Passage 3: Two Neighbors (Amara)

9. Character tracking chart

Beginning: Amara doesn't like the new neighbors, thinks they're too loud, frowns at Sofia, looks away.
What Happened: Sofia found and returned Amara's lost cat Whiskers.
End: Amara smiles, agrees to visit Sofia, thinks she was wrong about the neighbors.

10. What lesson does Amara learn?

Amara learns not to judge people before getting to know them. She realizes she was wrong about the new neighbors.

11. How does Amara's relationship with Sofia change? Why?

Amara goes from avoiding Sofia and frowning at her to agreeing to be friends. This changes BECAUSE Sofia was kind and helped Amara when her cat was lost.

12. Which sentence BEST shows Amara has changed?

C. "I'd like that." - This shows Amara now wants to be friends with Sofia, a big change from avoiding her.

FAST Practice Quiz Answers (Emma - "The Big Performance")

B. Scared and doubtful

Emma's hands tremble, she thinks she'll mess up, and she considers hiding.

A. "She had wanted to try out, but now she regretted it."

This shows her fear and doubt at the beginning - she wishes she hadn't tried out.

B. She is going to mess up.

Text says: "I'm going to mess up...Everyone will laugh at me."

B. Jake reminds her of advice she once gave him.

Jake tells her what she once told him about nerves meaning you care.

B. She goes from wanting to hide to being proud she tried.

Beginning: considers hiding. End: "I'm proud I tried."

C. "I know I can do hard things now."

This shows her new confidence and belief in herself - a complete change from the beginning.

C. You can face your fears and do hard things.

Emma learns that she is capable even when scared.

C. It wavered at first but grew stronger.

Text: "Her voice wavered on the first line...her voice grew stronger."

Sample response: Jake helps Emma by reminding her of advice she once gave him - that being nervous means you care and even the best performers get butterflies. This makes Emma realize she should take her own advice, which gives her courage to try.

Sample: Emma changed from scared and wanting to hide to proud and confident BECAUSE Jake encouraged her, she took her own advice, and she completed the audition successfully.

Scoring Guide

Assessment	Total Points	Proficient (70%+)	Focus Area if Struggling
Student Concept Worksheet	4 points	3+ correct	Practice the "before/after" framework
Practice Worksheet	12 points	8+ correct	Focus on "BECAUSE" connections
FAST Practice Quiz	10 points	7+ correct	Practice finding text evidence

Common Errors: Describing character traits instead of changes; retelling plot without explaining character growth; not connecting changes to specific events with "because."

Answer Keys: Character Development

Scoring Guide