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Traits, Motivations and Feelings is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on describing what a character is like and what they want, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.3. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 23 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 14 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 23 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Traits, Motivations and Feelings

RL.3.3

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Night the Lamp Went Out

Grace's father kept the lighthouse. On the worst night of the winter, the lamp went out. He was ill in bed. Grace was eleven. She carried the oil up ninety-seven steps in the dark, twice, because the can was too heavy to lift full. Her arms shook so much on the second trip that she had to sit down halfway. She trimmed the wick the way she had watched a hundred times. She struck the match on the fourth try. By the time the light swung out across the water, three ships had already turned back. Grace never knew whether she had been in time. She decided not to think about it.

  1. 1. How do Grace's actions contribute to the sequence of events?
  2. 2. Describe Grace's character. What traits do her actions show?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Wrong Bus

Halim was two stops past the school before he looked up. The bus was going the other way. He had got on at the same shelter, in the same rain, and never checked the number. His stomach dropped. He thought about crying and decided against it, because it would not help. He read the route map above the window. He worked out that the 41 came back the same way. He rang the bell, got off, crossed at the lights, and waited eleven minutes for the 41. He was twenty minutes late. Mrs Achebe asked what happened. "I got the wrong bus," said Halim, "and then I got the right one."

  1. 1. Describe Halim's character from what he does.
  2. 2. How do Halim's actions contribute to the sequence of events?

LessonPrint · RL.3.3 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Traits, Motivations and Feelings

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Because she carried the oil and lit the lamp, the light swung out across the water again. 2. Determined and capable — she climbed ninety-seven steps twice while shaking, and finished the job.
  2. 2.1. Level-headed — he decides crying will not help and works out the route instead. 2. Because he read the map and worked out the 41, he got himself back rather than staying lost.

More practice for RL.3.3

Describe what a character is like and how what they did changed the story.

Teaching this next? Characters, Traits and Motivations is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.