Unpacking Character Motivation
This worksheet helps 8th-grade students analyze character motivation in literature through various question types.
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Unpacking Character Motivation
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Read each question carefully and provide thoughtful answers. Your goal is to analyze why characters act the way they do.
Passage: The Secret of the Old Mill
Elara had always been drawn to the abandoned mill at the edge of town. Whispers of a hidden treasure, left by a reclusive inventor decades ago, fueled her imagination. Every afternoon, after her chores, she'd sneak away, armed with a rusty trowel and a tattered map she'd painstakingly pieced together from old town records. Her parents, struggling to keep their small farm afloat, often worried about her solitary adventures. Elara knew finding the treasure wouldn't just be an exciting discovery; it would be their salvation. One blustery Tuesday, as rain lashed against the crumbling stone walls, Elara noticed a loose brick near the old waterwheel. Her heart pounded. This was it. She jammed the trowel into the crack, the metal scraping against something solid within.
1. What is the primary motivation for Elara to search for the hidden treasure?
She is bored with her chores.
She wants to prove herself to her parents.
She believes it will help her struggling family.
She is simply curious about the old mill.
2. Explain how Elara's actions (sneaking away, piecing together a map) are directly influenced by her motivation.
3. A character's motivation is the or that causes them to act in a certain way.
4. External motivations often involve achieving a visible , while internal motivations stem from a character's or personal beliefs.
5. A character's motivation can change throughout a story.
True
False
6. Understanding a character's motivation helps readers predict their future actions.
True
False
7. Consider a character from a book or movie you have recently read/watched. Describe their main motivation and how it drives the plot. Provide specific examples from the story.
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