Reasoning With Evidence

This worksheet helps students in Grades 5 and 6 strengthen reading comprehension, inferential thinking, and evidence-based reasoning by analyzing a character’s choices. Learners read a passage about Jamal facing a decision during a classroom test, then identify the choice he must make, determine which character trait best describes him, and explain their reasoning using specific details from the text.

Learning Goals

• Citing Text Evidence for Character Analysis (Grades 5-6)
  Students support trait conclusions with clear actions, thoughts, or dialogue from the passage.
• Understanding Choices & Consequences
  Learners analyze how decisions reveal character and influence outcomes.
• Interpreting Character Motivation
  Students examine internal conflict and reasoning to understand why Jamal acts as he does.
• Developing Inferential Reading Skills
  The activity reinforces drawing conclusions about character qualities based on implied evidence.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with upper elementary ELA standards and character analysis goals.
• Multi-Step Analytical Process
  Guides students from identifying the decision to explaining traits with evidence.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for guided reading, small groups, independent practice, assessment, or homework.
• Encourages Thoughtful Reasoning
  Prompts students to move beyond surface-level interpretation to deeper analysis.

This printable worksheet helps students build strong character analysis skills by connecting choices, motivations, and traits through evidence. By justifying interpretations with text details, learners strengthen comprehension, critical thinking, and confidence in inferential reading. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning.

This worksheet is part of our Character Analysis Worksheets collection.