Evaluating Complex Motivations

This worksheet helps students in Grades 6 and 7 develop advanced reading comprehension, critical thinking, and literary analysis skills by closely examining a character’s competing motivations. Learners read a detailed narrative about Tariq, a young character torn between personal dreams and family expectations, and analyze how internal desires and external pressures shape his decisions and growth.

Learning Goals

• Analyzing Complex Character Motivations (Grades 6-7)
  Students identify what a character wants, what stands in the way, and how motivations influence decisions.
• Internal vs. External Factors
  Learners distinguish between emotional drives, personal goals, and outside pressures affecting character behavior.
• Character Growth & Development
  Students analyze turning points and evaluate how experiences contribute to change over time.
• Predictive & Reflective Reasoning
  The activity asks students to consider how motivations might shift under different outcomes.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to support middle school ELA standards and deeper narrative analysis.
• Rich, Focused Passage
  A single detailed text allows students to practice sustained analysis without distraction.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for literature circles, close reading lessons, assessment, or written response practice.
• Encourages Evidence-Based Thinking
  Questions require students to support interpretations with details from the text.

This printable worksheet helps students move beyond surface-level character analysis to explore how competing motivations drive decisions and growth. By examining internal conflicts, external pressures, and possible outcomes, learners strengthen comprehension, analytical reasoning, and confidence in interpreting complex narratives. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource for both classroom instruction and homeschool learning.

This worksheet is part of our Character Analysis Worksheets collection.