Samuel’s Resolve

This literary analysis worksheet is designed for students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 to strengthen character analysis, close reading, and evidence-based reasoning skills. Using the excerpt “The Night Before Battle,” students examine how Samuel’s actions, dialogue, and internal thoughts reveal traits such as bravery, determination, and loyalty, deepening understanding of character motivation, tone, and development within a literary context.

Learning Goals

• Character Analysis & Development (Grades 6-8)
  Students identify and explain character traits using multiple forms of textual evidence.
• Textual Evidence & Justification
  Learners support interpretations with specific examples from the text.
• Theme & Tone Interpretation
  Students connect Samuel’s traits to broader themes such as courage, duty, and sacrifice.
• Reading Comprehension
  The activity strengthens close reading of narrative passages.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA standards.
• Multi-Layered Evidence Practice
  Encourages use of actions, dialogue, and thoughts to support analysis.
• Engaging Historical Narrative
  The pre-battle setting adds emotional depth and student interest.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for character studies, short story units, discussion prep, or assessment.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with analyzing character traits and supporting ideas with textual evidence. By closely examining Samuel’s resolve before battle, learners strengthen critical reading, interpretation, and comprehension skills while gaining insight into how authors reveal character through narrative detail. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports confident literary analysis and deeper engagement with character-driven texts.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 7 Reading Comprehension collection.