Dog Year Portrait Worksheet
Book Study • ESL Scaffold
Dog Year Portrait
Let's find character traits and clues in "The Year of the Dog" by Grace Lin!
Name:
Date:
Class:
1
Choose Your Character
(Pencil in the circle for who you want to write about!)
🎨 Grace
Grace is creative, loves to draw, and is searching to find her own unique and special talent.
🌟 Alvina
Alvina is Grace's wonderful best friend. She is very honest, energetic, and always funny!
2
Choose Two Trait Words
(Look at the words below to describe your character!)
Creative Good at drawing or making things
Determined Keeps trying and never gives up
Friendly Kind and wonderful to others
Funny Makes people laugh with jokes
Imaginative Has exciting ideas & stories
Brave Ready to try new or scary things
3
Gather Your Clues!
(Write your trait words and copy clues from the book)
Trait #1:
What is the clue? (What did they do or say in the book?):
In the story, she...
Trait #2:
What is the clue? (What did they do or say in the book?):
Another clue is when she...
The Year of the Dog Study Guide • Grade 3 Reading Circle Page 1 of 2
Final Writing Draft
My Paragraph Portrait
Use your traits and clues to write your wonderful final paragraph!
4
Useful Sentence Starters
(Use these frames to help connect your ideas!)
1. Start (Topic Sentence):
"In the book The Year of the Dog, ______ is very..."
2. Add Trait #1 & Clue:
"One clue is in the story when she ______."
3. Add Trait #2 & Clue:
"She is also very ______ because she..."
4. Wrap it Up (Ending):
"Overall, ______ is a fantastic character!"
5
Write Your Paragraph
👉 Indent (Leave space)
Writer's Checklist
(Check off each box when you are done!)
Capitals
Periods
2 Traits
Book Clues
Neat Work
The Year of the Dog Study Guide • Grade 3 Reading Circle Page 2 of 2
Dog Year Portraits Teacher Guide
Educator Resource • Facilitation Guide
Portraits Teacher Guide
Scaffolded character analysis lesson for "The Year of the Dog" by Grace Lin
Lesson Timeline & Pacing (60 Minutes)
Time
Phase
What to Do & Key Teacher Prompts
10 min
1. Hook & Vocab
Review Grace and Alvina. Introduce the 6 trait words. Practice saying them out loud together and matching them to physical actions.
15 min
2. Guided Modeling
Model character trait identification on chart paper. Say: "How do we know Grace is creative? What clues or drawings did she make?"
25 min
3. Guided Writing
Students select a character on Page 1. Guide them to select 2 traits and write evidence clues. Circulate to assist with vocabulary.
10 min
4. Share & Close
Pair-share draft paragraphs. Have students highlight their favorite trait in yellow colored pencil! Celebrate student growth.
Step-by-Step Implementation Pointers
Part 1: Character Trait Scaffolding
Prior to starting the worksheet, review what a "trait" is compared to an "action". Use emojis and simple sketches on the board to illustrate: Creative = drawing beautiful book covers; determined = practicing science projects. Ask students to repeat and act out physical movements for each word.
Part 2: Finding Book Evidence
For ESL students, finding direct textual quotes can be overwhelming. Encourage them to summarize actions in their own simple sentences or focus on specific scenes, such as when Grace and Alvina make books together, or when Alvina eats different foods at the banquet.
ESL Differentiation Strategies
Emerging Support
Provide word cards to lay on top of the worksheet. Allow students to write simple phrases instead of complete sentences in Step 3, or draw pictures representing the trait clues.
Expanding Support
Encourage students to use connecting words like "because" and "also" in their paragraphs. Guide them to copy specific action words from the book.
Bridging Extension
Encourage bridging students to find page numbers in the book and write a 5-6 sentence paragraph by explaining how their chosen character changes throughout the book.
The Year of the Dog Study Guide • Teacher Facilitation Pack Page 1 of 2
Educator Resource • Facilitation Guide
Exemplars & Rubric
Scoring tools and student paragragh exemplars
High-Quality Paragraph Exemplars
🎨 Grace Character Exemplar
In the book The Year of the Dog, Grace is very creative. One clue is in the story when she writes her own science book and draws beautiful drawings for it. She is also very determined because she works very hard to win the book competition. Overall, Grace is a fantastic character!
