Encourage empathy and comprehension with our The Thing About Oliver Character Feelings Worksheets. Based on Deborah Kelly’s novel, this resource is designed to help students connect more deeply with the key characters, Tilly, Oliver, and Mum, as they face the challenges of preparing for a big move. By exploring each character’s emotions and perspectives, students gain valuable practice in reading between the lines and understanding the impact of events on different points of view.

Students are invited to step into the characters’ shoes by writing diary entries, analysing text evidence, and reflecting on their own experiences with similar feelings. These activities encourage thoughtful responses that build comprehension skills while also promoting emotional literacy. By combining text-based analysis with creative writing and personal reflection, the worksheets provide a balanced approach to deepening students’ understanding of the novel and themselves.

This resource supports a range of learning contexts, from independent work to small-group collaboration. The focus on character feelings makes it an excellent tool for linking comprehension to empathy, while the diary entry format encourages expressive writing and personal voice. Teachers can easily adapt the worksheets to suit different ability levels with scaffolds such as sentence starters or group discussions.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Analyse characters’ emotions and perspectives using text evidence
• ✅ Practise writing diary entries in character voice
• ✅ Develop empathy by considering different points of view
• ✅ Strengthen comprehension through text-to-self connections
• ✅ Build emotional literacy by reflecting on feelings and challenges

What’s Included:

• Worksheets focusing on Tilly, Oliver, and Mum
• Diary entry prompts for each character
• Text analysis tasks requiring evidence-based responses
• Reflection questions to encourage personal connections
• Flexible activities for whole-class, group, or individual use

Materials Needed:

• Printed worksheets for each student or group
• Pencils or pens for writing diary entries
• Copies of The Thing About Oliver novel for text reference
• Optional: sentence starters for scaffolding diary writing

How to Use:

1. Assign the relevant chapters for students to read before completing the tasks.
2. Have students write diary entries from the character’s perspective, using evidence from the text to support their interpretations.
3. Encourage students to share responses in pairs or small groups to compare viewpoints.
4. Use the reflection question to prompt personal connections and emotional literacy discussions.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Assign different characters to small groups for focused discussions
• 💡 Use diary entries as performance scripts for short role-plays
• 💡 Pair worksheets with journal writing to extend reflections
• 💡 Display anonymous diary entries around the room as part of a character wall
• 💡 Use worksheets as a springboard for debates on the characters’ choices and challenges

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Provide sentence starters to support reluctant writers
• 💛 Encourage students to highlight or underline evidence from the text before writing
• 💛 Use diary entries as formative assessment for comprehension and empathy

The Thing About Oliver Character Feelings Worksheets help students build comprehension, empathy, and emotional intelligence while engaging deeply with the novel’s themes. This resource is part of our The Thing About Oliver Novel Study Package.