Assignment Verbs: What the Prompt Wants
The directive verbs on rubrics and test prompts, translated into what to actually do.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Work from real assignments rather than the cards alone. Bring a rubric the student is actually facing, find the verb in it, and rewrite the prompt in the card's plain words before they start writing. The pairs worth contrasting directly are summarize against evaluate, since the first forbids the opinion the second requires, and describe against analyze, which is the most common confusion in the whole set. Fifteen minutes with a real prompt is worth more than an hour on the definitions.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- RepeatRepeat the direction once, at the same speed, stressing the key words.Log as cued
- Chunk itBreak the direction into its steps and give them one at a time.Log as cued
- ModelShow the steps yourself, then the student does them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give one step at a time, with a picture or a written list for each step.
Add a step, or a concept word such as 'before', 'after' or 'except'.
Matching IEP goal
Given spoken or written directions, Student will complete every step of the direction in order in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one repetition.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight directive verbs with what they actually ask for: analyze — break it into parts and explain how they work together; evaluate — judge it and give your reasons; summarize — the main points, much shorter, no opinion; compare — how they are alike and how they differ; justify — give evidence for your position; cite — name where the evidence came from; infer — state what the text implies but does not say outright. Students lose marks on these words while knowing the content perfectly.
What to listen for
Watch what the student writes, not what they can define. A student who can say analyze means break it into parts and then produces a summary has the definition and not the behaviour, which is the usual pattern. Notice whether they check the verb before starting — that habit is the actual target, and it is what makes the vocabulary pay off on a test.
Carrying it home
Homework provides the material for free. Ask the student what the instruction word is telling them to do before they write anything, and let them answer. Most homework that comes back wrong at this level was misread rather than misunderstood.
What's in this activity
- analyze -- break it into parts and explain how they work together
- evaluate -- judge it and give your reasons
- summarize -- the main points, much shorter, no opinion
- compare -- how they are alike AND how they differ
- justify -- give evidence for your position
- describe -- details about what it is like
- cite -- name where the evidence came from
- infer -- state what the text implies but does not say outright
Questions
- Why is this a speech-language target?
- Because it is a language demand sitting between what a student knows and what they can show. A student who understands the content and misreads the instruction has a language problem, not a content one.
- Is an account needed?
- No, all eight cards are free to use here.
- What grades is this for?
- Sixth through twelfth, where these verbs start appearing on every rubric and standardised prompt.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.