Barrier Game: Draw What I Describe
Receptive spatial and attribute language, then a role swap so the student produces the description.
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
Run the barrier honestly. If the student can see your page, the task collapses into copying and the language stops carrying any information. Do the receptive half first so the student hears well-formed descriptions before producing one, then swap and stay strict about not looking — a drawing that comes out wrong is the feedback, and rescuing it removes the lesson. Fifteen minutes gets through several items in both directions.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the situation and wait for the student to respond on their own.Log as correct
- Nonverbal cueUse a look, a gesture or a point to the visual cue card.Log as cued
- Indirect promptAsk 'What could you say now?' or 'How do you think they feel?'Log as cued
- ModelShow what to say or do, then run the moment again so the student can try it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a script or two choices of what to say, and practise with you before a peer.
Role-play with a new partner, or add a twist the student has not planned for.
Matching IEP goal
In structured role-plays, Student will use the target conversation skill appropriately in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a nonverbal cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight descriptions to draw without seeing the original: a large blue square with a small red circle inside it; three trees with the tallest in the middle; a house with two windows to the left of the door and one to the right; four stars in a row with the second one coloured in. The last card swaps the roles, which is the half that matters most — describing is far harder than drawing, and it is where the language shows.
What to listen for
Listen for what goes missing when the student describes. Ordinal terms — the second one, the tallest — are the first casualty, and left and right are the second. Watch for a student who describes accurately but out of order, which produces a drawing that is wrong for reasons that are about sequencing rather than vocabulary. Notice whether they ask clarifying questions when they are drawing, because that is a repair skill and a good sign.
Carrying it home
A barrier game needs nothing but two pieces of paper and something to hold up between them. Describing a Lego build to be copied works just as well and children usually find it more interesting than shapes.
What's in this activity
- Draw a large blue square with a small red circle inside it.
- Draw three trees. Put the tallest one in the middle.
- Draw a house with two windows to the LEFT of the door and one to the RIGHT.
- Draw a cat under a table, and a ball beside the cat.
- Draw a person holding an umbrella in the rain, wearing boots.
- Draw four stars in a row and color in the SECOND one.
- Draw a curving road with a car at the top and a stop sign at the bottom.
- Your turn: describe a picture to your partner without showing it, and let them draw it.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through fifth, and it scales by how complex a description you give.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight items play with no account.
- My student draws well and describes poorly. Is that expected?
- Very. Receptive and expressive spatial language are different skills and the expressive side lags for most students — which is why the role swap is on the board rather than optional.
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.