About this activity
Twelve questions to ask about any story character: What do they look like? How do they feel right now? What do they like to do? What are they good at? What are they afraid of? What do they want most? Is this character kind or mean, and how do you know? The questions move from the outside in — appearance first, motivation last — which is roughly the order children become able to answer them.
How to use it in a session
Use them against a book the child already knows rather than a new one, so all the effort goes into the describing. Physical questions are the warm-up; the ones that matter are what does this character want most and how do you know they are kind, because both require inference from evidence rather than recall. Push for the evidence on that last one — a student who says she's kind and cannot say why has an impression, not an inference. Eight minutes on two or three questions beats a run through all twelve.
What to listen for
Listen for internal states. Many children describe characters entirely by appearance and action, and the shift to feelings, fears and wants is what a fuller understanding of a story tends to look like. Watch for answers that come from the child's own life rather than the story — he likes football because I like football is a substitution worth noticing gently.
Carrying it home
Any bedtime story supports two of these questions without changing the routine. What does she want, and how do you know, are enough — and they take under a minute.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through third grade, though the motivation questions stay useful much longer with more demanding texts.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve prompts are free to use here.
- Which questions matter most?
- The ones about wants and feelings. Physical description is easy and rarely the barrier; character motivation is what story comprehension actually rests on.