Character Description Practice
Describe story character attributes: physical, personality, and motivations.
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
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.
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
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will tell a story that includes a character, setting, problem and ending in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →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.
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.
What's in this activity
- What does this character look like?
- How does this character feel right now?
- What does this character like to do?
- Who is this character's friend?
- What is this character good at?
- What is this character afraid of?
- Where does this character live?
- What does this character want most?
- How old do you think this character is?
- What would this character say here?
- Is this character kind or mean? How do you know?
- What does this character do when they get mad?
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.
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.