What Might They Be Thinking? Picture the Moment
Eight short moments where the student imagines what another person might be thinking.
Mia sees her friend carrying a big wrapped box to her door. What might Mia be thinking?
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
Read each moment aloud and ask the student to imagine it before looking at the choices. After they choose, ask what clue helped: the box, the leash, the footprints. Then turn it around and ask what the student would think in that moment. Let them act some moments out, which helps students who think best by doing.
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
Given social scenarios, Student will identify another person's thoughts or feelings and give a reason in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight small moments where the clue to someone's thinking is in what they see or do: a friend carrying a wrapped box to the door, a dog bringing its leash, dad looking at muddy footprints on a clean floor. The student picks what the person, or the dog, might be thinking or wanting. It is early perspective-taking: using what someone can see and does to imagine what is in their mind.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student answers from the other person's point of view or from their own. A student who says dad is thinking about lunch because they are hungry is answering for themselves. Listen for the clue they name. Students who choose correctly but cannot name a clue may be guessing, and the clue question is where the learning is.
Carrying it home
At home, wonder aloud during the day: I see your sister looking in the fridge, what might she want? Ask what a pet might be thinking when it does something. Let the child be wrong comfortably and check by asking the person, which teaches that asking is a great way to find out what someone is thinking.
What's in this activity
- Mia sees her friend carrying a big wrapped box to her door. What might Mia be thinking?
- Is that a present for me?
- I want to go to sleep
- It is raining
- Noah's dog brings him the leash and sits by the door. What might the dog want?
- Dinner
- To go for a walk
- A bath
- Grace opens her lunch and finds her favorite sandwich. What might Grace be thinking?
- Yum! My favorite!
- I am scared
- Where is my coat?
- Dad looks at the muddy footprints on the clean floor. What might Dad be thinking?
- What a nice day
- Who walked in with muddy shoes?
- Time for a nap
- Jamal keeps looking out the window at the snow during class. What might he be thinking about?
- Playing in the snow
- His math homework
- Going swimming
- Ella's little brother is crying and pointing at a toy on a high shelf. What might he want?
- A snack
- The toy on the shelf
- To go outside
- The teacher looks at the clock and starts packing her bag. What might she be thinking?
- It is almost time to go
- I want to start a new lesson
- I lost my keys
- Your friend scored a goal and is jumping up and down. What might your friend be thinking?
- I want to go home
- I did it!
- I am hungry
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Children in kindergarten through third grade building perspective-taking and theory of mind, including students with goals for understanding others' thoughts.
- Can I change the items?
- Yes. Open it in the Activity Studio, edit or add items and keep the same board, or switch it to another template that fits the content.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
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.