Describing

Describing Objects

Saying more than the name: group, parts, function, looks, size and place.

Mastered by: Naming one or two features from about 3
Practice items: 6
Sections: 1

Play it

Each one opens full screen, already set to this skill.

Guess My WordDescribe a hidden picture so the grown-up can guess it.

Word map

152 objects

A word map puts the thing in the middle and six questions around it: how it feels, how it tastes, where you find it, its color, what it is made of, and its size. Pick a thing and fill in the circles. The child does the describing, not the guessing - two good circles is a win at first.

Print the word mapThe six circles around a space to draw or write the thing · PDF

What this skill is

Semantic feature analysis is the practice of describing a thing by its features rather than reaching for its name. A child who can only produce the name has one route to the word, so when the name will not come there is nothing to fall back on; a child who can say "it is an animal, it has four legs, it gives milk" can get the idea across without the word, and the word itself is easier to retrieve next time because it is attached to more. That is why this is worth doing with children who know the vocabulary perfectly well.

What to expect

A child who is not ready answers "it’s a cow" and stops, or repeats the name louder. That is not a vocabulary problem - they do not yet know what counts as an answer. Naming the slot is what unlocks it: not "tell me about the cow" but "what group is a cow in?" Expect one feature at a time at first, and expect color and size long before group and function.

Try this at home

Do it in the car and in the kitchen, not at a table. Hold something up and take turns: you say a feature, they say a feature, and neither of you may say the name. Then swap to the guessing game, where you describe something in the room and they work out what it is.

When to refer

Cannot give any feature beyond the name by 4;0, or still relies on "thing" and "stuff" with no describing words by 5;6 while otherwise talking in full sentences.

Print it

Describing Objects worksheet6 items across 1 sections, with answer key · PDF Word mapOne page: the six circles around a space for the thing · PDF

Put it into practice

Tap any item below to open it full screen, one at a time, so a child can answer without reading the answer first.

These activities are a starting point, not the practice itself. A structured task is a good way to introduce a form and to find out whether a child has it yet. What actually moves it into everyday speech is using it in the real world and in ordinary play — which means the four things below matter more than finishing the list.

Recast
Say their sentence back correctly, without asking them to repeat it. Child: “he goed.” You: “he went! Where did he go?”
Expand
Add one or two words to what they said and hand it back. Child: “big truck.” You: “a big red truck!”
Simplify what you ask
Cut a long instruction into single steps and say them in the order they happen, rather than repeating the long one louder.
Follow their lead
Use whatever they are already playing with. A form practiced on something they chose is the one that shows up again tomorrow.

Play it in a game ASHA Practice Portal

Which Feature Is Missing?

6 items

Read the description. The child says which of the six boxes has not been filled in yet - group, parts, what you do with it, looks, size or where. Tap any item to open it full screen.

Guess My Word

Open full screen

The picture stays hidden until the grown-up closes their eyes. Then the child reveals it and uses questions suited to the word to give clues. Tap the picture to peek or hide it.