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Language Concepts

Descriptive Concepts

Colors, sizes, shapes and textures - the words that describe a thing.

Mastered by
ASHA places color and shape naming in the 3-to-4 and 4-to-5 bands
Practice items
29
Sections
4

What this skill is

Descriptive words name a property of something rather than the thing itself, which is a genuine conceptual step. Size words are also relative - a big mouse is smaller than a small dog - so a child has to judge against a category rather than an absolute. These words do a lot of work in classrooms, because most early instructions single something out by its properties: the big red one, the round blue one.

What to expect

Color names are often used before they are understood: a child may cheerfully label everything "blue" for weeks. That is normal and not worth correcting hard. Expect big and little to be used for every dimension at first, with tall, long and wide differentiating later.

Try this at home

Describe before you name, and let them find it. "I am thinking of something round and red in the fruit bowl." Then swap - they describe, you guess. Guessing games bring the adjective out on their own, because naming the object would end the game.

When to refer

No size or color words by about 3;6, or cannot follow a direction that needs two descriptors ("the big blue one") by 4;6.

Print it

Descriptive Concepts worksheet29 items across 4 sections, with answer key · PDF

What Color?

8 items

Answer each question with a color word.

  1. 1.What color is a banana?yellow
  2. 2.What color is grass?green
  3. 3.What color is the sky on a clear day?blue
  4. 4.What color is snow?white
  5. 5.What color is a stop sign?red
  6. 6.What color is a pumpkin?orange
  7. 7.What color is chocolate?brown
  8. 8.What color are most tires?black

Big or Little?

7 items

Fill in the blank with a size word.

  1. 1.An elephant is ____ and a mouse is little.big
  2. 2.A giraffe has a very ____ neck.long
  3. 3.A baby's shoes are ____.little
  4. 4.A skyscraper is very ____.tall
  5. 5.A puddle is shallow but the ocean is ____.deep
  6. 6.A pencil is thin and a tree trunk is ____.thick
  7. 7.My little brother is ____ than me.shorter

Shapes and Textures

8 items

Answer each question with a shape or texture word.

  1. 1.What shape is a ball?round (a sphere)
  2. 2.What shape is a window?square (or rectangle)
  3. 3.What shape is a slice of pizza?triangle
  4. 4.How does sandpaper feel?rough
  5. 5.How does a kitten feel?soft
  6. 6.How does an ice cube feel?cold and hard
  7. 7.How does honey feel?sticky
  8. 8.What shape is the moon when it is full?round (a circle)

Two Things at Once

6 items

These need two descriptions held together. Point to the one being described.

  1. 1.Find the big red circle.big + red + circle
  2. 2.Find the little blue square.little + blue + square
  3. 3.Find the long thin one.long + thin
  4. 4.Find the small soft one.small + soft
  5. 5.Find the tall green one.tall + green
  6. 6.Find the round rough one.round + rough