Create a Character: Explicit Sentence Building Using Adjectives

Create a Character is an explicit literacy activity that guides students to generate adjectives and build descriptive sentences. It asks students to describe illustrated faces and choose precise words for hair, eyes, skin and personality.

The task moves learners from word generation to sentence construction using an explicit grammar frame. Teachers can model the process, guide small groups and assign independent practice before longer writing tasks.

Create a Character includes a worked example for explicit modelling and clear teacher cues. Students then complete the grammar frame and rewrite it as a fluent, detailed sentence.

This resource supports learners with DLD, dyslexia, ADHD and dysgraphia by breaking tasks into small steps. It has been used in classroom lessons, small intervention groups and 1:1 teaching and fits varied delivery formats.

Included are a worked example, guided practice prompts and an explicit sentence scaffold to use during lessons. Use the activity as a warm-up for narrative writing or as a targeted intervention to build vocabulary and sentence-level skills.