Character Traits and Motivation Probes Editable

About this resource

Everything inside: 25 pages · 6 original silent-reading passages with 24 questions · 6 equivalent probe forms · a shared answer-key and scoring page for all six forms · a data log and scaled trend graph · a caseload summary · a ready-to-send family update · a classroom teacher check-in (a second setting) · a 17-starter phrase bank · a binder cover and 4-section binder map · a worked, invented example.

The store had probes for comparing two things, a stated cause and effect, and a main idea, but nothing that measures whether a student can name what a character wants, why the character acts the way they do, and traits the character's actions or words suggest. This file hands the student six original, invented passages, each about 70–110 words, about an everyday school-life character (a new student's first day, a group diorama project, an indoor recess, a lunchroom mix-up, a group project disagreement, a spilled-paint cleanup) with nothing but the passage and four write-in questions on the page the student sees. Scoring, the rubric and the answer key live on separate adult-only pages, never in the student's hands. Because a trait word is never printed outright over the action that suggests it, every accepted trait on the key page is backed by a literal clue sentence quoted from that form's own passage, so a scorer can check any accepted answer against the text itself.

WHAT IS INCLUDED — 25 pages, 491 type-in fields

Prepare To Give The Probes

• Binder Cover and Section Map — a spine/cover card, a 4-box section reference (not a cutting page), and an 8-row "where to find things" index
• How This Pack Works — how the six forms share one rubric and one key page, plus a 3-row table comparing what each of the file's three tools measures
• Character Traits and Motivation Goal, Rubric and Directions — a sample IEP-style goal (invented, every bracket editable), a baseline table (median of the first three probes), a rubric defining correct/incorrect (a trait word counts only if it is one of the key's listed options), and a 2-row benchmark table

Take The Data

• Six Probe Forms (A–F) — each a clean, student-facing page: a "My name" line, one kid-worded instruction with a book icon, the passage, and four numbered questions with a real four-line answer box each (1 question on what the character wants, 1 on the reason for their actions, 2 asking for a different character trait each) — nothing scored, no goal text, no marks on this page
• Answer Keys and Scoring — one shared adult-only page with all six forms' accepted want, reason and trait answers (a close paraphrase of the want/reason counts; each trait is one of a short closed list, backed by a quoted clue sentence; the two trait answers accepted in either box) and a Score /4 field per form

Track, Report And Share

• Character Traits and Motivation Accuracy Data Log — 12 dated rows, one form per row
• Character Traits and Motivation Accuracy Trend Graph — a scaled 0–100% grid plus a 12-row log table
• Caseload Summary — 12 students by 8 probes, baseline and criterion percent, trend and decision columns
• Family Update — Reading at Home — a ready-to-send communication page: what was read, how it went in plain words, a practice idea, and a 7-day practiced table
• Classroom Comprehension Check-In — two half-page notes per sheet, cut apart: a checkbox, one sentence, no codes, for the general education teacher or paraprofessional during regular class reading (a different setting from the six probe forms)
• Progress Note Phrase Bank — 17 observable-language starters across 5 groups (want/reason accuracy, trait-identification accuracy, pattern across probes, next steps, the quarterly-report sentence), every one ending in a blank pulled from a data sheet in the file
• A Filled-In Probe Set and Log — a worked, invented example (Caleb R., third grade) with a 4-row weekly log and a 2-row answer-key excerpt, every number cross-checked against the arithmetic behind it

Plus a Start Here quick-start, a 3-section contents page with real page thumbnails, 3 section dividers, and a "what's next" back page.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

It is a fillable PDF. Open it in a PDF reader, click a field, type, save. It works offline with no account or subscription. It is NOT a Google Sheets file, a Google Doc, or an Excel workbook, and it does not calculate a percent for you. The six probe forms print cleanly for the student to write directly on.

It is not a norm-referenced or standardized reading test, and it is not a Lexile or grade-level placement tool. It does not set a passing criterion or sort a student into any category — that is a blank line for your team. It is not Compare and Contrast, Cause and Effect, or Main Idea and Supporting Details Reading Comprehension Probes, each of which scores an answer stated outright in the text; this file's trait questions are the one place in the family where the student is asked to name something the passage never prints in so many words, checked instead against a closed list of trait words and the text that supports each.

No age, eligibility or IDEA-timeline claim anywhere; no health data is pre-filled, and the example student (Caleb) is invented and named as such on page 24.

Who This Is For

Special education teachers, reading interventionists and case managers who need character traits and motivation measured with the student's own written answers as the evidence, scored from an answer key in under a minute a form.

If You Want More

Compare and Contrast Reading Comprehension Probes, Cause and Effect Reading Comprehension Probes and Main Idea and Supporting Details Reading Comprehension Probes are the sibling comprehension-passage probes, the same six-form shape, each scoring an answer stated outright in the text. Making Inferences Using Text Evidence Probes is the other comprehension skill that is not a literal restatement, checked against quoted clue sentences the same way this file's trait items are.