Reading Faces

This worksheet supports students in Grades 2, 3, and 4 as they strengthen reading comprehension, inferencing, and emotional awareness through short narrative passages. Students read each scenario carefully and choose the facial expression that best matches how the character is feeling, using text evidence, emotional cues, and cause-and-effect reasoning to guide their decisions.

Learning Goals

• Inferencing Skills (Grades 2-4) – Students use text clues to infer characters’ emotions and reactions.
• Recognizing Emotions in Others – Builds understanding of how feelings are shown through facial expressions.
• Character Analysis – Encourages students to connect experiences, actions, and emotional responses.
• Critical Thinking – Requires matching evidence from the text to the most logical conclusion.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Developed by educators with ELA and SEL standards in mind.
• Multiple-Choice Format – Supports structured reasoning while reducing writing load.
• Engaging & Visual Thinking – Promotes careful observation of emotional details and cues.
• Flexible Use – Works well for reading instruction, SEL lessons, small groups, or centers.

This printable worksheet helps students deepen their understanding of characters by linking text-based experiences to visible emotional expressions. By practicing inferencing, empathy, and evidence-based reasoning, learners strengthen both academic reading skills and social-emotional comprehension. Whether used in a classroom or homeschool setting, this no-prep activity encourages thoughtful engagement with text and builds confidence in interpreting emotions and character behavior.

This worksheet is part of our Nonverbal Communication Worksheets collection.