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Topic “Activities to develop skills”
Activities for developing communication.
Keyword Signing Resources
Many of the activities on Commtap - especially the ones aimed at those communicating or understanding at three key words or less - can be enhanced if you use key word signs with them. These can benefit the learner by making it easier for them to pick up the spoken language, and by giving them an additional way they can communicate.
The following resources can make it easier for you to sign with children.
Online sign dictionaries
Signalong and Makaton
British Key Word Signs (free).
Signalong
Text-a-sign service (annual subscription fee).
Sign library (annual subscription fee).
BSL
British Sign Language Dictionary (free).
Game for working on attention, visual skills, vocabulary and co-operation
admin
Large set of picture symbols on an A3 sheet, plus a set of game cards - containing between six and nine items on each card.
You can use this with a small group of children - or a single child.
- Put the large sheet in front of the children.
- Give each child a small card and a set of counters.
- The children take it in turns to look for one of the items on their card on the large sheet.
- Once they have found the item, they put a counter on the item on their card.
- When it's their turn, the child can ask another child for help (but the other children should be encouraged to keep silent unless they have been asked for help).
- Carry on until each child has found (say) four items.
Source
This resource was originally created by ARASAAC.
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Created 25 June 2019; updated 6 December 2024.
Language Prompt Sheets for Activities
admin
This resource contains language prompt sheets for three activities:
- blowing bubbles;
- building a tower;
- reading a book.
Use these sheets with a child to help minimise and simplify the language you are using with the child, and to give them an alternative means of talking about the activity if they need it.
The prompt sheet helps you to think of different types of words and phrases you can use with the child - including verbs (action words), words for commenting, words for taking turns and words for starting and finishing.
These examples use Arasaac picture symbols and Mulberry picture symbols (both free "Creative Commons" symbols sets). They were created using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint.
Created 30 September 2018; updated 22 October 2021.
Multi-syllable (polysyllable) word lists
Lists of words containing more than two syllables.
Three syllable words
alarm clock
alphabet
ambulance
banana
bicycle
butterfly
cereal
chimpanzee
chocolate
computer
dinosaur
elephant
fingernail
fire engine
gorilla
hair dryer
hospital
jellyfish
lasagne
library
magazine
microwave
museum
newspaper
octopus
orange juice
parachute
pelican
polar bear
ponytail
potato
radio
raspberry
skeleton
spaghetti
strawberry
submarine
sunglasses
swimming pool
Activities for comprehension of concepts
Created 19 November 2015; updated 25 November 2015.
Running a craft group to develop friendships and communication
Neil Thompson
This provides suggestions for developing friendships and communication skills through running a craft group: particularly suitable for adults with a range of learning disabilities.
Created 21 July 2015.
Prompts for a simple conversation
gemma47
These cards contain prompts to guide someone through a simple three turn conversation. Each one contains a question, followed by a starter for a response, and then a comment responding to that response. You can take either role in the conversation (the person asking the question and giving the comment at the end, or the person answering the question).
Note, the pictures used in this resource are from Widget (Communicate in Print 2).
Created 15 July 2015.
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