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Topic “English Speaking”
Make a choice using two switches
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Establishing motivators Items/activities the student may be interested in. Items/short activities the student is not interested in. |
| Don't use two things which are motivating for the student as you won't be able to tell whether they've succeeded in expressing a choice or not. |
| Establishing the switches to use Appropriate switches to use Typically you might start off with a couple of large recordable buttons (for example "Big Macs". You may have already established this with single switch work and established that they can make something happen with a single switch). | You may need to work with an occupational therapist to establish what type of switch a student can use - particularly if they have complex physical difficulties. | |
| Making choices Pair of switches Motivating and un-motivating items/activities (see the activity "establishing motivators" above) | If they don't press a switch you may need to:
Consistency of pressing Do they appear to be pressing one switch more than another, or do they appear to be choosing the switch randomly? Swapping the switches around from time to time will help you to know this. If they aren't consistent, you could try making the switches more different, for example:
You could also try:
|
Common irregular past tense verbs
These can be used with activities sheets from www.commtap.org including:
- make phrases in past tense using irregular verbs 1
- make phrases in past tense using irregular verbs 2
Some common irregular past tense verbs for use in the above activities
See below if you are not sure what an irregular past tense verb is.
Make a choice between snacks
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Snacks A small choice of snack items to choose from - in small pieces - for example banana, apple, orange, crisps (the idea of having the items in small pieces is that it gives lots of opportunities to practice the request); Something uninteresting - e.g. a piece of paper; Pictures of the food items. |
| Key strategies - you may need to come back to these as and when necessary: Introduce each food item; Check which ones the people are interested in; Demonstrate the asking for and getting of an item - e.g. with another member of staff; Wait - give time for the person to respond or initiate; Offer a "forced alternative", e.g. "apple or orange?" - swap around the order in which you give the alternatives to check that the person is not just saying the last thing you say; Make it difficult for the person to communicate by pointing by having the choices close together and out of reach - so if they point you actually don't know which one they pointed to; Be sensitive to if the person is getting frustrated - think of ways to help them get it right first time - e.g. by reducing the choice down to one item (temporarily). Using forced alternatives: Always give the person the thing they said/signed for. If they are having difficulties with this - for example they always say the last thing in the alternative, try the following: Have one of the forced alternatives being something uninteresting (e.g. the piece of paper); Have the last alternative as something the person doesn't want (if the person always says the last thing); Give more emphasis to the desired item, e.g. "Banana or paper?", you could also try only signing the desired item. Over time, reduce the difference in emphasis. Improving clarity Sometimes the person may say/sign what they want, but you don't feel it is clear enough (perhaps you can understand it in this context but might not be able to in another situation). To try and improve this, you can try: Saying 'pardon?' or something equivalent; Look confused and say, for example '(Do you mean) apple or banana?' (saying and signing these) - this will often encourage the person to produce a clearer version; Simply re-inforce with the clear version, e.g. you say "Oh, banana" (saying and signing it then passing it over); Try to avoid simply asking the someone to repeat after you as there is no communication and it's not a natural way to communicate - by asking someone to repeat you have shown them that you have understood, and so this is now a different repetition activity (and perhaps a bit insulting!) - it also has the danger that it could reduce the accuracy of what they originally said or signed as they didn't get a direct result from this. |
Make a choice at snack time
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Snack activity Food items - in small pieces - which the children like, for example banana, apple, orange, crisps; Something uninteresting - e.g. a piece of paper; Pictures of the food items. |
| Key strategies - you may need to come back to these as and when necessary: Introduce each food item; Check which ones the child is interested in; Demonstrate the asking for and getting of an item - e.g. with another member of staff; Wait - give time for the child to respond or initiate; Offer a "forced alternative", e.g. "apple or orange?" - swap around the order in which you give the alternatives to check that the child is not just saying the last thing you say; Make it difficult for the child to communicate by pointing by having the choices close together and out of reach - so if they point you actually don't know which one they pointed to; Be sensitive to if the child is getting frustrated - think of ways to help them get it right first time - e.g. by reducing the choice down to one item (temporarily). Using forced alternatives: Always give the child the thing they said/signed for. If they are having difficulties with this - for example always say the last thing in the alternative, try the following: Have one of the forced alternatives being something uninteresting (e.g. the piece of paper); Have the last alternative as something the child doesn't want (if the child always says the last thing); Give more emphasis to the desired item, e.g. "Banana or paper?", you could also try only signing the desired item. Over time, reduce the difference in emphasis. Improving clarity Sometimes the child may say/sign what they want, but you don't feel it is clear enough (perhaps you can understand it in this context but might not be able to in another situation). To try and improve this, you can try: Saying 'pardon?' or something equivalent; Look confused and say, for example '(Do you mean) apple or banana?' (saying and signing these) - this will often encourage the child to produce a clearer version; Simply re-inforce with the clear version, e.g. you say "Oh, banana" (saying and signing it then passing it over); Try to avoid simply asking the child to repeat after you as there is no communication and it's not a natural way to communicate - by asking the child to repeat you have shown them that you have understood, and so this is now a different repetition activity - it also has the danger that it could reduce the accuracy of what the child originally said or signed as they didn't get a direct result from this.
|
Request a desired item
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Snack time
|
See the comments on the right as to how to respond to some typical situations. | What to do in common scenarios The person points at or tries to take the item. Hold or place the items in such a way that they can't easily take them and so that even if they point it is not clear which one they are choosing (once you know - and the person knows you know - which one they want simply now asking them to repeat what you had hoped they would have requested is much less powerful for learning). The person always asks for the last thing you said (e.g. always asking for a crisp): Try reversing the order of the choice you give them; If they don't seem to care which one you give them, give them a choice of a desirable item and a boring item - saying the boring item last - then respond to their request for the boring item. To stop frustration, you might need to quickly follow this up with another go where you only offer them one item (the desirable item); Encourage them to point to a picture to show you which one they want - then reinforce this by signing and saying the word. General strategies Model the asking and requesting with someone (e.g. other staff) to show what you are hoping people to do. |
To use language to describe the characteristics and functions of objects
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| What's in the bag? - Bag - A selection of objects or pictures - click below for printable object pictures: - Question prompt cards - click here to print.
| 1. Explain to your child/student that you are all going to take it in turns to put something in the bag and describe it for others to guess. 2.Model the game for the first turn. Give a description of your obejct for the others to guess. 3. Swap and let your child/student have a turn. If your child/student is finding it hard to think of things to saym you can use the questions cards to help support them. | |
| Treasure Hunt - Objects to hide around the room (optional) | ||
| Taboo! . |
include relevant details in story retell
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Story Retelling Short stories 'Who, Where, When, What happened, What happened next, the end', prompt cards. Pencils | Tell the story yourself first. Discuss the prompt cards with the children, and explain that it is important they remember to answer all of the questions on the cards when they are telling their stories. Have one child at a time take a turn to retell the story. Go over the cards to see if they have included all the details. | If it is a familiar story to the child you could just give them time to remember it instead of telling it yourself first. |
tell an adult what happened
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Naughty puppet "What happened?" prompt (e.g. from Black Sheep Press Narrative Pack) Large hand puppet (such as "Molly" from LDA) or large rag doll or soft toy. Classroom equipment | 1. Stick the "What happened?" prompt on the board. 2. Produce the puppet and introduce it to the children. 3. Explain that you are going to practise talking about what happened, and that Molly (or whatever you call the puppet) will help the children to do this. 4. Explain that Molly is sometimes a bit naughty. 5. At this point, the other adult makes an excuse and leaves the room. 6. While the second adult is out of the room, make Molly do something naughty (e.g. take rubbish out of the bin, hide something in the cupboard, kick someone, jump on the furniture, or play with the light switch etc.) 7. The second adult returns to the room (send a child to collect them if necessary). 8. When the second adult comes back, ask the children to explain what happened while they were out of the room. 9. Steps 5-8 can be repeated a number of times if necessary. 10. The children can write up what happened in their literacy books. | This works best as a group activity. This activity compliments the "What happened?" work from the Black Sheep Press Narrative Pack. You need two adults for this activity - or alternatively you could have two puppets. One of the puppets goes away whilst the other one does something a bit naughty. The children then have to tell the puppet who went away what happened. Having the children describe what happened to a person who didn't see is more natural than asking them to talk to someone who also saw the event. It gives them a reason to communicate. To start with, have Molly do one or two things while the adult is out of the room. As the children become more used to the activity, increase this number. This gives them more to remember. If working with a mixed ability group, the more able children can be asked to use the language of sequencing (e.g. "first", "second", "then", "next", "last" etc.) |
To develop vocabulary around a specific topic
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Topic books - Ring binder and paper or some blank exercise books - Topic pictures | 1. Choose a topic - this can either be curriculum related (at school) or around an activity you will be doing e.g. a trip to the seaside (at home). 2. Explain that you are going to think about all the words you need to talk about that topic. Aim for 5-6 words. 3. Think about what sort of things you will see and do. You could write these down - let your child think of as many as they can. 4. Together look for pictures to stick in the book for each word. 5. Write down the word for each picture and fill in a word web template. 6. Put the word webs together to make a book that you can use to discuss your topic. | |
| Bingo - Bingo cards - each with a list of your topic related words on it - you may wish to put a picture/symbol alongside each picture. - A set of definitions of the words (descriptions of what the words mean). | ||
| Alphabet Game | The category cards in this game are general - you may like to add more speicifc ones related to the topic you have been working on. | |
| Topic Trees / Mind Maps - Blank sheet of paper - Pens - Cards with different topics on them (optional) | You can use a different colour for each set of branches. | |
| What is that Word? Game |
Use who what where to gain information
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt the Treasure Who what where prompt cards (each prompt card should have the word e.g. "who" along with a picture or picture symbol for that word) Counters or other treasure A range of objects including animals (optional) You can make the prompt cards using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint. | 1. Hide the counters as treasure. Put them around the room, or under / behind the different objects. 2. Explain to the child that they can find out where to look for the treasure by asking questions. 3. Revise the questions they might need to ask, and remind them of the prompt cards. 4. As they ask questions, give them the information to find the treasure. 5. See how much treasure they can find in a set time! | You could use pictures of the child's classmates instead of counters for treasure. |
| Who am I? Question prompt cards 2 sets of pictures - use at least 2 categories, e.g. animals and food Masking tape / head band | ||
| Secrets A book with interesting pictures Question prompt cards | If you have two copies of the same book, each person can have a copy. Alternatively, you can photocopy pictures from the book. | |
| Making movies Digital camera Playmobil figures or other action figures and simple props. Question words. | The camera on a mobile phone could be used if a digital camera is not available. |
Use the auxiliary verb is
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the picture Selection of pictures of people carrying out different actions. Cue card with the word "is" written on it. Pen and paper (optional) | 1. Explain that you are going to practice sentences remembering to use all the little words; 2. Explain that one of the words that the child needs to remember is the word "is"; 3. Show the child the cue card and explain that it says "is"; 4. Show the child one of the pictures and give a simple description e.g. "the boy is running"; 5. Show the child another picture and encourage them to describe it; 6. Use the cue card to prompt them if they forget to use the word "is"; 7. You could write the child's descriptions down, and use this to reflect back whether they had remembered the word "is". | Photos are usually easier for children to interpret. In natural speech, the "is" in these sentences often shortens to a "s" or "z" sound, for example "the cat is playing" becomes "the cat's playing", and "the kettle is boiling" becomes "the kettle's boiling". Either the full form or the shortened form is acceptable for this activity. |
| Make a book Small notebook or exercise book, or a book you have made Pens, pencils etc. "is" cue card as previous activity |
Use prepositions in short sentences
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| In Pictures of a fridge, washing machine, cupboard, suitcase Pictures of food, clothes. | Take it in turns to instruct each other to put e.g. 'socks in the washing machine', 'put the pasta in the cupboard' | When the children are confident with this, move on to use two prepositions, e.g. 'in' and 'on'. |
| On A clothesline - either a picture or a real line and pegs Pictures of clothes A TV guide Outline of a pizza base Pictures of pizza toppings. Or - draw a base and draw the toppings onto it. | 1. Take it in turns to instruct each other to put clothes on the line, e.g. 'Put the jumper on the clothesline.' 2. Go through the TV guide and find favourite shows. Say what you are watching on TV'. e.g. 'I'm watching cartoons on TV 3. Put toppings on the pizza base e.g. 'I'm putting chicken on my pizza'. | When the children are confident with this, move on to use two prepositions, e.g. 'in' and 'on'. |
| To Action pictures Place pictures | When the children are confident with this, move on to use two prepositions, e.g. 'in' and 'to'. | |
| Under Pictures of furniture and objects | You can use real objects for this. When the children are confident with this, move on to use two prepositions, e.g. 'on' and 'under'. | |
| Behind, Next To, In Front Pictures of people Outline of a bus / train / classroom Pictures of different vehicles | ||
| All Together An interesting object to use as 'treasure' |
Use and understand growing vocabulary
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping games everyday objects, shopping bag, table | One pupil sits at the 'shop'. Another is asked to go and buy an object. | A picture card can be used to help the pupil remember what they are going to shop for. |
| Posting games pictures of everyday objects, post box | Take a picture of an object, say or sign what it is, and post it | Give the pupil time to name the object. Help them by giving a prompt (e.g. a forced alternative, the first sound. or the word or sign to repeat) |
| Fishing game pictures with paper clips attached, magnetic fishing rods, 'pond' e.g. a flat box | Give the pupil time to name the object. Help them by giving a prompt (e.g. a forced alternative, the first sound. or the word or sign to repeat) | |
| 'Hide the fish' Eight picture cards, small piece of paper with a fish drawn on it | ||
| Guess the mime Picture cards or objects | ||
| Story books and pictures |
To develop question skills
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Flowchart questions Use one of the pre-made flowcharts or use the blank flowchart to make your own one. You can find these charts on www.commtap.org: Template for creating your own question flowchart: Blank 3 question challenge Pre-made flowcharts: The Animal Challenge, The Food Challenge Labels to write the answers on | Write one answer per sticky label. Stick one of the labels to the back of the child / children. Using the questions on the flowchart, they must work out what the word on their back is. | It works well if you have one answer 'spare' so that each child needs to ask the questions to work out what their word is. |
| Guess who? Game | ||
| '20 Questions' Object cards (optional) | Emphasise that they are working out the answer, not guessing it. It is useful to have prompt questions, or categories on cards for the children to use. E.g. questions such as: How big is it? What colour is it? What do we use it for? Categories can include: animals, toys, furniture. | |
| 'I Spy' with a difference | It is useful to write on a whiteboard what you have found out. Use this to remind the children of what you already know and what you need to find out. |
Talk about a recent event
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News Report Prompt sheet with a series of boxes in order, e.g. | 1. Ask the child to tell you about something they have done, e.g. making a snowman. 2. Encourage them to tell you what they did first, next, next, at the end, using the prompt sheet. | You can use the prompt sheet by pointing to the boxes in order as you go through the event. You or the child could add drawings or pictures into the boxes. | |||||
| Timeline A timeline drawn on paper or a string | Start with what the child has done in the morning or the day. You can move on to longer periods of time. You can do this by using pictures off a visual timetable. | ||||||
| What's in the Bag? Bag Objects to do with a familiar routine, e.g. getting up |
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