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Topic “Expressive Language”

Activities to develop the use of irregular plurals

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Introduction - irregular plural picture cards - click here to print.	1. Explain to your child that you are going to talk about plurals - this is where there it more than one item. 2. Explain that for lots of items, we add an 's' on the end of the word to indicate more than one, e.g. 'one cat, two cats'. 3. Explain that some words use a different ending. Look through the picture cards together and talk about hte different words.	To work on regular plurals first - click here for activities (add link)
Matching Pairs - irregular plural picture cards - click here to print.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.
Lotto - Irregular plurals lotto - click here to print	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	To make this game harder, you could say a sentence with your target word in.

Building story telling/narrative skills using visual aids

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Story Lines - Washing line - Pegs - Selection of pictures	1. Peg a picture on the line and ask your child to look at it - you could ask you child to choose a picture from a selection. 2. The adult says "It's story time and we are going to make up a story with the pictures" The adult starts the story by using the word on the picture. 3. Encourage your child to take the next turn by choosing a new picture and thinking how they can add to the story that has already been started. 4. Keep going until all the pictures have been used, or the story comes to a natural end.	This activity can be carried out with a small group of children You may need to recap the story at each turn, or give options if your child is finding it challenging to know what they can add. You could use a familiar story and use pictures from the book pegged to the line - you could encourage your child to retell the story with the pictures.
Story Dice - Story dice - click here for different dice themes.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	This activity can be carried out with a small group of children You may need to recap the story at each turn, or give options if your child is finding it challenging to know what they can add.

tell a simple story using a starter phrase or framework

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
On the way to school game "On my way home from school" resource: activity available to download free from www.speechteach.co.uk (see: www.speechteach.co.uk /p_resource/speech/ on_my_way_home.htm) Download selected pictures and assemble the board in your chosen way. A start square and a finish square are recommended - try not to make the game board bigger than an A3 size sheet. Laminate for future use.	1. Players each have a token and roll dice or use a spinner to move places on the board; 2. When a player lands on a picture of an animal they must say the starter phrase "On the way to school I saw..." and then add the name of that animal; 3. The activity can be extended by asking players to add to their story. Additional information could include adjectives (describing words - e.g. "big"), conjunctions (joining words - e.g. "and", "because") and verbs (action words, e.g. "run", "drop"). For example, "On my way to school today I saw a tiny mouse."	This game is ideal to work on in a small group with players of varying skill levels. Model the starter phrase and provide an example of what is expected. Players can be working at different levels whilst playing the same game e.g. one can be working at a naming level, whilst another can be working on adding an adjective to the sentence. To keep the game fun and interesting, children may be encouraged to make up a silly version of events. E.g. "On the way to school I saw a rabbit riding a bicycle".

make predictions in simple stories and situations

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Sequencing pictures Sets of sequencing pictures; Question mark card (optional).	1. Put the pictures in order so that you can easily show them to the child one at a time; 2. Show the child the first picture in the sequence; 3. Ask them to tell you what's happening in the picture; 4. Then ask them to imagine what might happen next. To show this visually, put a card with a large question mark on it to the right of the picture; 5. When the child has suggested a sensible thing that might happen next, show them the next card in the sequence; 6. If there are differences between what the card shows and the child's suggestion, discuss why this might be; 7. Repeat for all the cards in the sequence.	When working with sequencing pictures, always work from left to right, and top to bottom, as this mirrors the direction we use when writing English. Choose your set of pictures carefully - you need sets that show a specific event happening (such as a car driving over a broken bottle and getting a flat tyre) rather than a sequence that develops over an extended time span (e.g. a child growing up, or the changes that happen to a tree during the different seasons).
Story books Story books	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.

Indicates wanting more of an activity

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Bubbles/balloon	Blow some bubbles to get the child's attention / Blow a balloon up and then let the air out to make a noise. Get ready to do the activity again, but wait for the child to indicate that they want some more.	Use a phrase to encourage anticipation (for example "ready, steady......go!") Initially encourage eye contact to communicate wanting more. You can do this by holding the bubbles up near your face. As the child becomes more consistent in using eye contact encourage them to use the "more" sign by modelling this for them. The activity must be motivating for the child for this to work: do not labour the activity if the child is not interested in it.
Building a tower Bricks or stacking beakers.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Work in a quiet distraction free place. Make this activity fun and snappy! The activity must be motivating for the child for this to work: do not labour the activity if the child is not interested in it.
Making sand pies with a twist Small bucket Sand in a sand pit Spade Small animal to hide at the bottom of the bucket.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Have fun! The activity must be motivating for the child for this to work: do not labour the activity if the child is not interested in it.
Filling transparent container with bottle tops (or other items) Several containers Large amount of bottle tops (or other similar material)	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Have fun! Rattle the bag with the bottle tops, and give a lot of encouragement and praise. Make sure the child knows they are going to be rewarded with the desired object if they indicate more.

Reach to indicate wanting more of an activity

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Water play water tray or washing up bowl; containers of various sizes; sponges; apron(s).	1. Try actions that the child might enjoy, for example squeezing out the sponge, pouring water over their hands, flicking a little bit of water towards the child; 2. Stop and wait; 3. Look for any sign that the child might want the action repeated, this could be looking, smiling, a slight movement. For some children the only indication they might make is not moving their hands away; 4. Repeat the activity.	The purpose of this activity is to encourage children to use a developmentally early method of showing that they want some or more of an activity. This activity may be too low level for the child if they are beginning to make some other indication that they want some or more of an activity, for example using a gesture or sign, using some kind of vocalisation. Keep each go short so that the child has plenty of opportunities to indicate that they want the activity repeated. Do not continue the activity if there is any indication that the child does not want to do the activity. A helper sitting behind the child to assist them in making the reaching response can make this activity easier.
Personal battery operated fans Hand held battery operated fan.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Comments - see above.
Textures/messy play One or materials with different textures, for example: rough and smooth textures; shaving foam; play dough (you can make your own play dough very cheaply - see https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Affordable-Play-Dough/)	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Comments - see above.
Noise makers Musical instruments, for example: percussion instruments, battery operated musical toys.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Comments - see above.
Cause and effect toys Any toys which have a quick response, e.g. a jack in a box.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	For comments - see above.

Indicates wanting to continue an enjoyable experience

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Songs with actions No materials required.	1. Sing songs with simple actions like 'Row row the boat' (with rocking). 2. When the song is very familiar pause after (or during) the song and encourage the child to indicate that they want the song to continue by looking at you, smiling, or pulling on your hands to continue rocking.	Use simple familiar songs with simple physical actions. Pause and allow the child time to indicate they want more. Look for actions, looks or movements which suggest the child is communicating that he wants to continue. If he makes no indication that he wants to continue pull a few times on his hands (to prompt him) and then sing the song again.
Sensory Toys - A selection of vibrating toys, light and sound toys.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	Allow your child time to enjoy the toy before turning it off. After you turn it off pause and look for any communication. If your child makes no communication prompt him by making a sound ( 'ah'?) and turn it back on. Continue for a few turns.

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