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Topic “Understanding of Language/Comprehension”
understand why questions in context and respond
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Disastrous Day A Playmobil figure or similar Small world objects - some of them broken | 1. Explain that you are going to tell a story about the toy. 2. Tell a story about what the toy does in the day. Lots of things go wrong because the objects are broken e.g. 'want to go to work in the car but it won't move.' 3. Whenever there is a problem for the toy, ask the child 'why?' e.g. 'why won't the car move?' Answer: 'because there is no wheel!' | Give the child a turn at telling the story too. |
| Freddy's Travels A toy character (called Freddy) Pictures of different locations, e.g. beach, mountains One or two items which go with each location e.g. bucket and swimming costume for the beach | ||
| Animal Adventure Pictures of different locations with different 'hazards' or things of interest e.g. a jungle with a river and dinosaurs Two toy animals (wind up toys are ideal) | Use your imagination! | |
| Problem solving Equipment to demonstrate an everyday problem and discuss it. Some examples of equipment you could use: Torch or toy with no batteries; Cup with a hole in it; Dry pasta; Pen with no nib and in; Broken pencil; Dry pen with no lid. | You will need to think of a problem in advance - see the list in the materials column. This activity is ideal to do throughout the child's day, whenever there is a problem to be solved! |
matches related everyday objects
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Find and match Pairs of related objects, for example: pencil and paper sock and a shoe bar of soap and a flannel, toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste hammer and nail knife and fork box | 1. Select pairs of related objects; 2. Place one member of each of the object pairs in front of the child (e.g. pencil, sock, soap, toothbrush); 3. Place the remaining objects (e.g. paper, shoe, flannel, toothpaste) in a box; 4. Have the child pick an object from the box and ask them to "Find the one we use with this"; 5. Repeat with the rest of the objects in the box. | If necessary, demonstrate how the objects go together, or get the child to show you. If the child chooses the wrong item, you can look puzzled and try and use those items together. For example try and write on the paper with a toothbrush. Then you can try and find the right item, and look pleased with yourself/ express happiness when you find you can make marks on the paper. |
removes object from face that obscures vision
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Cloth and Peek-a-boo Place cloth over Child's face | Place cloth on Child's face, wait and see if he makes any reaction, then pull it off saying 'peek-a-boo' | Child will need time to become familiar with the routine of the activity Use simple words like 'gone' and 'hello' |
| Cloth and Song 'Where is Child? Where is Child? Here he is! Here he is!' To the tune of 'Frere Jaques' | Child will need time to become familiar with the routine of the activity |
Same and different
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Identifying a group of identical things as the same and a final object as different A group of identical objects e.g. red lego bricks/coloured beakers/paint brushes and an object that is quite different. Pictures of identical things e.g. lots of pictures of apples/shoes from the computer. Or photo copy something a number of times Contrast with a different computer image or photo copied item. | Put out the identical objects one at a time and say 'Red lego, red lego' etc 'Look...........the same.' Use a sign/symbol/word to label the things as 'Same'. Make a show of the item that is different. Label as 'Different' with sign/symbol/word. Follow the same procedure with pictures as for working with objects. | Its easier to identify something as different when it is very different from others in the group Extend understanding of this concept to everyday e.g. comment on children who have the same anorak/shoes/dinner and then contrast with a child who is different. |
| Barrier games Colouring -in pictures of house/car/child/snowman etc | ||
| Snap Set of snap cards. |
Developing the skill of sorting items into categories
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sorting items by category - Printable category picture cards: Or use a seletion of your own real objects or pictures. | 1. Print and cut out the large category cards and the small picture cards. 2. Start by sorting items from teo different categories. 3. Place the picture cards from the categories face down. Explain to your child you are going to sort the items into groups. 4. Each take a turn at choosing a picture card, naming them item and placing it in the on the appropriate category card. 5. If your child is able to sort items into two catgories, next attemp items from three different categories. | If your child is finding this task challenging, you can help by searching for an item together.
If your child is able to do this activity, when they select a card, you could ask them to think of another item that belongs to that subcategory but is not in the picture cards. You could also move on to the activities that involve sorting items into subcategories - click here. |
To order three daily events using pictures
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Picture sequences with first/next/last template This is a preparatory activity for working on sequencing daily events. See also the following (at www.commtap.org): Sequences three or more pictures; Sequences three pictures with first next last; Sequence pictures symbols words Materials required: Your own or commercially produced sequencing cards (e.g. Black Sheep press - see "general resources"), Colorcards - available from many educational suppliers) FIRST/LAST template which looks like this (leaving spaces to put the pictures): FIRST LAST FIRST/NEXT/LAST template, as follows (leave spaces for the pictures): FIRST NEXT LAST | 1. Use the first/last template to model the sequence of first and last. 2. Start with 2 picture sequences of a simple event e.g. 'rain falling' 'girl puts up umbrella'. 3. Talk about the pictures. Ask the child 'What is happening in the first picture?' Discuss the consequences of the first picture (getting wet) and what the girl does (puts up the umbrella) 4. Put the two pictures into the template: one in the FIRST column and the other in the LAST column. 5. Do this with a range of 2 sequence picture stories. 6. Turn the cards face down and take turns to turn them over and put them in the right part of the FIRST/LAST template. Can the child tell the story? 7. When the child is confident using the FIRST LAST template to order 2 picture sequences move onto using 3 picture sequences and use the FIRST/NEXT/LAST template. 8. Follow the procedure for working with 2 picture sequences. | Prepare materials in advance. Give a child time to familiarise him/herself with teaching materials and comment on them if needed before starting the learning activity. Give lots of praise. Correct mistakes gently! You can also look confused if the child tells the story in the wrong order. For children who are having difficulties grasping the connection between the picture sequence and an actual event, start with simple sequences you can actually act out - such as pouring a drink - and match a picture with each step of the sequence - e.g. (1) empty glass, full bottle, (2) pouring from bottle into the glass, (3) full glass, half empty bottle. |
| Photos of school life FIRST/NEXT/LAST template Photos of familiar aspects of school life (use a digital camera to take photos) | To help the child build links between the pictures and real events and their order, show them the pictures when the events are actually happening. |
Organise daily routine pictures on school and non school day
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sequencing Strips Pictures of activities relevant to a school day e.g. break time, different lessons Pictures of activities relevant to a weekend day e.g. going to the park, going to the shops A strip of card with Velcro on it, long enough to fit the whole sequence on it / timeline | 1. Start with just one set of pictures; the school day ones will have the least variation and so should be easier. 2. Go over what the pictures are first. 3. Have the child put them in the right order on the strip to fit their own day. 4. Discuss any variation in routines, and use sequencing language such as 'before, after, first, then, next'. Refer to time for well known points, e.g. start of school, lunch time, home time. Emphasise concepts of 'morning, afternoon, evening, night'. 5. Introduce pictures of activities at home and put in order for a weekend or holiday day. When the children are confident with this, you could give them all the pictures and have them sort them out. | If sequencing a whole day is too hard, either reduce the number of cards or reduce the task to just the morning or just the afternoon. You could also put some of the key markers on the strip, e.g. start school, lunch, go home. When the children are confident with the activity, discuss which things they do both on a school day and a non-school day. See also: "order three daily events using pictures" on www.commtap.org |
| Design an ideal day Pens / pencils Paper Glue Scissors | You may need to model this activity by talking about your ideal day. | |
| Commercially available activities Black Sheep Worksheets: There are several relevant packs, including 'times of the day' and 'days'. |
Language of order in space eg first last middle end
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy Snake's Shopping Toy snake (or some other character) Basket 3 each of fruit, vegetables, cooked foods. Whiteboard and pen | 1. Set out the food in a row of 3, each different type on a different table. 2. Explain to the children that Sammy Snake is hungry, but doesn't know the names of the foods. He needs them to listen to what he says and go and get him the food he wants, in the basket. 3. The children take it in turn to go shopping with the basket. Sammy gives instructions e.g. 'I want the first fruit and the last vegetable'. 4. The children can take a turn to be Sammy. | |
| Monkey's Washing Monkey (or some other character) Washing line Pegs Some clothes (dolls clothes are good) | If any of the children have fine motor difficulties, you will need to help them with the pegs. You can also leave 3 pegs on the line to help with this. | |
| Wind up toys race 3 wind up toys 'beginning' 'middle' 'end' written on cards and finishing line ribbon First next last written on pictures of gold silver and bronze medals | Make sure the course isn't too long! You may need to help the children wind up the toys. You could keep score - e.g. how many times each toy came first / last. You could video them with a digital camera to add interest if necessary, or to use later. This activity will also help to build the link between order in space and order in time: the first toy over the line (time) will also be the first toy in the line of toys (space). | |
| Visual Timetable The visual timetable used in class, or in your small group / 1:1 session | This is not an activity in itself, but is easy to do when you are using the visual timetable. By doing this activity you are helping to build the link between order in space - the order of the items on the visual timetable - and order in time - the order in which the items are actually done. | |
| Life cycles Pictures sequences of simple animal life cycles First next last, beginning middle end prompt card / frame | This activity helps to build the link between order in time - the order in which simple events happen - and order in space - the order in which you put the steps in these events down on paper using the pictures. For more activities to build links between a sequence of pictures and events, see: sequences three pictures showing a practical activity and picture sequencing". |
Before and after in time
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Do the actions Imagination! | Play Simon Says, but change the rules. The important thing is not 'Simon' or 'no Simon' it is to get the actions right. Make sure you use the concepts 'before' and 'after' in the instructions and that the children do the steps in the same order that you do them. E.g. 'touch your head after you jump on the spot'. | At first you should choose to either work on "before" or "after". Once the children respond to each concept appropriately when used individually, use them contrastively, i.e. mix instructions containing "before" with others containing "after". Initially you may need to provide plenty of model responses yourself, you may need to build up the sentence to show how they work: for example say "jump on the spot", then "touch your head after you jump on the spot". Make sure the child listens to the whole instruction before doing it. Make sure that you give each instruction in one go, and not as several short ones. |
| What happened? | Initially provide the sentence to the student in a written format so that they can re-read the sentence and then circle what happened first in one colour and what happened second in another colour. If the student has difficulties with reading these sentences, put a picture symbol above each part of the sentence, for example someone eating a sandwich above "I ate my sandwich", an appropriate symbol for "after" and a picture symbol for "I finished my drink". Software is available for creating sentences like this, for example: https://symboliser.commtap.org. As the student becomes more confident provide the sentence with no visual support. |
Pick out shapes from a collection
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt the shape Plastic shapes Soft toys Beakers | Use squares, circles, rectangles etc and play hiding games under soft toys or beakers. As the child or you 'find ' the item label it, for example: 'Look...a circle.' | You need to make the learning very visible. Allow the child to explore the materials and give time to respond to questions. Use simple language and as much as possible use the same phrases to name shapes e.g. 'Square...this is a square.' Use lots of repetition. |
| Posting Plastic shapes Post box Bag (optional) | Allow the child to explore the materials and give time to respond to questions. | |
| Join dots to make shapes Dotted pictures of shapes Pencil, colouring pencils or crayons A post box (optional) | Use simple language and as much as possible use the same phrases to name shapes e.g. 'Square...this is a square.' Use lots of repetition. | |
| Play dough modelling Play dough, plasticene or similar. | Allow the child to explore materials and give time to respond to questions Use simple language and as much as possible use the same phrases to name shapes e.g. 'Square...this is a square.' Use lots of repetition. |
Activities to develop understanding of the concepts front and back
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Draw a picture - Paper and drawing materials - Object that looks different at the front/back. | 1. Ask you child to look at the item in front of them and draw a picture of it. 2. Now turn the object around and ask them to take a look at it from the back, and to draw it again. 3. Talk about the pictures using the words "front" and "back" in your descriptions. Ask your child to say which ones show the back of the figure and which ones the front. | |
| Jump on board game |
Understand and use prepositions
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Activities Materials to use can include: playground equipment, furniture, boxes, hoops, bean bags etc | Show the child how they can be 'on', 'in', 'under' etc these objects. When they are doing an action, say where they are, for example, 'you're under the slide', 'you're on the swing', 'you're under the blanket'. You can extend this by giving the child instructions containing the prepositions you are working on. | |
| Hide and seek with toy animals Table, chair, box, teddy, doll | While the doll is not looking, get the child to hide the teddy somewhere by giving them an instruction for example 'put him under the chair'. (Work on no more than two or three prepositions at a time). The doll comes back and asks questions such as 'Is he on the chair', 'Is he under the table' Give the child an opportunity to say where to hide the teddy. Give them a forced alternative, for example 'shall we put him in or under the box' using a sign for each preposition or physically showing the two positions of the teddy along with each word. | |
| Lotto game Lotto cards containing pictures of things in different positions, for example teddy on the table, teddy under the table etc. | ||
| Tea party Dolls, tea-set | ||
| Obstacle course for example: hoops, table, chair | ||
| Giving a puppet instructions puppet, objects such as spoon, cup, brush etc. | ||
| Tidy up | ||
| Nursery Rhymes |
Activities to develop understanding and use of position words (prepositions) in, on and under
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Physical activities Preposition symbols Playground equipment Furniture, boxes, hoops etc. If you don't have any, you can get preposition symbols - such as "on", "in", "under", "over" - using the Commtap Symboliser. | 1. Introduce one preposition concept at a time. 2. Get your child to do an action by saying "Stand on the bench" and then show them what you mean by standing on the bench, showing them the 'on' symbol and then encouraging them to copy you. 3. What other things can they stand on? 4. Once they are familiar with the first preposition, then introduce the next one. 5. Remember to show your child what to do when you introduce a new concept, as well as supporting it using visual clues. | Remember to support these activities with additional visual clues including signing and the symbols. In addition to working on the prepositions during particular activities, utilise every day opportunities to comment on what your child is doing. For example, by saying "You are on the slide. If you don't know the sign for a preposition, ask your Speech and Language Therapist. It may take one or more sessions before the child has understood the first preposition and before you can move on to another one. |
| Obstacle Course Various objects such as table, chair, bench, hoop, etc. Masking tape Preposition symbols You can get preposition symbols - such as "on", "in", "under" - using the Commtap Symboliser. | It may be easier to do this activity when your child is familiar with the prepositions or if you have another adult to help your child complete the obstacle course. Have fun!!! It can be a race with other children. | |
| Obstacle Course with toy animals/puppets Toy animals/puppets Real or miniature furniture Masking tape Preposition symbols You can get preposition symbols - such as "on", "in", "under" - using the Commtap Symboliser. | ||
| Hide and seek with toy animals Table, chair, box, teddy, doll. Preposition symbols. You can get preposition symbols - such as "on", "in", "under" - using the Commtap Symboliser. |
Activities to understand and use the concepts of full and empty
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Introducing full/empty - full/empty symbols - click here to print - play activity - water/sand/soil/small toys - different containers | 1. Print and cut out the symbols set you wish to use - you could work on full empty straight away or simply if by using full/not full. 2. With your chosen play equipment, model to your child what full and empty look like with a range of different containers and items to fill them. 3. Comment on your child playing, encourage them to make full containers then empty them. | If your child is finding it challenging to grasp the difference between full and empty. Choose one concept first, e.g. full, and use 'not full' as the alternative. Once you are confident that your child understands this concept you can start to teach the concept of empty. |
| Water play - Aprons for you and child - Symbol for 'full' and 'empty' - click here to print - Four identical see-through containers - Two large jugs/bottles - Paper towels - Plastic sheet to work over
| ||
| Watering the garden |
Activities to develop understanding of the concepts fast and slow.
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Fast slow car game | 1. Print and cut out the fast/slow symbols. 2. Explain to your child that they are going to pretend to be a car and move around the room. You will tell them to go slow or fast depending on which symbol you show. 3. Have a practice by showing the symbol and saying the word and encouraging your child to move slowly or fast around the room. 4. Swap over and let your child tell you whether to go fast or slow. | If your child is finding it challenging to grasp the difference between slow and fast. Choose one concept first, e.g. slow, and use 'not slow' as the alternative. Once you are confident that your child understands this concept you can start to teach the concept of fast. |
| Traffic Spot | If your child is finding it challenging to grasp the difference between slow and fast. Choose one concept first, e.g. slow, and use 'not slow' as the alternative. Once you are confident that your child understands this concept you can start to teach the concept of fast. |
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