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Topic “TAP36”
Fine motor skills to support writing skills
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Link Cubes Linkable cubes | Play games linking these together and pulling them apart. Who can build the biggest tower? | Have fun with the activities in this area. The activities are designed to build up both skill and strength with thumb and forefinger as a precursor to writing. . |
| Tweezers and clothes pegs Puppets Cotton wool Containers Tweezers Small things to pick up | Can the child put pegs on the puppet's hand/nose/arm etc? Can the child rescue the puppet from the clothes peg monster which has covered the puppet in pegs? Can the child be the clothes peg monster and cover the puppet in pegs? Can the child use tweezers to pull off bits of cotton wool and hide them/put them into a container/give them to a hungry puppet? Can the child feed a teddy small bits of paper balls/sponge etc using tweezers held in finger and thumb? | |
| Card Threading Lace and card with holes | Can the child follow a line to thread the lace through the pre-cut holes? Can the child undo the threading to start again? | |
| Necklaces Beads Threading lace | ||
| Toy nuts and bolts on a board. | ||
| Pegboard and pegs | ||
| Silly putty and small objects to hide | ||
| Stress balls | ||
| Bubble wrap | ||
| Shape sorter |
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. |
Plays games using dice
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Basic board games with simple dice Larger home-made die with the following on the sides:
Simple board games (probably best to be home made so they can be simple and adapted to meet your needs e.g. reinforce the colours being taught etc). | 1. Take it in turn to roll a die. 2. Count the spots on the side that faces up. 3. Repeat the number a few times - 'ok, you go 3. Number 3; let's count 3 places...' 4. Move the counter forward 3 places, counting each square. 5. Roll again etc. | Repetition Count each spot/square by touching it with your finger Extension activity: each square could be one of 3 colours. When you land on a red square you choose a card from the red pile... so vocabulary or sight words etc. could be targeted too. |
| Counting actions Action Cards - clapping, jumping, nodding, stand up; Simple die (as above). |
Aware of unequal sets
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giving out Books/pencils/cups etc to class mates. Pile of items the teacher wants handed round to the class | Give the child a pile of books to hand out. Does the child notice if there is one too many or one too few? Set it up so that there is one too many/few and comment. Say 'Look......too many/too few books/pens' etc. | Commenting on 'unequal sets' is a very everyday activity. Children experience 'unequal sets' when there are too few chairs in the class room, too many children for the number of cakes at dinner. Comment on these experiences. Keep the activity concrete - work with objects at this stage. | |||||
| Completing a form board Form boards | |||||||
| Car parking Paper with parking slots drawn on e.g.:
Various cars | |||||||
| Snack time party Real party with small food items and a group of children. Cups with straws Pretend party with dolls and teddies and a tea set. | |||||||
| Lego models Building simple models |
Does actions in familiar number rhymes
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Number action rhymes | Follow the instructions on the number action rhymes sheet. |
Counts to 3
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Matching 1, 2, 3, objects to pictures representing 1, 2, 3, objects Large laminated cards with the number 1 and one black square and the number 2 and 2 black squares etc (large number cards - Word document); Sets of objects e.g. pens, cars, bricks; Tidy up bag/box. |
| Give lots and lots of chances to practice this skill. Use the number cards until the child is able to count to 3 most of the time to ensure feelings of success. Give a model if the child struggles and reward attempts as well as success with praise. |
| Fun games Marble run or garage and car run or magnetic fishing game; 1, 2, 3, cards. |
| |
| Drawings of faces Colouring pens; Paper. | See if the child can tell you how many things to draw. You could give them a choice, for example, should I draw 1, 2 or 3 spots? | |
| Monster faces Colouring pens; Paper. | ||
| Stickers Soft toys. | ||
| Count things in the everyday environment |
Copies underneath writing l to r
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Describing a picture from a book Photocopies of main pictures from a favoured book Writing pens | 1. Choose a favoured book and photocopy the most important pages (about 4). Fold the photocopy to hide the text and photocopy again so that you have a picture with a blank space for writing. 2. Share the book with the child. Show the child the photocopies and discuss the pictures. 3. Write down a short phrase that the child has used to describe the picture in the blank space over the picture. 4. Make a dotted copy of the short phrase and help the child to over write this 5. You may need to use special pen grips to support he child writing. 6. The child can colour the picture after the writing as a reward. 7. You can make a short book like this and the child can make a cover page with a title and his own name. | Keep the writing activity as fun as possible by using only short phrases and having reward breaks. Keep writing activities relevant by matching them to appealing pictures or photos. |
| Writing to describe child's own photos Photos and pens | ||
| Writing to describe picture cards |
Activities to develop use the pronoun 'you' when talking
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Look at the hat | 1. Allow your child to choose a hat to wear. Point to your child and say 'You are wearing a hat'. Look in the mirror, point and say 'You are wearing a hat'. 2. Point to the symbol 'You' as you use the word 'You'. 3. Put a hat into your child's hand and encourage him/her to give the hat to you. Help the child to point at you and say 'Child's name says 'You are wearing a hat''. 4. Look in the mirror and help your child point and say again 'You are wearing a hat'. 5. Include other people in the game but keep using only the word 'you' to talk about what people are wearing. Point as you use the word 'you'. | |
| Drawing pictures - Set of familiar pictures which are easy to draw e.g. cat, dog, book etc. |
Use facial expression to support meaning
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Role Play with finger puppets Finger puppets Pictures of people using facial expressions for: -arguing -angry -comforting -directing -instructing -questioning | 1. Sit children in a circle; 2. Show children the arguing face card and ask them to copy it. Explain that this is an arguing face and demonstrate this with the finger puppets; 3. Repeat with all the other cards one by one; 4. Children select a finger puppet. Ask pupils to show the appropriate facial expression to the finger puppet when a card is selected. | Some facial expressions look very similar, so they will need to be supported by the appropriate gesture, e.g. pointing |
| Matching facial expression cards Multiple copies of cards showing: -arguing -angry -comforting -directing -instructing -questioning | Some facial expressions look very similar, so they will need to be supported by the appropriate gesture, e.g. pointing | |
| Match facial expression cards to actions the puppets are doing Finger puppets Pictures of people using facial expressions for: -arguing -angry -comforting -directing -instructing -questioning | Some facial expressions look very similar, so they will need to be supported by the appropriate gesture, e.g. pointing |
Act out and name simple actions.
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Lotto games Cards of simple actions Action lotto boards | The children have a lotto board each. You pull out a card, or have them take turns to pull out a card. If they have that action, they must say it or act it out to claim the card. The child who fills their board first wins. | |
| Posting games pictures of simple actions, post box | Take a picture of an action, say or act out what it is, and post it | Give the pupil time to name the action. 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 of actions | ||
| Story books and pictures | ||
| Do the actions Symbols or pictures of four or six actions, such as 'jump', 'stand up', 'hand on your head', 'make a big smile'. You can get picture symbols from the Commtap Symboliser. |
Joins in small group for rhyme or stories
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | Sing a welcome song or gently tap a drum and say the names of children as you welcome all the children to the group or use a puppet to welcome children with a wave etc. | Being a good singer is not important. You just need to enjoy the activity ! Other forms of welcome are fine if singing is not for you! |
| Define group rules | Use pictures to make things clear. | |
| Singing a song A song choosing board with pictures to represent the songs you want to sing velcroed onto a board | Use lots of gesture and facial expression. Repetition is important and children like it. | |
| A story activity | Same approach as for the singing activity. | |
| Good bye time |
Use and understand photos of self with text
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Photo album of child's daily life Home made book of daily life photos with home made text |
| Photos need to be of familiar people activities and objects. Keep spoken and written descriptions of the photos short. When talking about the photos repeat photo descriptions using the same phrase as the written phrase. |
| Sharing a photo book with a child Book as above | ||
| Using the text in the photo book Photo book as above |
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