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Topic “key skill”
The skill is a key or life skill.
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 two key word phrases to give instructions
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Barrier games Felt sheets (e.g. "Funky Foam") in basic colours. Digital camera. Examples of other materials you could use: small coloured bricks in different shapes with some proportionately sized cars or animals; small soft toys with plastic food items. How to make the game: 1. Choose your subject e.g. house & setting; face; person with top, trousers & shoes. 2. Make a simple pattern and cut the main features from the felt in two or more different colours e.g. 2 walls, 2 roofs, etc. (with garden items too if required). 3. Set up one house on a neutral background and photograph from above. 4. Change one feature and photograph again. Carry on until you have a set with a variety of combinations (10 cards or more). It is much easier to take the photos with extra background and edit them to fit 4 per A4 page afterwards. Avoid flash if any of your items are shiny. 5. Do not make the pictures too complicated and have some really simple ones, for example one just consisting of a red car, or one containing a flower and a tree; 6. Print your pictures on lightweight card. 7. Keep pictures and the materials used in a box together! | 1. This game is best played in pairs; 2. Introduce the game by turning over a picture so the child/children can also see it; 3. Show them how to copy the picture using the materials: describe the picture using two word phrases as you do it; 4. Turn over another picture for a child to have a go; 5. Once you are sure the children understand how to make their "picture", turn over another card but this time describe what's on the card (with two word phrases) for them to make a picture/scene; 6. Players take it in turns to take a card and say what is on it so the other person can make it with their materials; 7. Many pictures can be described with two-word phrases e.g. blue eyes/ smiley mouth; green house/ yellow door; big brick/ car | Make sure that the children understand all the vocabulary you are using before starting this game. A barrier game like this (where one player gives essential information to the other) demands that the speaker gives clear instructions. The listener has to understand, and do something (which the speaker can assess as being correct or not). The game lets the adult judge just how clearly the child is speaking! As the adult player, be careful you construct what the child is describing facing the child. Most young children cannot check the construction against their photo if it isn't facing them - the adult must make the adjustment! This idea can be adapted to work on: colour and noun; size and noun; number and shape; preposition and shape; and increased in complexity by adding in more detail e.g. if there are big blue eyes and small blue eyes; a metal car and a wooden car. |
Use subject and verb in the correct order
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Small world people Miniature figures List of target action words e.g. run, jump, sit, sleep, stand, walk | 1. Model making a figure run. Say 'Look. The boy's running!' , 'Look. Daddy's jumping!' etc. 2. Give the child the figures. Can he/she make the figures do the actions? 3. Help him/her label the actions and form sentences by saying 'Daddy's jumping/ sleeping/ running' etc. 4. Ask the child 'What's daddy doing?' You want the answer 'Daddy's running' or 'Dad run' etc. If the child does not provide this response model the response for them. | Use lots of repetition. This can be a fun activity. Children work well with small figures. If the child makes a sentence and puts the words in the wrong order try to model the correct sentence in a conversational way rather than correcting them (e.g. if they say, 'Jumping he is' you say 'He's jumping'). The child may need to hear correct versions of the sentences many times before they are able to use them themselves. |
| Daily situations No special equipment | If the child makes a sentence and puts the words in the wrong order try to model the correct sentence in a conversational way rather than correcting them (e.g. if they say, 'talk mum' you say 'aah, Mum's talking!'). The child may need to hear correct versions of the sentences many times before they are able to use them themselves. |
Use two word phrase with an action word
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Learning early action words e.g. cut, clap, eat, drink, brush etc Digital camera Play food, cutlery, brush, cup etc. | Start by playing with the cutlery and play food. Eat some food yourself and say ' eating banana/apple/bread' etc Let the child play with the food. As he/she eats say 'Eating banana/apple/bread' etc Take a photo of the child eating/You eating/soft toys eating etc. Look at the photo on the camera and say 'Look.......eating apple etc.' Print the photo and put in a book. Show the child the book. Can he/she respond when you ask 'What's this?' You may need to model the answer for the child i.e. 'Eating apple/banana/bread' etc. | Keep language repetitive and at the two word phrase level. It is OK to have silence between repeats of the phrases. |
| Using action words and playing with small world people. Miniature figures List of target action words e.g. run, jump, sit, sleep, stand, walk | Use lots of repetition. This can be a fun activity. Children word well with small figures. | |
| Using action pictures/cards | ||
| Generalise using two word phrases with an action word. No special equipment |
Combine two key words 2
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Playing in the water/sand with toy animals Plastic animals and a water/sand tray/pots/cups/etc | Watch the child playing with an animal in the sand or water and comment on the play at the two word level e.g. 'dog's swimming' or 'cat's hiding' or 'horse gone' Copy the child's activity and comment on what you are doing e,g, child makes dog jump........you make dog jump and comment by saying 'Dog jump!' | Choose activities that are motivating for the child. Keep language to the 2-word level. Allow processing time. Silence is OK while you wait for a suitable action from the child to comment on. Only use the short 2 word phrases you want the child to start using |
| Bubbles | ||
| Action toys Marble run Cars and a car run Spinning top Jack-in-a-box Cause and effect toys | ||
| Noise making Drum Cups Boxes Anything to bang with a beater |
Combine two key ideas or concepts
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Dressing Up Hats and scarves and socks and shoes |
| |
| Dressing toys up Soft toys and clothing | ||
| Tidy up As above and a tidy up bag | ||
| Story Favourite story and some toy figures or toy plastic animals from the story | If the child does not make a response at step 6, you could:
| |
| Tea party Plastic tea set and food and some soft toys |
to use complex sentences
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Story cards Flashcards with a target word written on each one (because, to, when, while). Short sequences of 2 or 3 cards which make up a short story. | Tell the children that this activity is to practise using longer sentences. Introduce the words on the flashcards and explain that these help us to make longer sentences. Sequence the cards into the right order as a group. Choose one of the target words and place that flashcard near the pictures. Have the children think of a sentence (two if necessary) about the pictures, which uses the target word. Write down each sentence. | This activity can easily be adapted to use class topic work and stories. You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. An example of a sentence frame:
The children can change the parts in the first and last boxes to make new sentences. |
| Book Summaries As the activity above, but use a short book the children are familiar with. Flashcards with a target word written on each one (because, to, when, while). | It is better if the book has a lot of pictures to help the children follow the story. You could use just one page of a book, or one short section, if the book is longer than a few pages. You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. | |
| Photo Captions Photos from magazines Or Photos of the children engaged in activities Flashcards with a target word written on each one (because, to, when, while). | You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. | |
| Talk for a minute Flashcards with a target word written on each one (because, to, when, while). Pictures of actions or events Timer (if you don't have one, use a watch with a second hand) | You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. You can vary the time, to make it either longer or shorter. |
use mimes for common activities
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Pretend Dinners Pictures of different foods (e.g. ice-cream, grapes, apple, pizza, burger, crisps, coffee) | 1. Talk about what miming is (i.e. pretending to do something without talking); 2. Show the children a mime of you pretending to eat an item of food; 3. Let the children take turns taking a picture and miming how they would eat it; 4. Let the other children in the group try to 'guess' what the food is. | Encourage the children to think about all the steps involved when miming (e.g. orange peel it, divide it into segments, eat it). To make it more challenging remove the visual prompts so that the children have to identify what food to mime. |
| Let's Mime Cards with different situations on them (e.g. walking the dog, digging a hole, putting on lipstick, washing your hair, playing the piano, flying a kite, roller skating, climbing a ladder, riding a horse, shaving, chopping wood) "Let's Mime" cards can be purchased from 'Winslow' (sales@winslow-cat.com) these have pictures, or make your own by writing the description on a card. | Variation: 'Magic Bag' get the children to take turns holding the 'magic bag' (just use a paper bag) and they have to pretend to pull out an item and mime how they would use it while the other children have to guess what it is. |
sequence steps in an activity or events in a story
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Do and review A simple activity, e.g. paper folding A framework to support the recall of the steps to do the activity (e.g. worksheet divided into boxes) Pen Prompt sheet for sequencing language (first, next, then, last, after, before, finally, etc) | 1. Explain that you are going to do _____ (your activity), and then write down what you did so that someone else would know how to do it. 2. Show the children the framework, so they can be thinking about the steps in the activity. 3. Do the activity. 4. Have the children record what they did, in a sequence of steps. They could draw or write. Have the prompt sheet where they can see it, to remind them of key sequencing words. | You can make this simpler by having descriptions already written on squares of paper, and having the children put them in the right order. You may also need to talk through what they have just done before they start recording it. Possible activities to use include: Paper folding, such as making aeroplanes or hats Other craft activities Cooking, e.g. making a cup of tea or making toast Simple science experiments |
| News A framework to support the recall of events (e.g. worksheet divided into boxes) Pen Prompt sheet for sequencing language (first, next, then, last, after, before, finally, etc) | You could also have them work in pairs and report each other's news. Reporting on special events in school, e.g. school trips, is also a good opportunity to practise this skill. | |
| Book review A story that is short enough for the children to work with the whole story (i.e. a few paragraphs). A framework to support the recall of events (e.g. worksheet divided into boxes) Pen Prompt sheet for sequencing language (first, next, then, last, after, before, finally, etc.) | To make this simpler, have the events of the story either written on sheets of paper, or relevant pictures copied. Have the children take it in turns to put them in the right order. A framework may still be needed to support this. |
communicate precise information to another person
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Barrier games Paper, coloured pens, a barrier so that children can't see what each other is doing . |
Variations: Children tell each other what to draw - for example 'draw a big red car', 'draw a monster on top of the roof'. You can use two sets of identical miniatures, and use instructions like 'put the man on the block and put the bike next to him'. | Start with simpler pictures and move on to more complicated ones. Using pictures where there are several similar objects means that instructions need to be more precise: E.g. a big blue square, a little blue square, a big blue star, a little blue star, and red versions of these shapes too means that all 3 details are needed. |
| 'Where's Wally?' 'Where's Wally?' pictures, or something similar (a particular person or object hidden in a large detailed picture) Photocopies of each picture you are going to use | You will need to help the first child find the target first! | |
| What's wrong picture Pictures of a situation with an absurdity in it, e.g. wearing a raincoat at the beach. (Colour Cards by LDA publish a set of these). Paper Coloured pens | ||
| Obstacle Course Simple obstacle course Blindfold | Change some parts of the obstacle course before each person has a turn, so that they have not memorised it. This could be played as a team activity. This can also be played using small world figures and miniature objects. You could also do this activity without the blindfold - the guider is (secretly) given a point to guide the other child to. They then give instructions which can only contain directions (forward, left, right, backward, stop, number of steps). |
use sequencing words in a range of contexts
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| The races movies Digital camera or camera phone to take a video clip 3 characters e.g. plastic worms First Next Last 'podium' drawn on a sheet of paper (optional) or medals (optional) First, next, last prompt sheet | 1. Set up a race course, and talk about beginning and end. 2. Have the child help you make the worms race, and film this. 3. Watch the film clip back and have the child describe the race and who came first, next, last. 4. Put the worms on the podium in the right places, or award each worm the right medal if you have them. | You can use any toys, or the children can race. It can also be played out and about by observing e.g. cars at traffic lights etc. |
| Movie stars Digital camera or camera phone to take a video clip Pictures of actions the child can do (optional) First next last prompt sheet | You could have them put the pictures of the actions into the order they did it and then describe the film clip. They may need to use the prompt sheet. This can be generalised to make clips of the child doing any sort of everyday sequence of actions, which the child can watch and describe using the target words: these could all be collected on a computer, or on a digital photo frame. | |
| Walk the walk A wind up toy (e.g. "Simon the Sheep") Pictures of things it might see or do on its walk A prompt card of first next last / beginning middle end | ||
| Making Sandwich A sandwich assembly play kit (e.g. from the Early Learning Centre). Or you could use real bread and fillings (make the sandwiches small so you can have a few goes) Pictures of the key parts (bread, cheese, tomato, lettuce, butter etc) First next last prompt sheet | You could vary this by making soup with different ingredients. You could 'feed' the sandwich to a toy or to an adult if you are working with a younger child. You could make real sandwiches! You could film this with a digital camera or camera phone so the child can show it to another person, or simply watch it back. |
predict infer and analyse from a picture and story
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday situation with a picture and a story A picture of an everyday event, or social setting e.g. crossing the road, or going to the cinema. A story to go with the picture (no more than 5 or 6 sentences). Or See the resource sheets in 'Language for Thinking' (LfT) by Parsons and Branagan (Published by Speechmark). If using this publication, use Module 1 and the level C questions. This programme has questions for a range of ability levels. | 1. Choose a scenario picture. 2. Show the children the picture and read the story to them. 3. Focus on questions that require more working out and understanding of the context, e.g. 'What will happen if he...?' 'Why is it made of that?' 'If you were X, what would you say / do?' 'Why can't he?' (LfT level C questions). | Use some simpler questions to start with (LfT Level A and B if you are using this publication). If a child gives a short answer, prompt them to expand it. If the child finds these questions easy, move on to having them read the story rather than you telling it. Go back to using simpler questions and move up through question levels again. |
use past and future tense when telling stories
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Spot the story Sequencing cards (3 part sequences work best) 2 envelopes Prompt cards for past and future tense Blu tac (optional) | 1. Put all the first cards of every sequence into one envelope, and put the past tense prompt card on the front. 2. Put all the last cards of every sequence in the other envelope and put the future tense prompt card on the front. 3. Lay out all the middle cards from every sequence in different places - on the table, on the walls, on the floor - whatever is appropriate in your setting. 4. Explain to the children that one child will describe a card from one of the envelopes. The other children must work out which of the cards round the room is the next / previous card - they must 'spot the story'. 5. Have one child choose a card from one envelope. If it is a card that is first in a sequence, they must describe it using a past tense. The prompt card can be used to help them. If it is a final card in a sequence, the future tense must be used. (This is because the card the other children are finding is the middle card.) 6. See who can 'spot the story' first! | Praise children for using a past or future tense as appropriate. Use simple sequencing cards at first. Later you could use more complex ones, e.g. social sequences. |
| Chain story surprise (past and future) Paper Pen or pencil Cards with possible story characters on them (optional) | Some children will prefer to have a character given to them to write about. You will need a prompt card with 'did', 'has', 'had', 'was' and also a prompt card with 'will / going to' written out to remind the children to use the past and future tense. | |
| See also Further activities on www.commtap.org: |
use future tense when making plans and telling stories
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| News time 'frame' Sheet with boxes labelled "...will...", "...am..." and "...have / did...":
Pen or pencil | 1. Use this at news time, or explain to the child that you are all going to take turns to talk about what you are going to do, or have done. 2. Put the sheet with the boxes labelled "....will...., "....am...." and "....have/did...." in front of the child and help the child to read the words. 3. The child can choose to talk about e.g. last weekend, or next weekend, or something in school. Talk about if it has happened already or is going to happen and which box it would fit under. 4. The child can report their news; help them to use the accurate tense. | In some cases it will feel more natural to use "going to" than "will" (for example, "The boy is going to eat the apple" rather than "The boy will eat the apple"), you should always use (and encourage) the form which feels the most natural. The child could write what they have written under each heading, or draw a picture. |
| Diary Diary - either published or a blank workbook. Pen or pencil Sheet with boxes labelled "...will...", "...am..." and "...have / did...":
| This is an ongoing activity to be used with an individual child or a group of children (each child would have their own diary). In some cases it will feel more natural to use "going to" than "will" (for example, "The boy is going to eat the apple" rather than "The boy will eat the apple"), you should always use (and encourage) the form which feels the most natural. | |
| Complete the manuscript A short story, with the ending missing (either cut off, or photocopy the story but blank out the ending) Paper Pen or pencil | This activity is best if it is not a story the child is familiar with. You may need to use a prompt sheet to remind the children to use the future tense: Sheet with boxes labelled "...will...", "...am..." and "...have / did...":
In some cases it will feel more natural to use "going to" than "will" (for example, "The boy is going to eat the apple" rather than "The boy will eat the apple"), you should always use (and encourage) the form which feels the most natural. You can have the group make up two or three different endings for the same story and make a 'choose your ending' book. | |
| Sequencing Cards A set of sequencing cards (either a published set, or you can make your own by photocopying a sequence of pictures of any event). | Use sequences appropriate to the age of the child. Any sequence with a twist at the end will be enjoyed by the children! You may need to use a prompt sheet to remind the children to use the future tense: Sheet with boxes labelled "...will...", "...am..." and "...have / did...":
In some cases it will feel more natural to use "going to" than "will" (for example, "The boy is going to eat the apple" rather than "The boy will eat the apple"), you should always use (and encourage) the form which feels the most natural | |
| Chain story surprise Paper Pen or pencil Cards with possible story characters on them (optional) | Some children will prefer to have a character given to them to write about. You may need a prompt card with 'will / going to' written out to remind the children to use the future tense. |
to use because in sentences
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Story cards Flashcards with the target word written on each one (because). Short sequences of 2 or 3 cards which make up a short story. | Tell the children that this activity is to practise using longer sentences. Introduce 'because' on the flashcards and explain that it helps us to make longer sentences. Sequence the cards into the right order as a group. Place the flashcard near the pictures. Have the children think of a sentence (two if necessary) about the pictures, which uses 'because'. Write down each sentence. | This activity can easily be adapted to use class topic work and stories. You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. A sentence frame for this activity can be in three parts, for example:
The children can change the parts in the first and last boxes to make new sentences. |
| Book Summaries As the activity above, but use a short book the children are familiar with. Flashcards with the target word written on each one (because). | It is better if the book has a lot of pictures to help the children follow the story. You could use just one page of a book, or one short section, if the book is longer than a few pages. You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. | |
| Photo Captions Photos from magazines or photos of the children engaged in activities Flashcards with the target word written on each one (because). | You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. | |
| Talk for a minute Flashcards with the target word written on each one (because). Pictures of actions or events Timer (if you don't have one, use a watch with a second hand) | You may need to use a sentence frame to support the children to make sentences at first. You can vary the time, to make it either longer or shorter. |
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