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Hearing the difference between sounds in words (auditory discrimination)
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Post it! Materials: - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list. - 2 boxes/containers – you could make your own post boxes using this template and sticking it to a cardboard box. - Paper cut into envelope shapes or click here for a printable template. | Instructions: 1. Choose one pair of words, e.g. ‘door’ and ‘saw’ and attach one to the front of each box/container. 2. Explain to your child that each of the boxes has a word with a different sound. You are going to say a word and they have to post a letter into the right box. 3. Show your child how to do this. 4. Say the words in a random order so your child has to listen to the difference between the word and choose the correct one. 5. If your child gets the wrong word, talk it through with them and show them which sound you used. 6. Swap minimal pairs after a while, e.g. change ‘door’ and ‘saw’ to ‘duck’ and ‘suck’.
| |
| Racing Cars - 2 x pieces of paper and pen - 2 x toy cars or vehicles - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list. | ||
| Block Towers - some wooden/plastic building blocks. - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list.
|
What is auditory discrimination - Information Sheet
Created 12 January 2021; updated 24 October 2021.
Resources for Listening and Auditory Discrimination Tasks
Minimal Pair Resources
- Noisy/quiet sounds
- p and b at the beginning of words
Keyword Signing Resources
Many of the activities on Commtap - especially the ones aimed at those communicating or understanding at three key words or less - can be enhanced if you use key word signs with them. These can benefit the learner by making it easier for them to pick up the spoken language, and by giving them an additional way they can communicate.
The following resources can make it easier for you to sign with children.
Online sign dictionaries
Signalong and Makaton
British Key Word Signs (free).
Signalong
Text-a-sign service (annual subscription fee).
Sign library (annual subscription fee).
BSL
British Sign Language Dictionary (free).
Game for working on attention, visual skills, vocabulary and co-operation
admin
Large set of picture symbols on an A3 sheet, plus a set of game cards - containing between six and nine items on each card.
You can use this with a small group of children - or a single child.
- Put the large sheet in front of the children.
- Give each child a small card and a set of counters.
- The children take it in turns to look for one of the items on their card on the large sheet.
- Once they have found the item, they put a counter on the item on their card.
- When it's their turn, the child can ask another child for help (but the other children should be encouraged to keep silent unless they have been asked for help).
- Carry on until each child has found (say) four items.
Source
This resource was originally created by ARASAAC.
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Created 25 June 2019; updated 6 December 2024.
Language Prompt Sheets for Activities
admin
This resource contains language prompt sheets for three activities:
- blowing bubbles;
- building a tower;
- reading a book.
Use these sheets with a child to help minimise and simplify the language you are using with the child, and to give them an alternative means of talking about the activity if they need it.
The prompt sheet helps you to think of different types of words and phrases you can use with the child - including verbs (action words), words for commenting, words for taking turns and words for starting and finishing.
These examples use Arasaac picture symbols and Mulberry picture symbols (both free "Creative Commons" symbols sets). They were created using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint.
Created 30 September 2018; updated 22 October 2021.
ARASAAC Symbols - Colour
Arasaac picture symbols in colour
Picture symbols for over 11000 words in English from the Aragonese Portal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. You can use these in your documents or you could use it in conjunction with the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint. The image format used in this set is "png" which is a commonly used image format.
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