Defining Words: Part 5 Games and Apps

There are lots of fun games to use to reinforce categories and word definitions.  Here are some of my favorites:

Name 5

Just like it sounds.  Each card gives a prompt for you to name 5 items in random categories, such as 'items that make you sneeze' or 'types of dogs.  There is a timer which adds an element of difficulty if you want it.  Great for any speech therapy session if you play for a few minutes at the very end. 

Headbanz

Too bad I didn't patent this when I had the chance, because I totally invented it.  Oh well.  It's a great way to reinforce the concepts of categories and defining words.  Kids will know when they didn't do a great job describing it because the other child will tell them flat-out, "I have no idea what you're talking about."  And they will be rewarded when they used good clues because the child will guess.  The categories are concrete and the vocabulary is familiar.  I like to introduce this game by modeling "bad clues".  Say we're talking about  ice cream.  I say, "It's yummy".  They might have a guess but most likely they will not get it from that one clue.  I then proceed to explain that lots of things are yummy so that is a 'bad clue'.  It's usually quite the 'aha' moment for the kids.  I'm constantly prompting them by asking, "What makes it special or different?"

20 Questions

A great way to teach kids the importance of 'narrowing it down'.  I usually draw a big circle on the board and call it 'animals'.  We talk about how there are many different kinds of animals and we need to 'narrow it down'.  Then I discuss how we can narrow it down by type (mammals, reptiles, amphibians) or habitat (tundra, jungle, forest).  See how great it plays into the curriculum?  20 Questions is a fun way to teach the applicability of

 'narrowing it down'.

APPS

And here are some apps that I know of that you can use to teach sorting, organizing, and defining words:

- Objects: Pro

- What Does Not Belong?

- Clean Up: Category Sorting

- NLConcepts Autism: Sort and Categorize

- Pre-Number Category Sorting Matching Game

- Name that Category

- Let's Name Things

- Autism and PDD Categories

- Category Carousel

I am sure there are lots more!  Leave us a comment if you have one that you particularly enjoy or know about.

Defining Words: Part 4

When your child has really mastered categories, it's time to move on to the second half of defining words.  This involves teaching attributes/adjectives and functions.  This is the worksheet I use for this.

However - you're probably going to have to spend a few times teaching these things individually before you expect the child to put it all together in one nice, cohesive definition.  Of course it depends on the child, but teaching adjectives is usually a great way to start.

I saw this on Pinterest which is a great way to get the wheels turning:

Isn't that adorable?  Last year I used a frog theme.  How fun would it be to describe a frog?  Slimy.  Green. Loud.  Slippery.  I think kids would love it!  

"Hairy, Scary, Ordinary": A great way to introduce adjectives to students.  Pictures are a riot and fun to talk about at the same time.  Could easily take a half hour with this book!

Since this is such a fun concept, I'm going to do another post on it tomorrow.  Be excited! :)

Defining Words: Part 3

Here are some great materials for you to try when you are teaching the concept of categorization:  Click on the image to see purchasing information.  

By the way nobody is paying me to tell you this stuff. :)

Category Cut-ups: Relatively inexpensive.  Great for homework.  Gets the kids involved.

Descripto Bingo:  I copied each category in different colored cardstock and got it laminated.  It's a great way to reinforce what has been learned and it's also fun to play with any client. 

Basic Concept & Vocabulary Round-Up: Not only great for categorization but also basic concepts/prepositions.  Nice!  Also has clearly laid-out teaching plans which I quite like. Why re-invent the wheel, right?

Classifying Cards: Oh the possibilities!  Of course you can have the child sort these into piles.  I liked Jenna's idea of using one of these for sorting purposes.  Which One Doesn't Belong? Matching.  Memory.  Go Fish.  Fishing.  Tape them on the wall and use a flashlight to find all the cards in the right category.  Hide them around the room.  

Can't leave LinguiSystems out!  They always have great stuff too.  The pages can be copied for the child to complete or they can be read outloud by the therapist and done orally.  Both gives good practice.  

I  know there are tons of materials out there but these are some of my favorite.  What are yours?

Next time we'll talk about what to teach after categorization.  I'll have another printable for you too! :)