Friday, January 11, 2013

Hands-on-Activity to Increase Language

Disclaimer:  These ideas do not take the place of therapeutic or educational services in any manner. These are only my opinions and serve as a resource to parents, teachers or clinicians looking for activities that may support their student or child's treatment. This is my personal blog and this blog or my opinions set in my personal blog do not in any way represent my employer, university or colleges I have attended.  Thank you.
Hello Parents,

     Here is an idea that can help your child increase his language skills.  Make a diorama with your child.
   
    Creating a diorama can be a fun, easy learning and bonding experience.  First, think about what your child finds interesting.  For example, I work with a child who loves sea creatures and is very interested in learning about the ocean.  He looks for books that have pictures of starfish and loves to listen to stories that focus on real facts about sea life.  As a result, much of the activities center around expanding his verbal skills using materials, pictures and activities about the ocean because it is what motivates him.  Motivation is very important in the learning process.  Using what motivates him has increased his verbal expression from 1-2 word phrases to 3-4 word sentences.  It has been really great to see him progress.

    One of the tools I've used to increase his language skills is to recreate ocean life in form of a diorama.  I kept it very simple.

All I used was:
a shoebox,
construction paper,
glue sticks,
markers and
pictures of sea creatures and ocean life from the internet.

    It was exciting and so much effort  was made  by the child to communicate his ideas and his genuine love for the ocean.   Also, many concepts other than verbal expression were addressed; such as following directions, comparing/contrasting pictures, and cause/effect relationships.

Here is what was created:

Under the Sea Diorama
Compare and Contrast Dioramas

     If you choose to make a diorama, I hope you have an enriching language, learning and bonding experience with your child.  Please let me know how it works out for you.

Beverly


  

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