Sometimes I struggle with clients who have language or vocabulary goals. I can’t teach EVERY vocabulary word they might need to know. So what to do? I find myself more and more trying to teach “strategies” to the child.
When I have clients who come in who come in with vocabulary deficits and difficulty with narratives, one of the goal areas I focus on is the ability to define words clearly. I think that teaching them to use PRECISE vocabulary can carryover to their narratives. I also work with them to build a framework in their head for HOW to define words.
Even when given visual cues, some clients still struggle with coming up with basic vocabulary to describe objects, textures etc. I decided it would be helpful to focus on each definition part of a word AS well as teaching some describing vocabulary. This weekend I’m going out to Michael’s (a local craft store) to find a variety of textures. Next week we are learning to describe different textures!
I wanted to help organize my thoughts with this AND I wanted to have a fun game to play at the end of our “describing unit.” What Am I: Vocabulary, Definitions, describing is what I ended up with.
I tried to structure the game to reinforce the following ideas:
- It’s important to use Precise vocabulary
- It’s important to choose the most salient feature to describe first.
Very good write-up. I definitely appreciate this site.
Keep writing!