Section 7

1. 1. 1. 1. Go on a hunt around your house with your child and look for the following items: spoons, cups, toys, plates. 
         2. You will need around 6 of each item.
         3. Once you have found these, place them on a surface – either the floor or a table.
         4. Ask the child: ‘Give me many _____________ (you would then ask for the items that you would like, for examples ‘Give me many spoons’).’ 
         5. Repeat this process a number of times by using the different items and using the terminology ‘many’ and ‘few.’ 
         6. Once the child has understood the concept, ask the child to lead the activity. 

• Play the game ‘Simon Says’ with the child.  For example, ‘Simon says give me many forks.’  This will also support the child’s listening skills as they would not be collecting anything if you did not say ‘Simon Says.’

• If the child does not understand the concept of ‘many’ and ‘few,’ first use the terminology that they might be more familiar with – more, lots, less. Use this terminology first for the main activity and slowly start to ease in the terminology ‘many’ and ‘few’ when the child becomes more confident.

• • This activity can be done anywhere, home, school, out and about. For example:
  • At school; Please get me ‘many’ scissors/How many counters have you got?
  • At home; Put a few spoons on the table/How many cups do we need?
  • Out and about; How many ducks are there?/Pick out a few crisps from the packet.

   

  • Use hoops/pots/create circles out of wool or string and marbles. Put ‘many marbles’ in one & ‘few marbles’ in another. Count the objects and repeat.

Songs & games:

• https://www.tinytap.com/activities/g377/play/many-and-few
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeCpDPiv8ng
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LZ5NC5uVU

1. 1. 1. 1. Visit the local park and collect a variety of different sticks that are of different length.
         2. Put out two sticks next to each other and ask the child: ‘Give me the long stick.’
         3. The child then gives you the stick and then repeat the activity with the different sticks that you have collected, ensuring that you also use the terminology ‘short.’
         4. Ask the child: ‘Give me many _____________ (you would then ask for the items that you would like, for examples ‘Give me many spoons’).’ 
         5. You can also use toys for this activity.

• Remain at the park and ask the child to play in the park’s playground but they have to follow your instructions. For example: ‘Play on the long slide.’
• Collect leaves of different sizes from different trees and ask the child to give you long/short leaves. Then put the leaves in size order: ‘This leaf is short, this leaf is long and this leaf is even longer.’  This will then link to Section 7.7.

• If the child is finding this concept difficult to understand, start by drawing things that are long first. Once you have drawn long items, ask the child to draw items that are shorter.
• Stretch the word ‘long’ when talking.

1. 1. 1. 1. Collect some storybooks that could be used to ask ‘why’ questions. For example, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ could be used to ask:‘Why does Goldilocks go into the house?’‘Why does Goldilocks eat the porridge/sit on the chair/sleep in the bed?’.
         2. Use ‘why’ as you ask about the pictures, for example:‘Why is Goldilocks eating the porridge?’ ‘Because she is hungry.’‘Why is Goldilocks sleeping?’ ‘Because she is tired.’
         3. Link the questions to feelings and emotions that the child has experienced.‘Why did the chair break?’ ‘Because Goldilocks sat on it’. ‘How does Goldilocks feel?’
         4. Prompt your child to answer (‘Why did the chair break?’ ‘Because…’) or give the correct answer if the child is stuck and ask them to repeat it.

• Throughout the day ask your child simple ‘why’ questions. For example, ‘Why are you brushing your teeth? Why are you eating your lunch?’
• Choose more complex pictures with more details to ask the ‘why’ questions.
• Don’t prompt or model the answers.

• Give a hand signal to show ‘why’.
• Write the words ‘why’ and because’ on a piece of paper and point to it as you say it.
• Use soft toys to represent the characters from the story and act it out, asking ‘why’ questions as you go.

1. 1. 1. 1. Collect some toys and put them in a line. Ask the child to point to the ‘first’ and ‘last’ in the line. Repeat with different toys.
         2. Use toy cars or bricks. Ask the child to ‘Put the red car first’ and ‘Put the blue car last’.
         3. Ask the children to ‘Move the black car first’ and ‘move the yellow car last’. Repeat with different colours.

• Use the words ‘first’ and ‘last’ throughout the day. For example, ‘Hassan was first to sit in the car’, ‘Aisha was the last to finish her dinner’.
• Link ‘first’ and ‘last’ to time activities, for example ‘When we go shopping we will collect the fruit first’ and ‘We will go to Poundland last’.
• Ask your child ‘What did you do ‘first’/’last’? This can be done easily when you read a book together, for example ‘What did Goldilocks do ‘first’?

• Model the activity and then get your child to copy.
• Use less toys.
• Just focus on the words ‘first’ and ‘not first’ to start with. Introduce ‘last’ after a few days.

1. 1. 1. 1. Play ‘Simon Says’ and give the child four instructions. You could say ‘Simon says sit under the table’. The child has to listen for four things – ‘Simon Says’, an action, a preposition (e.g. on, under), and a place (e.g. table, chair).
         2. Ask your child ‘What did you do?’ Child to repeat ‘I sat under the table’. Model the sentence if required.
         3. Repeat the activity using toys. For example, ‘Put teddy under the bed’.

• Use more prepositions – front, behind
• Use more places – bed
• Use more actions – jump, roll
• Ask your child to give the instructions and you carry them out.

• Model the action/sentence and then get your child to copy.
• Repeat just using the same action and preposition. For example, ‘Simon says sit on the bed/chair/floor’.
• Speak more slowly and repeat your instruction.

1. 1. 1. 1. Ask your child to collect a soft toy, for example a teddy. Then ask them to collect a ‘bigger’ teddy. Repeat with a ‘smaller’ teddy.
         2. Point to the first teddy and say ‘This teddy is big’, point to the second teddy ‘This teddy is…’ If the child answers ‘bigger’, praise the child and repeat the sentence. If the child gives an incorrect answer ‘more big’, model the answer and get the child to repeat.
         3. This can be repeated with different toys regularly while you play with your child.

• Use a wider vocabulary – ‘longer’, ‘shorter’, ‘taller’, ‘happier’.
• Compare your child’s actions and appearance to their siblings. For example, ‘Hassan is taller than you’, ‘Aisha’s hair is longer than yours’. Encourage your child to make up some sentences of their own.
• Collect more toys and compare them.

• Have the words written out on cards and match to the correct toy.
• Just focus on one comparative at a time ‘big’/‘bigger’.
• Ask your child to point before and then model the word. Ask your child to repeat.

1. Tell the child that you will be going on a materials hunt around your house.
2. Ask the child to first look for objects that are hard i.e. metal spoon, remote control etc.
3. Then ask the child to look for objects that are soft i.e. pillow, tissue paper etc.
4. Talk to the child about difference of both and explain that these things are called ‘opposites.’

• Introduce different vocabulary (wet/dry, rough/smooth).

• Start with concepts that are easier to understand (for example, up/down, tall/short) and then build to more difficult concepts.

1. 1. 1. 1. Working alongside the rest of your family, find items of clothing for boys and girls/men and women.
         2. Spread these out on the floor and ask the child to find the following: ‘His hat.’ ‘Her dress.’ Etc.

• Use the following sentence starter for the main activity: ‘This is his hat; this is ____ hat.’
• Introduce more difficult pronouns e.g. ‘they/their.’
• When getting ready in the morning, ask the child to get their siblings clothes e.g. Baby Jack is cold.  Go and get his coat.’

• Use the terminology of ‘his/her’ in everyday situations – ‘Well done Sarah. You have put on your coat.  Dad is putting on his coat.’

Practise this daily with the child.Online games & activities:

https://www.tinytap.com/activities/g2sv9/play/pronouns-his-her

Teaching Pronouns – Speech Therapy | “He”, “She”, “They”

Youtube films to support:

1. 1. 1. 1. Place a blindfold over the child’s eyes.
         2. Have a selection of everyday household items in front of the child. For example: a spoon, pillow, cup, toy cars etc.
         3. The child needs to touch the items one at a time and then explain what they think it is and why. For example, ‘I think it is a pillow because it is soft.’
         4. Repeat the activity with the different items.

• Read a story book to the child and ask the child to explain how the characters were feeling in the story. For example, ‘The girl was sad because she was lost.’

• Use the subordinate conjunction of ‘because’ in everyday situations: ‘We are going to the shops because we need to buy food.’

YouTube song to help understand the use of the word ‘because’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9WShiGAmIM

BBC Bitesize activity for conjunctions. Ideal for Year 1 & 2 – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zkxxsbk/articles/z6rvbdm

Free Twinkl activity (you will need to create a free account) with pictures to generate sentences using ‘because’ – https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-622-why-because-scenes