These are phrases where the child needs to understand a minimum of 3 words in order to carry out the instruction. These ‘key words’ are underlined in the examples. The other words are obvious from the context so do not need to be understood in order to carry out the instruction.
- Make sure there is a choice for each of the underlined words.
- Remember not to give clues but rely on the words to convey all the information.
- Make sure you give the whole instruction before allowing the child to respond. Breaking up the instruction makes the task easier.
Take turns to give instructions to allow practice of expressive skills as well as understanding instructions. Expand and model as appropriate, e.g.
Child: “horse in the pond”
Adult: “horse jumping in the pond or horse running in the pond?”
Tea set
You need: Choice of 2 characters (e.g. teddy & dolly)
A plate and cup for each character
A selection of other small items such as spoons, forks, food, etc.
Say: “Put the spoon on the dolly’s plate”
“Put the fork in teddy’s cup”
“Put the crisp on teddy’s plate”
Objects and Actions
You need: Choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animals)
Selection of other objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bed)
Say: “Make dolly jump on the bed”
“Make the pig sleep in the box”
“Make the teddy sit on the bed”
Using a Setting
You need: A choice of characters (e.g. boy vs girl, cow vs horse vs pig)A choice of places to go (e.g. rooms in a doll’s house, places on a farm such as barn, pond, field etc).
Say: “make the boy sleep in the bath”
“make the girl sit on the bed”
Or: “make the pig stand in the pond”
“make the horse jump in the barn”
Another option would be to ask for two characters from a choice to be placed somewhere, e.g. “put the horse and cow in thebarn”, “put mum and girl in the living room”.
Colouring Games
You need: Line drawings of, e.g. girl & boy, horse & dog
Crayons
Say: “colour the girl’s top blue”
“colour the boy’s hair black”
Or: “colour the horse’s legs black”
“colour the dog’s nose red”.
Remember – e.g. if the choice is between a boy and girl, once the girl’s top is coloured, understanding “colour the boy’s top red” only requires understanding of 2 key words: “top” and “red”, which is easier than understanding the original three words.
Using Big & Little
If your child knows big and little, incorporate these into any of the above activities, e.g.
You need: A choice of big vs little objects or characters
A selection of other objects or settings
Say: “put the big girl in the kitchen”
“put the little horse in the field”
Hide & seek using In/On/Under
For if your child understands the concept of in, on and under.
You need: A choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animal) or objects (e.g. brick, keys, ball)
A selection of objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bucket)
Say: “Put the ball on the chair”
"Put the brick under the table”
“Put the doll in the box”
These are phrases where the child needs to understand a minimum of 3 words in order to carry out the instruction. These ‘key words’ are underlined in the examples. The other words are obvious from the context so do not need to be understood in order to carry out the instruction.
- Make sure there is a choice for each of the underlined words.
- Remember not to give clues but rely on the words to convey all the information.
- Make sure you give the whole instruction before allowing the child to respond. Breaking up the instruction makes the task easier.
Take turns to give instructions to allow practice of expressive skills as well as understanding instructions. Expand and model as appropriate, e.g.
Child: “horse in the pond”
Adult: “horse jumping in the pond or horse running in the pond?”
Tea set
You need: Choice of 2 characters (e.g. teddy & dolly)
A plate and cup for each character
A selection of other small items such as spoons, forks, food, etc.
Say: “Put the spoon on the dolly’s plate”
“Put the fork in teddy’s cup”
“Put the crisp on teddy’s plate”
Objects and Actions
You need: Choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animals)
Selection of other objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bed)
Say: “Make dolly jump on the bed”
“Make the pig sleep in the box”
“Make the teddy sit on the bed”
Using a Setting
You need: A choice of characters (e.g. boy vs girl, cow vs horse vs pig)A choice of places to go (e.g. rooms in a doll’s house, places on a farm such as barn, pond, field etc).
Say: “make the boy sleep in the bath”
“make the girl sit on the bed”
Or: “make the pig stand in the pond”
“make the horse jump in the barn”
Another option would be to ask for two characters from a choice to be placed somewhere, e.g. “put the horse and cow in thebarn”, “put mum and girl in the living room”.
Colouring Games
You need: Line drawings of, e.g. girl & boy, horse & dog
Crayons
Say: “colour the girl’s top blue”
“colour the boy’s hair black”
Or: “colour the horse’s legs black”
“colour the dog’s nose red”.
Remember – e.g. if the choice is between a boy and girl, once the girl’s top is coloured, understanding “colour the boy’s top red” only requires understanding of 2 key words: “top” and “red”, which is easier than understanding the original three words.
Using Big & Little
If your child knows big and little, incorporate these into any of the above activities, e.g.
You need: A choice of big vs little objects or characters
A selection of other objects or settings
Say: “put the big girl in the kitchen”
“put the little horse in the field”
Hide & seek using In/On/Under
For if your child understands the concept of in, on and under.
You need: A choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animal) or objects (e.g. brick, keys, ball)
A selection of objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bucket)
Say: “Put the ball on the chair”
"Put the brick under the table”
“Put the doll in the box”
These are phrases where the child needs to understand a minimum of 3 words in order to carry out the instruction. These ‘key words’ are underlined in the examples. The other words are obvious from the context so do not need to be understood in order to carry out the instruction.
- Make sure there is a choice for each of the underlined words.
- Remember not to give clues but rely on the words to convey all the information.
- Make sure you give the whole instruction before allowing the child to respond. Breaking up the instruction makes the task easier.
Take turns to give instructions to allow practice of expressive skills as well as understanding instructions. Expand and model as appropriate, e.g.
Child: “horse in the pond”
Adult: “horse jumping in the pond or horse running in the pond?”
Tea set
You need: Choice of 2 characters (e.g. teddy & dolly)
A plate and cup for each character
A selection of other small items such as spoons, forks, food, etc.
Say: “Put the spoon on the dolly’s plate”
“Put the fork in teddy’s cup”
“Put the crisp on teddy’s plate”
Objects and Actions
You need: Choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animals)
Selection of other objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bed)
Say: “Make dolly jump on the bed”
“Make the pig sleep in the box”
“Make the teddy sit on the bed”
Using a Setting
You need: A choice of characters (e.g. boy vs girl, cow vs horse vs pig)A choice of places to go (e.g. rooms in a doll’s house, places on a farm such as barn, pond, field etc).
Say: “make the boy sleep in the bath”
“make the girl sit on the bed”
Or: “make the pig stand in the pond”
“make the horse jump in the barn”
Another option would be to ask for two characters from a choice to be placed somewhere, e.g. “put the horse and cow in thebarn”, “put mum and girl in the living room”.
Colouring Games
You need: Line drawings of, e.g. girl & boy, horse & dog
Crayons
Say: “colour the girl’s top blue”
“colour the boy’s hair black”
Or: “colour the horse’s legs black”
“colour the dog’s nose red”.
Remember – e.g. if the choice is between a boy and girl, once the girl’s top is coloured, understanding “colour the boy’s top red” only requires understanding of 2 key words: “top” and “red”, which is easier than understanding the original three words.
Using Big & Little
If your child knows big and little, incorporate these into any of the above activities, e.g.
You need: A choice of big vs little objects or characters
A selection of other objects or settings
Say: “put the big girl in the kitchen”
“put the little horse in the field”
Hide & seek using In/On/Under
For if your child understands the concept of in, on and under.
You need: A choice of 2-3 characters (e.g. dolly, teddy, toy animal) or objects (e.g. brick, keys, ball)
A selection of objects (e.g. chair, table, box, bucket)
Say: “Put the ball on the chair”
"Put the brick under the table”
“Put the doll in the box”