One area that is hard to address is word finding. You know the student knows the vocabulary word but they cannot retrieve it! To help address this difficulty, I have created a fun and extensive activity pack!
What does this pack include?!
A visual of strategies/cues to help students advocate for themselves.
I used some research on the topic as well as cues that has worked for my students over the years to put this together.
Picture Naming Game:
There is a board game to play while practicing naming pictures provided. You can also use your own as well. Students should be encouraged to use their strategies to complete this task! 24 Picture cards are included.
Picture the Word:
One strategy for students is to picture the word they are thinking of in their minds to help retrieve the word. To help practice, students can use this worksheet to draw pictures they have created in their minds for the words provided.
Clowning Around Category Naming:
This fun activity should be played as a card game. Students select a card from a pile and must express the category name based on the list provided. I tried to use different words/categories then seen in other activities/materials. If a student selects a “clowning around” card, they lose all their cards! The student with the most cards at the end wins!
I included this activity in the file since chunking of words is a great strategy. Also, when students cannot think of a word, if they can provide a category and description it may assist the conversational partner. This will help them practice!
Fill-In The Blank Fun:
This activity uses cloze sentences to help students retrieve various words. Each card has a popcorn with a number on it. Students pick a card from the pile and respond by expressing the word or multiple words that can be used to complete the sentence. They should be encouraged to look for clues in the sentence to assist them. Once they complete the task, they are rewarded with the point value on the card. Once all cards are used, students can add up their points to determine a winner!
Sorting by Function:
Understanding object's function a great strategy for word retrieval. I created a sorting activity to help students chunk items that are used for the same purpose. Students can sort the tickets into the correct ticket booth by function.
Last but not least,
Assessing Curriculum Vocabulary:
I looked up various curriculum lists to produce this activity. This activity has 24 cards that asks questions to work on curriculum vocabulary for grades 3-5. After each question, two clues are provided for the student to help them retrieve the target vocabulary word. An answer key is provided for you! These task cards can be used with any motivating game or activity as a reinforcer for correct responses.
You can access this activity pack here! I hope you find it useful and fun!
