Can You Describe It? Building Skills Around Gift-Giving Season

The commercial aspect of the Winter holidays is well under way.  Even before Halloween was over, ads began for sale prices and get-'em-now deals.  Is it no wonder all kids can talk about it what they want from Santa or their parents?

Many kids spend some time this season writing letters to Santa or sharing their hopes for THE gift of the year with friends.  But for some kids with language disorders these discussions can be difficult.  They might not be able to remember the name of the desired toy if they have word finding problems. 
They might not be able to tell about the cool things it can do if they lack vocabulary or sentence formulation skills.

Last year I made a fun game for students based on an activity I used to do in therapy.  It focuses on describing and defining skills.  Students provide descriptions of what they want (based on cards or game board spaces) and the rest of the group has to guess what he or she is talking about.

After the holiday break is over, play the game based on what they "received" (again, based on pictures in the game, but don't be afraid to have them use what they really got!).
Students seem to enjoy the game, and sometimes the guesses get goofy, but that's part of the language fun.  When the guesses get too "wild," I have students stop and think about why that isn't a logical guess.

There are several different ways to play the game, all provided in the description.  When you, the adult, provide the descriptions, students are focused on listening and processing skills, as well as the mental shuffling of vocabulary based on the clues.

When students provide the descriptions, they are focused on finding sufficient, concise vocabulary and formulating the phrases and sentences that make sense.

Have fun with your own groups of students.  You can find my version of the game here in my TPT store.  Or, if you prefer, tear apart all of those annoying catalogues that have your postman groaning and make your own picture cards to use.

Happy holidays, and Keep on Talking!