Following Directions

From Playing With Words 365:

Simon Says

Someone is “Simon” and he tells everyone what to do by saying “Simon says….” However if he tells you what to do without saying “Simon says” prior to the directions but you do it anyway…you’re out!  There are a few recommendations I have to make this game fun and motivating for your child:

• Rather than “Simon says” I recommend you change it up to a more motivating character. Does your child love superheroes? Play “Spiderman Says!” Does your child love princesses? Play “Cinderella Says!” If it around the holidays, you can do “The Scarecrow Says,” “The Mummy Says,” “The Turkey Says,” “The Snowman Says,” “Santa Says” etc. Be creative! You could even have the person who is “it” dress up like the character! This will not only give your child the opportunity to listen and follow directions but this will also give him the opportunity to give directions to others!
• Only give directions your child can understand. Start simple. Jump. Turn around. Blink your eyes. Once he can follow simple one step directives, start to make them a little harder with two items of information like jump two times or turn around three times. You can then add three part directives like Jump three times then turn around. And so on. If your child is struggling, step back a step.
• When starting out you may want to give the directions and then show him what you want him to do. For example, tell him “Jump” and then physically jump. This will give him a visual. This is helpful as you start in crease the complexity of the directions.

 Fuson Note: Use Simon Says idea for practicing and assessing two-step, non-related directions.  Also, either give the direction orally or visually (pictures or modelling), but not both.

Red Light, Green Light

Another classic game, this is a great game to work on following directions. Here are some tips for using this game to work on your child’s listening skills:

• Once your child gets the hang of the concepts of green-means-go and red-means-stop, add in another color “light” to the mix! They did this in a class my nephew took…I think it was Purple Light means you jump like a bunny! How fun is that!? just some ideas off the top of my head: Yellow Light for crawling, Orange light for turning around, Blue light for clapping…you get the idea.
• A tip to help him understand the directions at first: Make signs with the colors you will use in the game with pictures of the motor movements on them. So if you did purple-is-hop-like-a-bunny you can make a round purple “light” and put a picture of a bunny on it as a visual reminder. Then slowly take the signs away and have your child play JUST by listening.

I Spy

I would not recommend this with young children or any child that has difficulties with listening comprehension. Here are my tips for using I Spy with your child:

• Start SIMPLE. To teach the  game, you may want to take three items and place them in front of you and your child to play the first few times, to help your child grasp the game and give him a smaller playing field, if you will. In fact you may need to play this way for a while depending on your child’s age and ability level. Eventually you can play in a small room, outside, in the car, etc.
• To help your little one stay organized and remember the information he is being given, write down each attribute after you say it (even when it is HIS turn, write it down also). Then go back and review the attributes each time with him (do the same when it is your turn to guess so he is continually hearing the attributes over and over).

Fuson Note:  Use the first idea to practice use descriptions.  Model a couple of times for the students and then allow them to choose an object to describe.

Obstacle Courses

I’ve written about obstacle courses before. Children usually LOVE them and they combine gross motor learning with language learning (providing a multi-sensory learning experience). Though I have a ton of info on my obstacle course post (be sure to check it out) here are a few recommendations on using them to target listening skills:

• Again, start SIMPLE. Set up maybe only a 3-5 part course at first and then increase it as your child’s skills develop.
• To target listening, you can two things. First, you can give him directions on exactly how to go through the obstacle course. This works best if at least a couple different steps can be manipulated differently. For example, one step could be a small table. But does he go under, over, or around the table? He will have to listen to find out! You could set up a station with blocks and tell him he needs to build a 5 block tower. Maybe a step with a hoola hoop that he could either jump in or actually try to hoola. Make sense?
• Another way to incorporate listening is to have one step of the course be just that: following directions before he can go on. It can be like a “simon says” step where he has to follow whatever directions you give, and then he can keep going.

Fuson Note: End the obstacle course with a hula hoop.  Before the student begins, give a direction of what the student is to do upon reaching the hula hoop.  For example, "When you reach the hula hoop, jump three times."  Give the next student a different directive to avoid copying.  Another variation, would be to place a picture next to the hoop, or hold one up once the student arrives.  Really make the student stop and wait for a moment to practice self-control.  Again, only give verbal or visual models, but not both.  As the student improves, give two directives, then three etc.