All Posts by Krystie

4 SLP Tips for Teaching Special Needs Students How to Ask Questions

By Krystie | Speech and Language

We all see and hear it everywhere: WH Questions, WH Questions, WH questions.  It’s all over our students’ goals.  It’s constantly being worked on every time we present new information or read a new book.  It’s a HUGE search criteria on our favorite websites (Pinterest, anyone?!)  Sooooo, you might think it sounds insane to say that WH questions are largely being neglected.

Hold tight!  We promise we aren’t insane!

The truth that we have found over and over again as professionals is that our students are often bombarded with practice answering WH questions.  And, of course, answering questions is fantastic to target.  It’s a skill we all need.

But the piece we tend to forget is that our students also need to know how to ASK questions.  In fact, it’s a crucial way for them to understand what is happening in their daily lives, stay safe, and maintain a sense of responsibility and awareness.

Let me detour for a minute and take you back to “Grad School Meg” - - - the days when I only dreamed of the glory of being a ‘real’ SLP 😉  I received a case that challenged me to my core- a woman who had experienced a stroke and could no longer retain almost any information pertaining to memory.

She lived a life where every few seconds she would forget where she was, who people were (even loved ones) and what she was doing.  It made for a pretty scary world.  An option to help her was INTENSE repetitious practice with a few key phrases.  Repetition so intense that I might be able to tap into her procedural memory.  In other words, her body would take over and she would almost instinctively know what to say.  So what life-changing phrases could I teach her?

You might have guessed the answer: I taught her to ask questions.

“Where am I?”

“Who are you?”

“What am I doing?”

These three questions over and over and OVER.

I’m going to be honest, if she had been able to remember that she had spent an entire hour asking the same questions over and over (week after week) she probably would have tried to have me committed.

BUT- here is where it gets fun- IT WORKED!

Her husband laughed as he told me it may have worked a little too well and that he had caught her rehearsing the questions aloud in her sleep!

Now, when she found herself confused, she could ask “Where am I?”  Once she felt safe with her whereabouts she moved on to “Who are you?”  Just so you know- EVERY SINGLE time she asked she got an answer.

Asking questions grounded her.  Asking questions gave her a sense of safety.

Okay, okay, so what’s the point?  Our student’s are not typically needing the ability to ask questions to the same extent as my grad school client, right?  Well, it turns out you might be a little surprised at how crucial asking questions is.  Even in your own life!

I’d bet in the last week you have asked literally hundreds of questions!!! But hey, who’s counting? (Oh, it’s Meg, the SLP with a passion for asking questions.  She is ACTUALLY COUNTING . . . . . . . . . )

So asking questions is important.  We’ve got that.  Easy Peasy.

Now how to target asking questions?  Not so easy peasy.  Unless that is, you have an SLP friend willing to share her successes!

So I’m compiling a list of my best tips and tricks!  I say it’s high-time we get your students asking questions too 🙂

But I’m an SLP and, let’s face it, I really love to talk.  So one more story before we get to that list.  I want to tell you about a not-so-successful attempt at teaching my students to ask questions.  Because we have all been there.  My heart was in the right place, but my materials were firmly in the zone of BORING LAND.  You know, the place where students yawn, fidget in their seats and stare at you with half-open eyelids while they pray for the lesson to end.

I tried to teach my students how to ask questions by drilling them over and over again. Kind of like that client I just mentioned.  But there were two key differences between my grad school client and my students: 1)  The students WERE able to remember that I had been making them ask the same questions over and over.  2)  They were children!  They needed to be engaged!

So my “boring” materials (and the chorus of groans that accompanied their arrival) were having no success.  I finally figured out why that was- my students had absolutely no investment in asking the questions.  Why should they ask a question when they didn’t care about the answer?

So, FINALLY, we get to that list of tips and tricks.

Tip #1:  Strive to make sure that when your students ask a question they actually want to know the answer!  

It’s all about that little thing called communicative intent.  In order for asking questions to be rewarding to us we need to care about the response.  We need to have interest in finding out new information.  Which leads us to . . .

Trick # 2:  Use humor!

No matter the grade level or population you are working with, humor is your friend.  It ’s the great equalizer when it comes to getting everyone engaged in their learning.  When kids are expecting something funny in return they will usually “stay tuned” and put in the effort.  Let’s be real- if you have a kid asking “Where is it?” to find out where the car key  wound up they are probably going to go crazy if they see the answer was “In the cat litter  box!”  Cue chorus of “EWWWWWWWW” and giggles. The good news is that the internet is abound with simple, but hilarious images.  Take this one from one of our “Asking Why Questions” products: *****

You kind of have to smile, right?  (Plus, let’s be real here.  We could use a little comedic release too, right guys? Especially on Mondays!)

Tip #3:  Use high-quality images that pique interest.

We can’t always be funny.  It’s soooooo helpful to throw humor into the mix, but we can’t do it 100% of the time.  Another way of engaging students is by being aware of the types of materials and visuals you present to them.  Color is great, which is why utilizing technology like computers and tablets can be a wonderful way to present products and materials {all the beautiful, colorful glory without the need to stockpile color printer cartridges!].  Here at AdaptEd, we prefer to use REAL images whenever we can.  Cartoons are great and they have their place, but real images are able to captivate their audience in a whole different way.  Try switching it up by presenting realistic images and see how your students respond!

And lastly, my favorite:

Trick #4:  Make it personal.

What better way to make asking questions meaningful than to have the answers be ABOUT your students?  It adds a whole new element of fun when the students are taking turns asking questions about each other.  We even like to add a little surprise into the mix, like with this editable “Asking Who” material.

Students ask the question Who? or Who is it? and, to their delight, find one of their classmates featured as the answer.  They love to be surprised, to feel included, and to laugh out loud when the smallest girl in class turns out to be a football player!

There are many ways to make asking questions personal for students. Include their favorite foods, toys, hobbies.  Even include pictures of their families and friends.  When you discuss the things they love, your students feel appreciated and  . . . wait for it . . . INVESTED.

So there you have it.  Sounds like you are ready to go explore the world of asking questions.  Have fun trying all of the possibilities!  Or, if you want a head-start, check out our “Asking  Questions” line below.  Teaching your students to ask questions just might become the next hot goal in your goal bank 🙂  (It is in ours!)

Happy Teaching!

Meg from AdaptEd

You may also be interested in reading our article on Core Vocabulary: How and Why click here to check it out!

17 Kitchen Skills to Teach in Special Education

By Krystie | Life Skills

None of us can afford to cook with our class or go on CBI's every day.

Some days you just need something that's quick, easy and is going to teach your students some important life skills.

Here’s a list of 17 special education life skills activities that will get your students ready to cook… without cooking.

If you want to increase your students' independence, “beefing” up and focusing on specific skills is the perfect way to get your students ready to finish a recipe.  And cooking, without cooking, is the perfect way to achieve that.

Here's how it works.  

Most recipes require your students to be able to set a timer, especially anything that’s going into the oven.  

So… why not work specifically on teaching your students how to set a timer?  You probably have a few timers already lying around your classroom, and I think it’s a good idea to teach them how to use a few different types.  Digital, Dial, or Turn are the most common.  Below are a few of my favorites, head on over to Amazon to get them now if you don't already have them.   I also teach this concept using file folders- sometimes it can be great to give the students hands-on practice without all the noise!  

 

Just like setting a kitchen timer, it’s really important to teach your students how to set the oven independently.  Many ovens look different.  Some are digital, some have turn dials.  It’s important to teach how to use both.

If possible it’s nice to get a toaster oven that’s the opposite of the oven you have so you’re able to teach both turn dial and digital.  For the classroom, I find that the larger toaster ovens work so much better!  Here’s a couple I like… 

When we're just get started, I often get out these file folder activities.  It's nice to be able to have the whole small group working on one skill, so they're ready when we have a recipe and they need to set the real oven.  Set the Oven File Folders Available Here

Most recipes on the stove call for a specific temperature.  It says things like… medium, low or medium/high heat.  

Often times our stoves are labeled with numbers or not labeled at all.  (If yours is old like mine, the numbers peeled off a long time ago.)

To improve your students’ levels of independence, teaching how to turn on and set the stove is a truly important life skill.

• Don’t have a stove?  This is also a great activity to do with an unplugged hotplate.  It gives the students the hands-on practice without the heat.  Plus they can pass it around if you’re doing this activity with the whole class or a small group.  Or you can accomplish the same thing with these Set the Stove File Folders.

Hot Plate Suggestion: Cheap and Simple electric hotplate (this is the one I use, it's nothing fancy- but it gets the job done.) Induction hotplate-AMAZING because it never get’s hot to the touch.  The pan will… but not the burner itself. (this is the one I lust after 😍)

 

We need to teach our students to check the kitchen first before you buy anything. 

I love doing this activity and having my students partner up.  We usually do this if we’re headed to the store and will be making something soon.  You can also do it as a stand-alone activity using it to build your students familiarity with their classroom kitchen as well as building their kitchen vocabulary.

Here's a pic of what I use, but you don't necessarily need anything fancy. As you can see the first step is to check either have or need.  Then just send them off in pairs looking for a specified item.  (this is also a great way to check their receptive language skills, even something as simple as a fork- it's good to know if they know it.)

 

This can be as basic as writing the measurements on 3x5 cards and having your students matching the correct measuring cup/spoon to the label.  Or it can be as complicated as having a few recipe cards and having your students look at the recipe to determine which measuring cups/spoons they will need.

If you need to buy some new measuring cups here’s a couple sets I like. Measuring Cup Suggestions: color-coded measuring cups are nice, bright and metal.  If you're wanting something with HUGE visuals- this is the set for you. 

Most of our kiddos need a lot of help with this.  Just knowing which measuring cup to use isn’t enough.  They need to be able to measure their ingredients properly.  

Click on the picture to download the visual above for FREE.  Then get out some rice or flour and have them start scooping/leveling away.

If you're just getting started- you'll probably need some new measuring cups, please don't just use some old mis-matched sets.  It makes it so much harder for your kiddos!  Check out this measuring cup set with HUGE visuals. It's a great way to get started.

I find that liquid measuring cups are always really hard for my students to fill properly.  They're always over or under.  Getting just to that line is super hard, and usually, takes a bunch of tries.   

Over the years I’ve learned that having them fill a cup with the liquid then using the cup to fill the liquid measuring cup is much more successful (especially if they’re trying to get water from the sink, the variable pressure of the sink just makes things a bit too difficult).  

Give your students a cup and have them practice filling the cup precisely to the line.  This is a great partner activity.  My students do a great job of holding each other accountable to filling it to the right spot.

If you're in need of a new set of liquid measuring cups, I like these ones.  They're clean and simple to read + they're plastic so you don't have to worry about glass shattering everywhere in the classroom.

This is a great activity to do when you get back from a CBI trip and have new groceries.  

But, if you don’t have anything on hand you can always just pull up some images online- or have your students provide you with suggestions and then call on someone to tell you where it should go.  If you have the physical items have your students put the ingredients away. It's great practice and increases their familiarity with the kitchen.

Sometimes, we don't have enough ingredients or different types of ingredients, and I have students struggling with this concept- that's when I whip out the Where does it belong? Fridge or Pantry File Folders.

Same game as above.  Just refrigerator/ freezer.  This a surprisingly difficult concept for my students.  I always find that my kiddos struggle more with this than refrigerator/ pantry.  I don't usually have a ton of different refrigerator/ freezer items on hand (especially one's that can sit out) So... I usually get started with file folders, and practice with the real thing whenever we come back from the grocery store. 

Do you have some extra cookbooks or recipe books just lying around?  A great way to use them is to get your students used to looking over a recipe and finding specific information.  (remember, we’re all about the baby steps)  

Give your students some extra hands-on practice, by having them set the oven dial.  If you don’t want them using the real thing during independent work- grab this file folder oven dial set here.  Or if you have a counter-top turn dial oven- you can have them practice on an unplugged version during independent work. 

Up the challenge with your timer setting, by having your students look over the recipe and determining what they’ll need to set the timer for.  

Especially useful for baking recipes if you’re giving them a cookbook.  

• If you don’t have a bunch of extra timers lying around.  Or you’re afraid of all the noise it could make distracting your other students.  Grab the file folder version here, they’ll still get the hands-on practice without bothering everyone else.  Or you can buy a silent vibrating timer, so if it goes off- it isn’t a distraction.  

This is a great independent workstation sorting activity, but in order to get your students started with this idea, it’s a great thing to do in a small group.  

Complete with real food, pictures online, or file folders.

 

Categorizing items is something that most of our students find challenging. Is it meat or dairy?  A fruit or a vegetable?   

Make it hands-on with fake food, or even better use the food you have in your kitchen if you have a bunch of different things.

We don’t usually have a lot of food on hand (we buy what we need for recipes) so, I find that this is a great concept to have your students complete using file folders with real photographs, my students get the idea without us constantly having to buy tons of extra food.

 

Once your students are beginning to be able to categorize food- this is a great next step to get them ready to be able to follow a grocery store list and know where to find the necessary ingredients.  

Make a list with your students and talk about what sections the ingredients would be found in.  Then discuss the best way to make your way through the store.  Should you be zig-zagging back and forth, or should you grab all the produce at once?  If you're looking for something premade- I have a set that teaches this.

Once they’re doing pretty good with this… try going to the store and have them complete grocery list scavenger hunts.  

If your students can read- you can always let them find a recipe that looks good to them and make a grocery store list (having them determine if you already have any of the ingredients is always a great idea)  

If your students cannot read independently there are tons of video recipes online that they can find.  Or you can write down the list, then have your students attach an image next to it.  (this my favorite).  Below is a video walking you through the steps.  (but, it's basically using google docs, copy/ paste, and inserting images) 

  Keyboard Shortcuts link.

Kitchen vocabulary is pretty important if you want your students to be able to increase their independence level they’ll need to know the basics by name.  You can use adapted books or make it into a game.  Make it a game by partnering students up and challenging them to see who can find it first.  (you can even give them a few things they need to find to make it more difficult).  Or sometimes a simple photograph book is what you need to get started.  

• 17. Set the Table

You can make this as simple as using a “Setting the table” placemat and having your students match the items.  Or you can beef it up by looking at recipes and having your students determine what dishes/ utensils they’ll need.  If you need a new setting the table placemat- you can get an adorable one here!

 

Those are all the ways I work on kitchen skills with my students without cooking.  Leave a comment below if you have any other ideas you’d like to share, or if you found this list helpful.  I'd love to hear what else you do!  

-Krystie

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Core Vocabulary- Why and How to

By Krystie | Speech and Language