Functional Sequencing Activities for students
I have found that there is a lot of functional language that comes out of sequencing activities. The more steps you have the students do, the more language you will get out of the students. So here are a few tricks that I have either done before and it makes for a fun lesson every once in a while!
**Most of these involve food. I send home or ask parents early in the first semester if there child as any food allergies of any kind so I am prepared for the school year. It's a good thing to have on file.
1. Make a smoothie!
Get some strawberries, some bananas, yogurt, milk and ice. Make sure to some cheap kitchen gloves and bring your blender too. Have the students label each item. I always have them jot down how each of them would make a smoothie using the ingredients. I like to have them do this because you can show them that there is more than one way to do something. This is great for cognitive flexibility (which many of my students struggle with). The older the students the more detail I expect in their sequencing narrative. I have all the students wear gloves for germ control. I don't have the students use knives- I have them just break up the banana with their hands (so much more fun anyways) and always more safe. I have each student complete a step in making the smoothie. Then at the end we get to enjoy our creation. There are so many verbs you can target in this task--scooping, breaking the banana, throwing the strawberries into the blender, blending, drinking etc. There is also a lot of describing you can do. Have the student describe exactly what they are doing for each step. If you are telling the students what to do then you are targeting following directions. If you have them tell you what they just completed- you can check for syntax and vocabulary usage. You can also target articulation. This is a great activity to do in the morning so students can have a nice healthy breakfast too!
2. Make an ice cream sunday!
Now this will take some planning as you will need a good place to store the ice cream. Last year, we bought all KINDS of toppings. Have the students describe the candies, compare and contrast the ingredients. You can have the students label the ingredients and categorize them. Remember you don't have to do this task with every group you have during the day. Use it as an incentive day or break the ice cream days up into 1/2 days or one session a day to make it easier on you.
3. Do laundry!
Now this might seem crazy if you don't have an extra washer and dryer around! Make believe! Get two large moving boxes. Cut out two holes in the side and BOOM you have a washer and dryer. Take an empty bottle of laundry soap, clothes, a laundry basket, dryer sheets and towels/sheets. Have the students sort the clothes. Have them pretend to put soap into the washer and have them place clothes in the "washer". Then set a timer and have them move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and place a dryer cloth in. Then have the students fold the clothes. Its funny the conversations you get while students are doing these tasks too. When I do this task, I level the task up and down depending on the student's levels. You can have older student write down what they expect will happen, what could go wrong and what they would do about it. It's always fun to have the students read their papers after you complete the task to see what they forgot to write down.
4. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwich's!
This is a neat task because I have one student tell another student how they want their sandwich made. This makes the student responsible for being specific and makes it more important for the student assembling the sandwich to follow directions. It also allows for temper control opportunities if students have difficulty socially. If you have a group right before lunch this is a good activity to do!
5. Make jewelry!
You can get beads for real cheap at any craft store and some thread. Make up directions on a sheet of paper and make each of the directions different. Have the students read the directions and have them place the beads on accordingly.
For younger kids:
1. Have them give toy animals a bath!
Bring in a tub, water, bubbles, and some toy animals. Have them give them a bath by following directions. Have each pour some water in the tub or bucket, then soap then have them wash and dry the toy animals. You get a lot of stimulation out of this activity!
2. Follow directions color sheets!
Give them each a color sheet that is exactly the same. Have the make polka dots in certain areas, use the color blue in a different area or have them draw stars on the hat. Be creative and they will enjoy doing something hands on!
2. Make an ice cream sunday!
Now this will take some planning as you will need a good place to store the ice cream. Last year, we bought all KINDS of toppings. Have the students describe the candies, compare and contrast the ingredients. You can have the students label the ingredients and categorize them. Remember you don't have to do this task with every group you have during the day. Use it as an incentive day or break the ice cream days up into 1/2 days or one session a day to make it easier on you.
3. Do laundry!
Now this might seem crazy if you don't have an extra washer and dryer around! Make believe! Get two large moving boxes. Cut out two holes in the side and BOOM you have a washer and dryer. Take an empty bottle of laundry soap, clothes, a laundry basket, dryer sheets and towels/sheets. Have the students sort the clothes. Have them pretend to put soap into the washer and have them place clothes in the "washer". Then set a timer and have them move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and place a dryer cloth in. Then have the students fold the clothes. Its funny the conversations you get while students are doing these tasks too. When I do this task, I level the task up and down depending on the student's levels. You can have older student write down what they expect will happen, what could go wrong and what they would do about it. It's always fun to have the students read their papers after you complete the task to see what they forgot to write down.
4. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwich's!
This is a neat task because I have one student tell another student how they want their sandwich made. This makes the student responsible for being specific and makes it more important for the student assembling the sandwich to follow directions. It also allows for temper control opportunities if students have difficulty socially. If you have a group right before lunch this is a good activity to do!
5. Make jewelry!
You can get beads for real cheap at any craft store and some thread. Make up directions on a sheet of paper and make each of the directions different. Have the students read the directions and have them place the beads on accordingly.
For younger kids:
1. Have them give toy animals a bath!
Bring in a tub, water, bubbles, and some toy animals. Have them give them a bath by following directions. Have each pour some water in the tub or bucket, then soap then have them wash and dry the toy animals. You get a lot of stimulation out of this activity!
2. Follow directions color sheets!
Give them each a color sheet that is exactly the same. Have the make polka dots in certain areas, use the color blue in a different area or have them draw stars on the hat. Be creative and they will enjoy doing something hands on!
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