Gobble Gobble!

For those of you looking for a simple fun activity--one that can be used with special needs kids to help facilitate comprehension and communication, try paper bag turkey puppets.  The original craft is posted here.  It's basically a paper lunch bag, with construction paper features such as feathers, wattle, and beak.  I added googly eyes.  The kids love it!

For language therapy purposes, I took pictures of each step and developed a Pictello set of sequenced picture/written/spoken directions.  Here are some of the screen shots.

pictello screen shot

pictello screen shot

pictello screen shot

pictello screen shot

pictello screen shot

 The kids had to listen and/or read the directions presented on the iPad (and by me!).  They had to predict the next steps.  They had to understand concepts such as front of the bag, back of the bag, and on top.  They had to problem solve (e.g. "if you need two eyes for each puppet, how many do you need for 4 puppets?")  They had to answer simple questions.  I also supplied a simple communication board to cue the kids to request things like glue and googly eyes. The iPad presentation made this very motivating to my students.

requesting eyes with the communication board

We also read a Thanksgiving book, embellished with Boardmaker icons.  Thanks for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite books for this holiday because all of the children can relate to what is presented.  Adding icons makes it even more understandable, and at the end, I ask the kids what they are thankful for (using the icons as choices for them if they can't think of anything themselves).