This is another 5-senses activity. We did 10 different materials, ranging from feathers to sandpaper and everything in between. We had the kids feel each piece of material and then had them glue them onto the hands. We asked the kids to describe the material and what if felt like to them. I LOVE the answers that we got from some of the kids. My own little girl, had some that made me crack up. The sandpaper felt like Poppa's face, the fake leather felt like a couch and one of them felt like her dog Brody. It was fun to hear their answers. Fabric stores are great to look for material for this project. A remnant can go a long way when your talking about 1 inch pieces. Also look at the craft supplies and hardware stores. We used sponges and Brillo pads, the possibilities are endless.
Over 80 amazing, simple proprioceptive activities for kids. Learn benefits of proprioceptive input to calm, focus, and alert.
AMPLIFYING your ESL instruction is all about increasing comprehensible input for your students. In other words, ELLs learn best when you use instructional strategies that make your teaching (input) as easy to understand as possible (comprehensible). Makes sense, right? Amplification strategies are easy to adapt to whatever content you are teaching, and they are naturally differentiating (meaning students of all language abilities will benefit from their use). AMPLIFICATION STRATEGY: Use realia and hands-on activities Realia is a fancy word for everyday objects. You are using realia whenever you show your students actual objects (rather than an image or explanation of the object). Even something as simple as using real coins during math lessons counts as realia. Research shows us that the more ways we allow students to interact with the material we teach, the better they learn it. Realia and hands-on activities encourage students to participate and interact to the fullest. By handling, manipulating, and observing objects, ELLs are able to use more than just language to help them construct meaning. They are receiving information through interacting with the objects you present, which helps them understand your lesson in a deeper way. We've created a sample Five Senses unit to give you an idea of how easy it is to incorporate realia and hands-on activities into your teaching. Remember, amplification strategies can be added to any lesson to make it more comprehensible for ELLs! Below are a few ideas to get your wheels turning. 1.) Assemble a collection of objects. Have each student pick an object (secretly, if you want to add some drama) to describe using their five senses. They can write their description as a paragraph if they're more advanced students, or in list form if their English skills are intermediate. A true beginner may decide to create a drawing with labels or select from a collection of words you’ve supplied in a word bank. Pre-literate students may give an oral description of their objects. Allowing students to choose how to participate in this activity gives you the opportunity to assess their mastery of the content, regardless of their language abilities. 2.) Read “touch and feel” books. These relatively simple books are wonderful for helping students understand the more subtle variations in texture that we try to describe. They may seem inappropriate for older ELLs, but a more advanced activity could include asking the students to feel the texture and then come up with an appropriate word to describe its feel. Providing a word bank or the first letter of the target word makes this exercise slightly easier. Usborne has a series of books that are great for teaching vocabulary words about the sense of touch. In each of these books, a mouse is searching for something, but each time he thinks he’s found it, he realizes “it’s too (insert vocabulary word here).” The accompanying pictures allow students to feel the texture while hearing the word that describes the feeling. You can find many of the books in this series on amazon.com. 3.) Brainstorm a list of words that describe touch and texture with your students. Then ask them to go out and find objects that illustrate those words. Your class can create a poster of the different vocabulary words and objects they find. If you allow students access to this poster throughout the year, even beginner ELLs will be able to incorporate more advanced vocabulary into their writing. These sensory words are very useful when teaching students to "stretch their writing" in Small Moments units! For added cuteness, young students could trace their hands or even make a handprint using paint. The bottom line: Integrating hands-on experiences whenever possible is an important way to reinforce new concepts and vocabulary for ELLs. It encourages students of all language levels to participate to their abilities and is naturally differentiating. Not to mention, it motivates students, helps them stay focused (especially those kinesthetic learners), and encourages interaction with peers. Did you find this post helpful? Check out some of our other posts for more ideas about amplifying for ELLs. Here you'll find a printable list of questions for parents to ask their children to encourage deeper reading comprehension. For more tips on involving families in their children's schooling, visit our ELL Family Resources page and print out some of the forms on our post about parent communication. Want more suggestions foranchor charts and graphic organizers? Or take our quiz to find out how you're doing in terms of amplifying instruction for the ELLs in your classroom.
Learn what a sensory diet is, how it can benefit your child's learning, focus, behavior, and emotional regulation, and discover which activities should be part of your child’s individual sensory diet.
Over 80 amazing, simple proprioceptive activities for kids. Learn benefits of proprioceptive input to calm, focus, and alert.
Help kids learn impulse control skills using these practical strategies to support development of executive functioning.
These Sensory Diet Ideas for Sensory Seekers may be helpful if your child struggles with sensory processing disorder and needs extra sensory feedback. Work them in throughout the day to help the child regulate their
The vestibular sensory system is important for balance and spatial orientation. Here are some great vestibular activities for kids.
When your child is overstimulated by a situation, use these sensory activities to calm them down and give their bodies a chance to feel relaxed.
If you have ever asked "Is it sensory or is it behavior"? Find the answers you've always wanted to know from renowned author, Angie Voss, OTR. A great resource!
Interoception may be a new term to you. Find out how you can support sensory processing with these 10 interoception activities for kids.
Learn everything you need to know about oral sensory processing: oral sensory seeking activities, sensory diet ideas, calming benefits for...
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
This blindfolded maze game teaches obedience to children. My kids loved playing this game, wanting to try completing the maze over and over again. Teaching through games speaks volumes to kids. The concepts resonate with them because kids learn through play. Some people are questioning whether obedience is outdated. They don’t want their children being...Read More
Proprioceptive input activities throughout the day improves sensory integration, self-regulation, and also prevents inappropriate sensory seeking behaviors.
How can you support the development of self-regulation in kids? This huge resource is full of self-regulation games, information, books, and more!
Sensory Diet: Practical Ways to Incorporate Sensory Input for children and students. Includes Discussion of Sensory Systems, Evidence Base Research on Sensory Diets, and free printables to create a Sensory Diet.
These days, it’s not uncommon to hear about kids who have difficulty with paying attention. Here are our top sensory strategies to help!
Bilateral integration information and ideas to build bilateral coordination skills in kids. These occupational therapy activities are so fun!
Making sure that the breaks and reinforcement in the classroom are meaningful, explicit, and individualized for each student is important.
How high can you build? Your kids will love this STEM challenge and it requires little to no prep from parents/teachers. Start building today!
Vestibular input activities can provide some of the best stimulation for active sensory seeking kids which can keep their sensory needs met for hours.
Tons of tips and tricks for helping your teen understand and regulate their tactile system. What have you tried?
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
Soothe your child with one of these sensory play activities using lavender. Soothing ideas for lavender sensory play, crafts and recipes Lavender has been used for hundreds of years as a calming and soothing scent. It’s often associated with relaxation, and can be great to use with children before bedtime, or if they’re feeling a […]
If you're looking for interoception activities for kids to improve internal body awareness and self-regulation, these ideas will inspire you!
Check out these quick and simple tactile play activities, including sensory recipes, sensory bins, homemade playdough, and more!
Cause and effect toys! Grow language development, play and fine motor skills. Great for early intervention, speech therapy, and at home.
Our Sensory Toolkit has materials to help with early identification and therapy for children with sensory issues. Help kids reach their full potential!
Learn 7 easy ways to use a therapy ball to give your child a ton of sensory input! Plus, get the scoop on what different types of sensory balls are used for.
Anya, the founder of Montessori From The Heart, is an educational coach, a blogger, an author, a digital creator, and an influencer.
Help give children a voice by sharing this augmentative communication handout with a parent of one of your students or clients. This parent handout will help teach them learn how to implement an AAC system at home while targeting language development. It focuses on core vocabulary, how to model the AAC system, receptive language, and how to make learning the new system fun and engaging. The language is easy (no jargon) and the message is important. Includes both a color and black & white version This resources would be perfect to pair with: Make Playing at Home Count How to Play With a Child With Autism Playing With a Late Talker How to Play With a Child With Social Differences Playing With a Child With Speech Sound Errors Playing With a Child With Apraxia of Speech Bundle and Save!!! Play Parent Handout Bundle What happy customers are saying: "This is an excellent guide for parents and paraprofessionals to get them thinking about how they can use AAC with their students!" Thank you for your support! Click here and follow me for new products that are both fun and functional for the teacher, therapist, and parent! Also, every new product will be posted at 50% off for the first 24 hours... you don't want to miss out on that opportunity! Don't forget to leave feedback!!! I love hearing what you have to say and TPT will reward you by giving you points to put toward FREE TPT purchases! You can also find me on: Instagram Pinterest
Do certain sensory inputs cause you stress or anxiety? This is more common in adults than one would think. We dive into why sensory toys may help, then give you the ultimate list of sensory tools, items and products to help create a more sensory friendly environment for more relaxation and less stress.
Sensory Breaks- Letha Anderson Shop at my store: https://wwow.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Dont-Forget-The-Visual-Su...
Help the after school time with your kids go smoothly using these 80 amazing ideas!
Atividades de sopro para bebês e crianças. Veja uma lista de possibilidades de trabalhar o movimento do sopro com as crianças para melhorar a linguagem.
Sensory activities are especially important for deaf children to help them to develop on their hearing as well as all the other senses.
These ABA therapy activities for kids with autism spectrum disorder will give you heaps of ideas you can use at school, in therapy, and at home!
The Sensory Spectrum is offering a gathering place of independent sellers of handmade weighted blankets and lap pads.
When something is off with the vestibular system it often presents itself as behavioral issues. These vestibular input activities support sensory needs and improves behavior
I am always looking for ideas to shake up my OT treatments and try to get creative with activity tolerance activities, because it is just NOT functional or