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Learn fun literacy, math, board and card games to play at home with students with ASD For parents of students in all age groups Challenges ASD students face: social skills basic literacy and numeracy skill
development communication skills Why are games helpful? The goal is to develop communication and social skills. Curriculum is an add on, key: has to be
social skills piece in 21st century world where kids are on their devices constantly
Modelling eye contact, taking turns, interacting with others.
Learning becomes fun.
Literacy games Focus: to develop your child’s vocabulary
and descriptive language, increase their communication skills
Note for examples: many board games and apps will come with a timer, this can easily be eliminated to avoid unnecessary stress
Headbandz App for $ or create your own with cue cards
(could use a favourite theme) Instructions: player A puts the card/device
on their forehead, other players give them clues (without saying the word/phrase), player A tries to guess the word/phrase
Taboo Board game comes with a buzzer, which
can be eliminated to avoid unnecessary sensory overload
Instructions: work in teams trying to have partner guess the word on the card without saying “key” words listed on the card, opposite team makes sure person giving clues doesn’t say these words
Scattegories Board game or create your own Instructions: roll the die (or pick a letter out
of a hat), list as many words as you can that start with that letter, person with the most actual words wins
If spelling is an issue, use technology to help (Word Cue on devices, Kurzweil, Dragon Naturally Speaking)
Jenga Game available at the dollar store Story building: pick a theme that your child
likes and write words/phrases on the blocks Instructions: play Jenga as you normally
would (take a block from the bottom and put it on top), when you pull out a block you have to say a sentence that includes the word/phrase, next person needs to continue the story
Note: preface the game by letting your child know the tower will fall and the point is to try not to let it fall. If sensory overload is an issue, play on a cardboard box or something that will lessen the noise of the blocks falling.
Numeracy Games Focus: to develop your child’s math skills
and math facts while also increasing their communication skills
Note for examples: the games listed can easily be adapted to whatever your child is currently focusing on at school
War Materials: a deck of cards Key math focus: Reading and comparing a
variety of numbers depending (i.e. one, two, three digit numbers, decimals, fractions, integers)
Instructions: deal out all cards. Each player reveals the card at the top of their pile at the same time. Whoever has the biggest numbers, takes both numbers. Before taking their winnings, player must say each
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number out loud (i.e. twenty-five is bigger than twenty). Continue until one player runs out of cards.
Extension: have your child explain how they know which number is bigger.
Who’s got the biggest sum (=), difference (-), product (x) Materials: a deck of cards Key math focus: reinforces math fats,
comparing numbers Instructions: deal out all the cards. Each
player flips over two cards and adds/subtracts/multiplies them. The player with the largest number gets to tak all of the cards. Continue until one player runs out of cards.
Extension: complete game with 2 or 3 digit numbers.
Memory Materials: cue cards Key math focus: recognize multiple
recognitions of a number Instructions: with your child, use the cue
cards and write 6 to 8 different numbers in two different ways (i.e. 1/2 , 0.5). Shuffle the cards and lay out in a rectangular grid. Take turns picking up two cards. If you pick two cards that match, you get to keep the pair, if not, flip the cards back over and the next player goes. Continue until all pairs have been found. In the end whoever has the most pairs wins.
Extension: add more cards to your playing deck
Tip sheet prepared by and workshops presented by Laura Richards and Katie Sinclair, Teachers,
PDSB April 2, 2016