Following Directions with Basic Concepts

Lesson plan targets:  following unrelated directions, distinguishing between "on" and "in" concepts, answering silly "WH" questions, using carrier phrase sentences to generate answers to a question

This fun, summer plan is targeted for my five year old niece who is working on carryover of learned tasks and comprehension skills.  The best thing about this lesson is that it requires little to no effort on your part!  All you need to locate are two child sized beach pails that are capable of holding up to five objects each.  Given that I have another, younger niece, using two buckets lent itself well for involving her in the game too!   Try playing it once a week and use new objects as they get good at the ones below!  Below is a work schedule you can use to explain this new game. 


Start by handing each child their bucket and provide the following directions according to the designated age/ability level.  If needed, you can have them place each item in their bucket or bring the item to the island for the second half of the game.  To target using -ing endings with Ella, you can ask her, "What are you putting in your bucket?"  as she fills it.  You may need to prompt her with, "Ella says, I am putting shoes in."

 Five Year Old Directions
Get one of your shoes and two crayons.
Find a pretty doll.
Get a small, yellow block.
Put one puzzle piece in your bucket.

Two Year Old Directions:
Find your "Napping House Book" and put it in your bucket.
Put one of your shoes in your bucket.
Get a cup from your kitchen set and put it in your bucket.

Once all the materials are collected, put both buckets at the kitchen island and get the girls seated.  Turn one bucket right side up and the other upside down.  Taking turns, give each child a direction to place one of their located objects "in" or "on" the bucket.  You can also ask silly questions after each direction like, "Do we put a shoe in our buckets at the beach?" Once all items have been used in the directions, ask Ella to name some things we put in our buckets at the beach.  Start with an example like, "We put sand in our buckets." Encourage use of the same sentence for subsequent sentences to work on sound targets and creating longer sentence productions.