One of our goals when designing CardEd was to create contexts for communication and learning. The vision was a multi-purpose resource suitable for children of different ages and levels. Much of this differentiation is achieved by varying the level of questioning or activities set when using the cards. Extending and stretching the child beyond their current level is at the heart of promoting language development.
As children love to move (and need to do so for their development), CardEd active challenges are brilliant. Not only do the activities suggested below get children up and active, they are great for promoting language and cognition. Try using CardEd with individuals or groups in the following ways:
- Hide CardEd cards in various places (indoors/outdoors) and send children on a mission to find them. This gets them active and moving about. When they find the card, ask them to tell you where it was, thus developing their knowledge of prepositions. Can they use a full sentence to tell you?
The level of difficulty of this game can be increased as follows:
- Again, hide CardEd cards in different places, but this time be specific as to which cards they must collect. Start out by setting a single criterion and later increase complexity levels. Such activities are an excellent test of receptive language skills, processing skills, and working memory. Some ways to do this:
- Only collect orange cards;
- Find all the cards with the number 2;
- Bring back cards with a green shape:
- Find cards with a consonant in the letter zone and 2 shapes in the shape zone;
- Only pick up cards with a plus sign and an even number;
- Look for cards with a rectangle, a consonant, and a plus sign.
In groups, activities such as these can be used to develop turn-taking skills. After one child searches for a card and brings it back, their friend has a go. Language of sequence and turn-taking can be developed in this way e.g. My turn/Your go/Who’s next?/You go after me/She went before me/First, second, third etc.
An element of competition can be added by arranging the group into teams and setting search criteria e.g. Team A must find 5 cards with green shapes while Team B must find 5 cards with blue shapes. Only one member of the team can be searching at any time and they must tag their teammate before they set out to look for cards. Once you have outlined the rules, establish the children can explain them back to you.
In setting up the task, hide cards matching the criteria plus a few that do not. You can tell the child/ren how many cards they must search for if you like. Have them repeat back to you what it is they are looking for to ensure they have understood. Once they return with the cards, have them explain how the cards fit the criteria set.
Using activities such as these to promote planning and teamwork develops more than just a child’s communication (receptive and expressive language/listening skills/ability to exchange ideas) and cognitive skills. Engaging in team challenges like this also supports:
- Participation;
- Problem solving;
- Working cooperatively;
- Self-awareness and self-control (being aware of how they are feeling/managing impulsivity);
- Building positive relationships and being aware of the feelings of others;
- Self-esteem;
- Leadership.
In planning a strategy in advance (e.g. who will search where), clarifying what is to be done, supporting one another and cheering each other on, celebrating a win, or consoling one another on a loss, children have many opportunities to use language for different functions.
Try a CardEd Active Challenge today and see how the conversation evolves!