Teach Through Games: Timeline

Age level: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School

Description: This seemingly simple game gets more challenging as it progresses. In this game, players work together to create a timeline card by card. The game begins with the placement of a starting card, with the year face up. Each player has 4 cards, with the year face down. The first player chooses one of his cards, and decides where it belongs next to the starting card: to the left if it occurred before the starting card, or to the right if it occurred after the starting cards. As play progresses, it becomes more difficult because players may have to place cards between other cards that have already been played. Once a card is placed, you turn it over to see if you placed it correctly on the timeline. If you did not, that card is removed from the timeline, and you must pick up another card from the draw pile. The goal of the game is to run out of cards first.

Below you can see an example of what a timeline looks like. Here, our starting card was “Construction started on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” the first player correctly placed “The discovery of blood circulation,” and the second player correctly placed “The arrival of the Mayflower.” I now have to find the correct spot for “The discovery of Neptune.” I’ll place the card where I think it belongs on the timeline, then I’ll turn it over to see if I was right.

It should be noted that there are many different versions of the game. I have Science and Discoveries. There is also Historical Events, Music & Cinema, Inventions, and a Diversity pack with cards from all topic areas.

Skills & Modifications: As with many games I’ve written about here, one of the biggest modifications I use is implementing a time limit. I’ll set a timer with the rule that we will end the game after the last turn is completed when the timer goes off.

For this game, though, I have another modification. One of the best aspects of this game is that it is very easy to modify based on the child’s skill level, scanning abilities, and understanding of time and/or history. For example, with one learner I played this game with, before we played I went through the whole deck of cards and removed items that I knew she was not aware of. To be clear, I did not remove cards that she didn’t the year for, but cards that were outside her current body of knowledge (such as “the invention of Texas Hold’Em Poker” or  “the appearance of Australopithecus.”) Over time, I will introduce more of these cards, but when initially teaching the game I wanted to be able to focus on the concept of the game itself rather than teaching about  historical points she had never come in contact with.

This game is also designed for learners who are 8 and up. On two occasions, I wanted to play this with a learner’s family in which there was sibling younger than 8. In that situation, I removed some cards so points on the timeline wouldn’t be as close to one another and I intentionally dealt cards that were relevant to the young player (such as “the invention of the teddy bear.”)

• Scanning – This game requires a high level of scanning skills because learners must scan the timeline, scan their own cards, and make a decision about which card to place and which space on the timeline to place it in. Some learners may need prompting with this skill, but if your learner needs a high level of prompting this is probably not an appropriate or motivating game for him/her
• Sequencing – This game also requires high level sequencing skills. The learner must be able to mentally organize information about the items on the timeline and simultaneously attempt to place his/her card in the correct sequence within the cards already placed.
• Conversation – This game does encourage conversation, and I model this when it is my turn. I will choose a card and talk out loud about why I am putting it in a specific place on the timeline. I encourage the learner (and the rest of the family if I’m playing it with them as well) to engage in the conversation with me.
• Accepting Mistakes/Errors – This game is challenging for both the learner and the adults playing with them. Mistakes are frequent and are a part of the game, which provides great opportunity for teacher modeling how to respond to a mistake, and for the learner to practice accepting a mistake.

Pros: Extremely easy to modify based on your learner’s skill level. I also like that it encourages exploration into further topics. For example, with one learner the card “the discovery of the language of bees” was played. This led the learner to ask further questions and he became involved in his own research project to learn more. I also have one student who is very strong in remembering dates and historical events. This game was highly motivating for her and she was able to engage in appropriate conversation for long periods of time due to that high motivation level.

Cons: This may not be an appropriate game for learners who have difficulty attending to other players’ turns.

Cost: $14.99 You should invest in this game if: you are looking for games for older learners, if you are looking for games that encourage peer interaction, if you are looking for games that increase opportunities for independent inquiry, or if you have a learner who is highly motivated by history, science, or art.

ABLLS: B25, H47, K15, L33

VB-MAPP: Social Behavior 15

Teach Through Books: A Map of the World According to Illustrators & Storytellers

Age level: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School

Description: This is a gorgeous book of maps created by illustrators and storytellers. It includes everything from watercolor maps designed as antique maps but illustrating a record label to fictional maps based on film titles, and maps detailing walking tours of Madrid with the focus on food and interesting places to a music map with instruments representing each country creating the shapes of the continents. All in all, this is a book that is thoroughly enjoyed by both older children and adults.

Skills & Modifications: What I especially enjoy about this book is that it can be used to meet your learner at his/her current skill level. The only way that I modify the book is to copy a page (so the learner is not overwhelmed by the amount of material) in order to let the learner look at it in isolation.

• Picture Comprehension – This can be used to practice higher order picture comprehension skills. Each map has a brief description of its theme, but there are so many details that there is a lot for the learner to explore. I’ll usually let the learner choose one map and we discuss it together. For older learners who are still learning to locate items within a larger picture, this book provides great age-appropriate materials for practicing that low-level skill.
• Conversation Skills – This is a great tool for working on appropriate conversational exchanges with older learners, especially for learners who are interested in art. I will open up the book to one map and we will discuss it at length, or I’ll show two maps and we’ll compare and contrast them.
• Maps – While this is not a good resource for practicing common map skills such as using the compass rose or the legend, it is a good resource for discussing the function of maps. Some maps in this book would be solely considered as art, while others could be used to achieve certain tasks.
• Expressive Language – I’ll ask the learner to describe the map in detail. The goal is for the learner to describe the map using multiple sentences and giving a variety of information.
• Class – Sometimes I will cover the brief synopsis of the map with my hand, have the learner study the map, and then have him/her make an educated guess about the class or topic of the map. It’s a nice short-duration activity that the learner enjoys, and it requires a high level of understanding class and synthesizing previous knowledge.

Pros: This is a tool I can use for high-interest, low-level lessons. It can be used for a variety of skills without presenting your learner with materials that are inappropriate for his/her age.

Cons: It’s a bit pricey, but such high quality you won’t mind.

Cost: $60.00 (frequently less expensive on Amazon) You should invest in this book if: you have a learner who is particularly interested in maps and/or art, are seeking high-interest materials for practicing conversation exchanges, or are looking for inspiration for art projects related to maps or geography.

ABLLS: C43, G25, H40, H43, L31

VB-MAPP: Social Behavior 15, LRFFC 12, Intraverbal 14

Teach Through Books: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Age level: Preschool, Early Elementary

Description: This stunning book by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page uses cut-paper art to illustrate different parts of animals and their uses. Students can explore how a platypus uses his nose or how a bat uses its ears among many other things. The books is also well-organized in that a set of two pages will show several noses along with the question “What do you do with a nose like this?” Students are able to make guesses and discuss possibilities before turning to the next page, which shows the animals in their entirety and provides a brief explanation of how each animal uses its nose. It continues like this for several different body parts. I also love Steve Jenkin’s work, which you can learn more about here. And you definitely don’t want to miss his video about how he creates his work.

Skills & Modifications: I often find that books are the easiest tools to work with because you can easily follow the student’s lead in terms of what they are motivated to look at and what their current skill level is. For this book, I typically choose to focus on just one of the skills listed below, and plan ahead questions I will ask and points of entry for conversation based on my knowledge of the student’s interest and current skill level. As I’ve mentioned in previous discussions about materials I use with students, this should be fun. You can keep it fun by allowing the student time to explore the materials on their own, only asking questions part of the time (so, for example, I won’t ask them to describe each item on the page), and following the student’s lead on what he/she finds motivating.

• Peer Play/Intraverbal Conversation – One of the my favorite things about this book is that it is usually very motivating for my students with autism AND it is motivating to their typically developing peers or siblings. I have had success using this book to engage my students in sharing guesses or questions with a peer or sibling.
• Adjectives – This is a great book for having students tell me about a picture or describe an animal, especially on the pages with only one body part showing. For example, I will ask a student to tell me about each nose. The student will point to each nose and tell me 1-2 sentences about it.
• Compare & Contrast – This is a step beyond simply describing each body part by having students compare two or more. For example, I’ll ask the student “How are these two noses similar?” or “Can you compare these two noses?” For higher level learners, we will compare how the body parts are used once that information has been revealed.
• Critical Thinking – For higher level learners, this book is great practice for having them make strong guesses about what each body part might be used for. To practice critical thinking skills, I sometimes write on index cards the potential uses. So for noses, one index card says “This nose is uses to give yourself a bath,” another says “This nose is used to dig in the mud,” and so on. Then the student looks at the pictures of just the noses, matches each index card to a nose, then describes how he/she came to that conclusion. We then check answers and discuss what aspects about the size, shape, or features of the nose might have been a clue for it’s function.
• Expressive Language – All of the examples of activities for this book listed above require the use of expressive language. The book is engaging and naturally fosters interaction with peers, siblings, or adults.
• Identifying an Object When Part of that Object is Hidden – This skill is very easy to practice due to the design of the book. Some students with autism struggle greatly with this skill.

Pros: For students with autism, this book can help with a variety of skills because there is such clarity about what aspects of the book they should be attending to. For example, the background is white, and the parts of the animals are at the foreground. The subject matter is also engaging for many of my students, and allows for conversation and interaction in a way that many books don’t.

Cons: For early learners, a lot of the animals are not ones they would be familiar with, so it may not be the best tool for certain skills. For example, you wouldn’t expect a student to look at only the eyes of a fish and be able to identify that it is an archerfish. However, it is relatively easy to adjust the activity for your student’s skill level.

Cost: $7.95 Should I buy this? This is a great purchase for a classroom, especially if you have students who are highly motivated by animals.

ABLLS: coming soon

VB-MAPP: coming soon

The Museum of Modern Art and Games

Yesterday I was able to take a trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan. While wandering the museum, we discovered that they have a game designed for children to play as they view the art. The docent we spoke with said that while it’s called Material Bingo, she thinks of it as more of a scavenger hunt.

While the child goes through the museum, they search for different materials that make up the art pieces they are viewing. When they find one of the materials, they can slide down the pink vellum to mark that spot on the bingo game.

I love this game for many reasons. First of all, it’s entertaining and easy for youngsters to understand, while also making them engage with the art in a different way than they might have if they were just going through the museum on their own. Second, it’s not always obvious what materials are included in a piece, so this game fosters communication and social interaction for our students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental delays. Lastly, it produces some surprises even for adults.

Below is a great example of this. Many people were joking about this piece of plywood that had been painted black. And honestly, it is the kind of art that I typically just walk past. But because I was playing the game, I took a closer look to find out what materials it was made from, and was surprised to find that an inkjet printer had “painted” the plywood black. I quickly found “ink” on my Material Bingo card. But more than that, the game sparked a conversation about the process of creating this piece.

MoMA has other activities and programs they use to engage students with art, but this one is simple and does a great job of immediately connecting it to your tour of the museum. While they do have some programs for students with developmental disabilities (such as Create Ability,) I was not able to find anything specifically outlined for students with ASD. I did download MoMA’s app, the MoMA Art Lab. It’s a well-designed app that I can see many of my students enjoying. That being said, there are other apps out there that are very similar.

Our end goal with students with ASD is to get them to engage with the world in ways similar to their typically developing peers. Material Bingo is just the sort of game that students with ASD can use to experience more success with trips to museums. It provides focus, a goal, and is directly related to the typical experience of visiting a museum to view art. It also provides a replacement behavior for many of the fixations that you see students with ASD perseverate upon. Lastly, it encourages interactions with peers and adults.

I’ll definitely be recommending it to the parents of many students I work with, and I’d love to hear from any readers who have played it with children with autism on their visits to MoMA. If you don’t have access to MoMA, it’d be relatively easy to create your own version of this game. If you try creating it on your own, let us know and we can share!

Suggested Skills & Modifications: Below are my suggestions for skills that can be practiced and/or generalized with this activity, along with potential modifications. Unlike all other posts on this blog, I have not yet had the opportunity to play this game with students with ASD. These modifications are based on past experience with similar games as well as past experience with field trips for students with special needs.

• Scanning – In order to play this game, your student must be able to scan in a multitude of ways: scanning the field of 25 pictures on the Bingo card, scanning the piece of art to discover the materials, and scanning the written description of the piece of art to find where materials are listed. It is relatively easy to modify this based on your student’s ability level. For the bingo card, you can make it simpler by saying something such as “I see a material that is on the top row of your Bingo card.” This way you are narrowing the field down to five pictures. You could also use a blank sheet of paper to cover pictures on the card to visually narrow down the field of pictures. For scanning the piece of art, you will largely have to use verbal prompts (such as “Look at the bottom.”) or gestural prompts (such as pointing to certain areas of the piece.) For the written description, you may have to read it for your student or point to certain words.
• Comparisons – This is a great activity for comparing two or more pieces of art. Asking your student what two pieces have in common helps with language skills and takes the Bingo game to a higher level. You can also compare the number of materials used in two or more pieces of art. This is particularly important for our students with ASD who can discuss art in this more concrete way, but may struggle with abstract questions or questions about what pieces they like most.
• Intraverbal Conversation – The Bingo game acts as a visual prompt for students to begin or participate in a conversation. Each picture not only names the material but also shows a visual example of what that material looks like. (Though in some pieces, the written description may state a material was used that is not clearly visible within the art itself.) You can initiate conversations with Wh- questions (such as “Where did the artist use pencil?”), exclamations (such as “Look at that!” or “What a surprise that this artist used an inkjet printer!), or statements (such as “I see fiberglass right there.”) The hope is that your student will use the game as a way to respond to statements appropriately, and begin to initiate conversation based on the game as you make your way through the museum.
• Peer play – This is a great game for students with ASD to play with siblings or other family members in their age range. It’s also good for class trips. If two or more students are motivated by the game, the visual cues and the range of artwork itself has the potential to lead to appropriate interactions with less prompting from adults than may be required in other games.

A final note about visiting the museum and other similar outings: Just like I have mentioned in relation to other games, a common modification for students with ASD is reducing the duration of an activity. This is more challenging when making an outing, because it may not seem worth getting the child ready, traveling to the museum, paying the fee, then only staying for 20 minutes. However, the experience is much better for the child and ensures a higher chance of future success if the trip is stopped while the child is still being successful in interacting appropriately.

Sometimes we get caught up in the fact that a tour is an hour long, or that we need to see all of a particular exhibit. This can lead to us pushing a child past his/her threshold and leaving the museum after maladaptive behavior, such as a tantrum. Your goal is to leave when the child still has a high level of interest so that they’re begging to go back again soon.

Teach Through Apps: Toontastic

Age level: Early elementary, upper elementary, middle school, high school
Description: Let me start by saying that I love this app. It is highly motivating for a wide range of students, and can be used to teach both low- and high-level learners. At it’s most basic, this app allows students to draw, animate, and share a cartoon. It splits the cartoon into five scenes: setup, conflict, challenge, climax, and resolution. For each scene, the child can choose the setting and characters, then click “Start animation” for that scene. They can move the characters around the screen AND record dialogue and sound effects. After creating each scene, they can add music to each scene, a movie title and their own name as the director.  Then they can label what their story is about from a menu within the app.
Modifications: I use this app for a variety of skill levels. For some of my early learners, I may create a story on my own and use it to teach a specific skill, especially for social skills for my students with autism or language delays. For some students I will create the entire story except for the resolution, have them listen to the story, then have them create the resolution on their own. The app also easily works for teaching story structure.
Students with autism or language delays can use this app to practice a conversation between characters. Because you can record dialogue for each scene, they can listen to what they have said and make improvement/adjustments on their own. I also work on requesting with these students if we are creating an animation together. I will ask them where they want me to move my character and require them to use adjectives, prepositions, and/or adverbs in their response. Additionally, because this is a highly motivating app for typically developing students, it can be a great tool for initiating age-appropriate peer play.
Finally, it is a fantastic skill for teaching recognition of emotion to older students with autism. Identifying the emotion the character might be feeling, having them respond appropriately to that emotion, and identifying music that would match that emotion are all important skills to practice.
Skills: Intraverbal skills, Story structure, Sequence, Retelling a story, Summarizing, Picture comprehension, Problem solving, Peer play
Pros: This is very user friendly, highly motivating, easy to modify, and a great tool for teaching a variety of comprehension and language skills.
Cons: After you have created a story and want to re-watch it, it is a little too easy to accidentally record over your initial dialogue. When you want to watch the animation, instead of pushing “Start Animation” you should push the clapboad in the upper right hand corner.
Cost: Free, with in-app purchases of additional scenes and characters. Should I buy this? Did I mention it’s free?
ABLLS: F16, F17, F22 G2, G10,  G13, G21, G39, G43, H48
VB-MAPP: Social Behavior & Social Play 12, Social Behavior & Social Play 13, Social Behavior & Social Play 14, Social Behavior & Social Play 15, Intraverbal 13, Intraverbal 14, Intraverbal 15, Linguistic Structure 15

Teach Through Games: Fitz It by Gamewright

Age Level: Early elementary, Upper elementary, Middle School
Description: This is a small card game (really, the cards are tiny!) in which players have to name objects that fit the descriptions on their cards and play them in a grid pattern. Cards include phrases such as “Comes in a variety of colors,” “Made with fabric,” and “Edible.”
Modifications: This game is incredibly easy to modify. Upper elementary students will enjoy the challenge of arranging the cards in a grid pattern to name objects that fit more than one card, but you can also play the game with younger kids by having them draw one card and name objects that fit that description. (Such as, how many things can you name that “Can be rolled up.”) With some students, I structure an increase in difficulty by then pulling out two cards, so they have to come up with objects that fit both criterion, such as “Often has a logo on it” and “Made with plastic.”
Skills: Class, Feature, Function, Expressive Language, Intraverbal Conversation, Prepositions
Pros: This is one of my favorite games. As mentioned above, it is very easy to modify. It also allows you to focus on working on expressive language and recall skills in an age-appropriate way for older students. The game offers a lot of potential for increasing complexity over time, and it is easy to play with two or more children of differing skill levels.
Cons: The only con I have is that the cards are tiny, and some of my students do struggle with picking them up and grasping them.
Cost: $10.00 Should I buy this? Yes! This is a game you could make yourself, if you didn’t mind spending dozens of hours doing so. It’s a great price for a tool you can use in multiple ways with a wide range of students.
ABLLS:
VB-MAPP: LRFFC9, Intraverbal15

Teach Through Games: Hedbanz

Age level: Preschool, Early Elementary, Upper Elementary
Description: To play this game, each person is wearing a headband with a picture stuck in it. The other players are giving them clues about what the picture is. Points are assigned differently based on the variation of the game you are playing.
Modifications: While I have used the Hedbanz game, many teachers will tell you they’ve been playing variations of this game before it was manufactured for the money. I  usually just hold up a picture to my forehead and ask the student to give me clues. Then we trade turns. If the student is able to play the game without pictures, I will vary the game to “I’m thinking of…” In this game I will typically start with the category, such as “I’m thinking of an animal.” The student then guesses or asks for another clue. The game can progress in difficulty based on your student’s skill level. For example, for older students, you could have them guess which famous person from history in on their card.
Skills: Expressive language, LRFFC, intraverbal conversation (i.e. responding to someone asking for another clue, responding appropriately if someone guesses incorrectly,) turn-taking, building from previous information (i.e. remembering the first two clues after receiving the third clue.)
Pros: The game is easy to modify based on your student’s skill level. If you are teaching LRFFC one by one, you can test for generalization by playing this game just with mastered targets. And for parents, you can play “I’m thinking of” anywhere: in the car, while standing in line, etc.
Cons: Some students with autism or other delays will not tolerate the headband being placed on their head.
Cost: $20-$25 (depending on the version) Should I buy this? Probably not. All you need to play this game is pictures of different objects. There is no reason to spend the money for a game that you hope will evolve past the use of pictures to the “I’m thinking of…” game described in the modifications section above. (I promise it’s not just my extreme distaste for deliberately misspelled words that makes me recommend against this purchase!)
ABLLS: G13, G15, G16, G17, G23, G24, G25, G34, H7, H8, H9, H11, H12, H14, H16, H17, H18, H36, H37, J11
VB-MAPP: LRFFC 15M, Intraverbal 11M, Intraverbal 12M, Linguistics 13M