WORD FINDING

Speech/Language Activities for Home/Classroom Use

Anchoring “new" with “old”: Before introducing a new topic, have a large group discussion of what the children already know. Display the known information as a semantic web (chart). Then expand the “web” with new information. This will help them to see how the new information fits with what they already know.
Help children to organize information in their minds using association. Some activities would be as follows:

Categorization: group information in categories such as animals, foods, instruments, tools, vehicles, etc. and eventually in less concrete categories such as words that tell feelings, actions, etc.
Synonyms: List groups of words that mean the same things.
Similarities/Differences: Contrast two similar items by listing ways in which they are alike, and ways in which they are different, (e.g. butterflies and moths: similar body parts but differences in structure and habits.)
Finding salient or most meaningful features: When contrasting different animals, it is not meaningful to discuss the fact that they both have heads, noses, eyes, etc. It is more meaningful to talk about the special noises they make, ways they move, places where they live, etc.

Ways of cueing word finding: There are several different levels of cues to help children when they are unable to retrieve a word. Some methods are as follows:

Compare/contrast: If the child uses “stove” for “fireplace” you can list similarities (“Well, both get hot and we can cook on them, but a stove is made of metal and this thing is made of bricks. Can you think of a better word?”
Provide a fill-in-the-blank carrier phrase “You start a fire in the…” Some carrier phrases can eventually be used by the child as an internal cue, (e.g. saying ‘Baa baa black…” to come up with the word “sheep.”)
Provide an initial phoneme cue f-.”
Provide a list of choices: ‘Would you like to call it a chimney, a fireplace, wood burner.”
After a correct response is given, review similarities and differences (parts of the whole, materials or composition, function, etc.) and discuss synonyms and antonyms.

Describing: Description can be used as a strategy when the child is unable to recall the word they need (e.g. “I need the thing that we use to make the play dough flat.”) Therefore, the child should be given opportunities to further develop these skills by practicing with games such as “I’m thinking of something that…” Our examples of modeling (when it’s our turn) should include category names (an animal,) functions (you dig with it), colors, materials (made of wood,) shapes, how the object feels, and any other appropriate qualities or properties.