I have a few boxes of sequencing cards in my office. I did not buy them, but really discovered them after going through the materials that were left by the therapist who had retired. At first glance, I thought the pictures could use some updating, but I decided to give them a try.
To my initial surprise, the kids liked them, and I was getting a lot of language work done with one set of materials. Fast forward 2 years and I am using Colorcards apps regularly in my sessions.
While I still feel like the pictures can use some updating, the app runs excellently, provides data and feedback, and allows for specification for specific children or groups. The only true complaint is that there is not more sets of pictures!
Sequencing skills are an catch-all task in speech/language groups. You can work on grammar (use of transitions and appropriate sentence structure), vocabulary (identifying and using words from the pictures), and expressive language (increase MLU when talking about pictures and sequencing). Higher order thinking skills can be targeted if you get some of the prediction work built in as well! If the materials are engaging, you can get a lot done in your session.
The settings screen allows for a lot of changes and specifications. You can add your own pictures (thus bypassing any complaints about updating! 😃). You have set up specific users and generate reports. Think about the options you have here. You can snap pictures of a students day and have them work on sequencing and talking about it. You can have parents share pictures from home and sequence those both at home and at school. You can generate data and talk about it all! Very powerful!
As you can we there are a few options for activities- typically I work on “ordering,” but let’s not forget about predicting and describing.
Here’s the basic ordering page. Green highlights go around the card to let you know you’ve got it right which is good feedback for some of my students. It does not automatically advance which gives you time to probe for more expressive language.
On the predicting page, you have the choice of picking between 1 and 4 cards. I like the 4 because it allows for more prompts to be given before asking the harder questions.
On the describing page, you can work trough each individual picture while building a whole story.
Here’s another shot of the describing page.
All in all, Colorcards has developed a solid app. It can adapted to meet a variety of goals. It allows for specification and logs data. Specific users can be set up, and it can be tailored to an individual students needs or home life.
Colorcards makes a variety of other materials work checking out too- don’t forget those boxes of cards if you see them around the therapy room!
Do you have any other apps or materials you like to use for sequencing skills? Send me a message at danrfitch@gmail.com, or go to www.everythingislanguage.com!
