Last June, as I was running out of novel games and activities to pull from my shelves, and my students had stopped trying to hide their yawns, I decided to make something brand new. Before I put time into creating something, I try to make sure that it can be used with as many kiddos on my caseload as possible. I wanted it to be something I could use individually or with a group for articulation, language (requesting, describing, communicative exchanges, answering and asking WH questions), and I wanted to make sure it was a topic that would be exciting for my english speaking students or signers. So, after thinking for awhile, I decided on ....
CUPCAKES!
Everyone loves cupcakes! Regardless of age, language, or background, cupcakes are a big hit. So, this is what I came up with.
First, decide whether you would like each of your students to have their own cupcake pan, or if you want them to work together to fill one pan that they share. Next, set up your spinner. You can go simple, like I did in the picture, with a pencil and a paper clip, or you can use a fastener and the arrow that I included in the resource. As you can see, the students will spin the spinner to determine if they need to select a cupcake liner, frosting, topping, or decoration. Here's a quick photo of all the choices spread out on a table. For students who will be overwhelmed with this large of a selection, narrow the field in advance with the pictures you would like them to choose from. If working on colors, base your decision on that. One critical element? Remove all of the pictures that have frosting AND sprinkles, etc.
MMM just looking at that picture makes my stomach start growling! Depending on my students and their goals, I will at times turn this into a barrier game. So, each student has an identical set of cupcake pieces, and a pan. They take turns spinning the spinner and then choosing what they want. Then, they need to describe the piece to their peer, so that the peer selects the same exact cupcake piece. This continues until each student has an identical pan of cupcakes! Let the students make mistakes - it makes for a wonderful language experience at the end of the game when you lift the barrier and the students realize they are not the same after all! They can then discuss the differences that they have.
For students who are working on following the directions and turn taking, I included these game cards.
Your students will need to take turns selecting a card and then either reading the directions aloud, or following the direction that you read aloud, to chose the described cupcake piece!
By the end of the game, your students will have a tray that will look something like this!
One of the great things about this activity is, if your students fill up their tray and you still have some time left to your therapy session, you can then have a cupcake party! Sooo many ways to pull language out of a cupcake party! How does it taste? Which one do you want? Do you need a plate? A napkin? Ooooh you have some frosting on your chin! It goes on and on :)
You can find my cupcake resource by clicking on the link here -> Build Cupcakes - Build Language!
I hope that if nothing else, I motivated you all to go out and eat a cupcake! Wishing you all a great month of October :)
Also, the beautiful stock photo up top was purchased from: Dollar Stock Photos
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