3.3

Learning what ‘doing’ words (verbs) mean

Why is this important?

Action words describe what people are doing. They are more difficult to learn than object names because they aren’t static. Children pick them up more easily if they can be experienced (e.g. by ‘washing’ themselves or teddy). It’s important, therefore, to use as many multi-sensory activities as you can.

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What to do
• You will need:
★ Teddy or doll (or a favourite toy).
★ Cup, brush, item of food, flannel.
• Put out teddy (or other toy) with two different objects (e.g. cup and flannel). Ask:
★ ‘Make teddy drink.’ ★ ‘Wash teddy.’
• You can also ask the child to make teddy perform an action that doesn’t need any
props (e.g. sleep, run, sit, wave, clap).
★ ‘Make teddy jump.’ ★ ‘Make teddy sit.’ ★ ‘Make teddy sleep.’