Encouraging A Sense of Humor - Joke of the Week

A child’s ability to understand humor is evidence of growing listening, spoken language, and social skills. Many children who are deaf and hard of hearing are concrete thinkers and lack linguistic flexibility which has a negative impact on literacy, academic and social success. Research offers evidence of the value of understanding humor as a key element in developing higher-level language skills and complex language patterns such as inferences, multiple-meaning words, and idioms which are often weak for children with hearing loss without intervention.

Understanding jokes and why they are funny builds vocabulary, figurative language, and knowledge of structural and lexical ambiguity. Learning to tell jokes encourages clear speech, appropriate prosody as well as perspective-taking and social skills. Memorizing jokes to tell improves auditory memory skills.

Talk about different kinds of jokes. Jokes that ask a question with a “punch line” that makes people laugh. Knock - Knock jokes have two parts and are usually funny because one word sounds similar or rhymes with a different word. Ask a child to explain why a joke is funny. If not many bluff and laugh without understanding.

When learning how to reply and tell jokes a script is helpful.  “I have a joke for you.” introduces the topic of conversation.  Explaining that jokes are not logical and the answers are tricky is important. Teaching the child to respond with “I don’t know. I give up.” works well.

Child: I have a joke for you.
Adult: Ok. I’m ready.
Child: What is a dog’s favorite snack?
Adult: I don’t know. I give up.
Child: Pup-corn! LOL!

In my auditory verbal practice, children often age 5-7 come prepared with a joke to share. They draw a picture of the joke on one side of a piece of paper and the answer goes on the back often written by a parent.

Monthly and seasonal Riddles & Jokes are available for FREE in my Listen With Lynn shop. Share them in teletherapy, distance-learning or send home for fun and practice. They can be printed cut out and adhered to index cards for easy re-telling.

BUZZ OFF! VOCABULARY BUILDER - 5 GAMES IN

Teletherapy | Distance Learning | At Home 

Buzz Off is five listening and spoken language vocabulary building games in one! They are all large closed-set listening activities that can be played with one child or up to four players. Buzz Off is loved by families at home, perfect for distance learning, teletherapy, and in therapy sessions and classrooms. Buzz Off can be printed or the PDF can be played on an iPad, computer or teletherapy platform. 

Buzz Off involves every player on every move. The bright, honeycombed playing boards are full of playful images that children find engaging. Children listen and find pictures in an attempt to make a continuous path of markers from one side of their game board to the other: Blue to Blue, Yellow to Yellow or Green to Green. One of the fun things about playing Buzz Off is that strategy may change based on listening to the other players’ choices. 

Listening and spoken language games that target:

🐝 Game 1: Auditory Identification

🐝 Game 2: Auditory Memory

🐝 Game 3: Auditory Association

🐝 Game 4: Categories

🐝 Game 5: Critical Thinking

No Print Version

✅ Distance Learning

✅ Teletherapy

✅ Family fun game at home

Print Version

✅ Individual therapy sessions

✅ School-based lessons

✅ Small and mixed groups

✅ Family fun

Watch playing Buzz Off during a teletherapy session. A playing card is marked with a red pen free annotation tool.

BUZZ OFF played in a thetherapy session by sharing the screen and using the pen annotation tool to mark off the game card. No Print - No Prep!

Guess the Secret Object - Listening, Thinking & Reasoning Skills

Guess the Secret Object targets auditory memory, comprehension and processing skills. Kids love to make guesses while building their listening, critical thinking and reasoning skills. For each secret object, the child is categorizing and analyzing information, making inferences, and drawing conclusions. The goal is to make logical guesses and identify all 32 secret objects by listening to the four clues presented one by one through hearing alone. Each of the clues gets increasingly more specific.

Once the secret object is revealed the next activity is for the child to remember and use each of the clues to clearly describe the object in connected speech. Thereby stretching their auditory memory, building vocabulary and descriptive language skills.

Print and No-Print Versions

See Guess My Secret Object ready to play on an iPad

A Versatile resource that checks ✅ all the boxes.

✅ Targets Multiple Listening and Spoken Language Goals

No Print Version

✅ Distance Learning

✅ Teletherapy

✅ Family fun game at home

Print Version

✅ Individual therapy sessions

✅ School-based lessons

✅ Small and mixed groups

✅ Family fun

This extensive 84-page resource includes:

• No Print: The game can be used on a computer, iPad, or teletherapy platforms using PDF reader apps. A cue to listen slide is included between each Secret Object so the clues can be presented and the game played through hearing alone.

• Print Version: This resource includes printable game cards. Fold the game cards in half with the Secret Object on one side and the clues on the other 

• Game Play Listening and Spoken Language Tips

• A Script with scaffolding strategies to help the child recall details and put them all together for comprehension.

• Handout with the Clues for the 32 Secret Objects

This is a versatile game to be played with one child, with others taking turns or on teams. It is loved by families at home, perfect for distance learning and in therapy sessions and classrooms.

Free Educational Websites For Distance Learning and Teletherapy

This resource is a free download available from Lalilo | Online Phonics and Comprehension for K- Second Grade. The program is currently completely free for parents and professionals. lailio.com https://www.lalilo.com

Download by clicking on the handout.

Telepractice and Listening and Spoken Language - Auditory Verbal Practice

When the COVID-19 Pandemic began, our way of communicating with others shifted dramatically — more on video conferencing, more on phone calls. So many asking about How does telepractice work for LSL intervention?

Listening and spoken language intervention focuses on guiding and coaching families to be their child’s first and most important teacher. It helps families understand and use LSL strategies and techniques in their regular daily routines. Creating an auditory-focused life will help children who are deaf and hard of hearing learn to listen, use spoken language, learn to read, be successful in school and life.

Auditory verbal professionals can use teletherapy to coach families to understand and include LSL strategies into daily life. Telepractice is a wonderful opportunity to maximize the child’s home environment and grow parents’ confidence and understanding in teaching their child each and every day at home.

Listening and spoken language intervention focuses on guiding and coaching families to be their child’s first and most important teacher. It helps families understand and use LSL strategies and techniques in their regular daily routines. Creating an auditory-focused life will help children who are deaf and hard of hearing learn to listen, use spoken language, learn to read, be successful in school and life.

Auditory verbal professionals can use teletherapy to coach families to understand and include LSL strategies into daily life. Telepractice is a wonderful opportunity to maximize the child’s home environment and grow parents’ confidence and understanding in teaching their child each and every day at home.

HearingFirst.com has comprehensive resources and tools for professionals who are planning to deliver telepractice to children and their families.  Follow Hearing First, then you can read and obtain infomation about teletherapy Register for the Professional Learning community or the Parent to Parents Support Community to colloborate with others on this important topie.

@HearingFirst.org