Story sequencing – Use sequencing pictures (see link below) and encourage the child to put them in the correct order. Begin by using two and three step sequencing pictures. You may need to help the child by placing the first picture on the table and giving them a choice of two pictures ‘do you think this one or this one goes next?’. Support the child to describe what is happening in each picture. Model using the words ‘and then’ between each picture e.g. “The boy is picking a flower and then he is giving it to his Mum”.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/specialeducationalneeds-sen-speech-language-therapy/specialeducationalneeds-sen-speech-language-therapy-language/specialeducationalneeds-sen-speech-language-therapy-narrative-and-sequencing

Add one – Take turns to do a simple action, such as jumping. Another child copies the action and then adds another one saying “I can jump and hop as well”.

Shopping game – In a pair or small group play the game ‘I went to the shops and bought…’ As more items are added to the list encourage the child to use ‘and’ e.g. “I bought a cat and a toothbrush”

Choices – Have a group of toys and offer a choice between two items saying “You can have the red brick or the yellow brick” Swap roles and encourage the child to offer you a choice using ‘or’. Games such as ‘Pop up Pirate’ or ‘Pop up Dragon’ are ideal for practicing using ‘or’. The child can offer playing pieces e.g. “Do you want a red sword or a green sword?”.

Why-because - Use why-because pictures (see link below). Take the first picture of the pair and talk about what is happening in the picture e.g. “The boy is happy”. Ask the child a question e.g. “Why is the boy happy?” and show the second picture. Encourage the child to start their answer with “because…”. Model if the child is having difficulties e.g. “Because it is his birthday”.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/specialeducationalneeds-sen-speech-language-therapy-language/speech-language-therapy-question-words/speech-language-therapy-question-words-why

Emotions – Talk about different emotions and look at pictures of people showing different emotions. Encourage your child to describe how the person is feeling using the word because e.g. “He’s feeling sad because he cut his knee” or “She’s feeling excited because it’s her birthday”.

Activities for developing use of joining words (conjunctions)

Odd one out – Use a group of pictures or objects and ask the child to spot the odd one out e.g. banana, apple, grapes and carrot. Model the sentence to the child using the word ‘but’ e.g. “These are all fruits but this one is not”. Encourage the child to use the sentence you have modelled to compare other odd one out groups.

Spot the difference – Use spot the difference pictures and ask the child to identify something different between the two images. Model the sentence to the child using the word ‘but’ e.g. “There is a blue chair in this picture but there is a red chair in this picture”. Encourage the child to use the sentence you have modelled to compare other spot the difference pictures.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Talk about the story and model a sentence using the word so e.g. “The caterpillar was hungry so he ate one apple”. Encourage the child to make similar sentences referring to the book if needed. This activity can be repeated with other familiar stories where there are a sequence of similar events e.g. The Smartest Giant in Town – “The giraffe was sad so the giant gave him the tie” or The Tiger who came to tea – “The tiger was hungry so he ate the sandwiches”.