I like to use a simple formula with my kids. I start off instructing them to tell me the information in 1-2 sentences. Then, as they are able to master that, then we are able to add more sentences with greater detail. This form is one that I used with my speech therapy kids to help them remember what information they needed to tell and a way for them to write it out before telling it to the group.
You always want to know WHEN it occurred, WHAT HAPPENED, WHERE the event took place, and WHO was there. Of course you could always insert more information, but these are the basics. It becomes a great formula for simple sentences:
- In July, I built a sand castle at the beach with my family.
- Yesterday, I shopped for clothes at Kohls with my mom.
Also, as the kids become more comfortable with the information, they can move the information to any order in the sentence (that is grammatically correct). Simply cut out the parts on the WS and move them around to help keep a visual aid:
- My family went to the beach in July and we built sand castles.
- In July, I went to the beach with my family and we built a sand castle.
- Yesterday I bought school clothes at Kohls with my mom.
You get the idea...
If your child is working on listening comprehension, then make sure to ask him/her questions about what other people did over the summer.
Oh... and if you need clarification that these activities actually happened over the summer, you may want to send a note home to the parents to write 3-5 major events that happened over the summer. This way if a student can't think of anything he/she did over the summer, you are armed with a few ideas.
If your student is working on pragmatics, then this can be a great activity to have your student work on maintaining eye contact (with the whole group or pair that student up with one person so the audience is only one person), speaking loud enough for others to hear, remaining on topic, asking a question about someone else's story (and remaining on topic), etc.
Click here to download the pdf file.