Colourful semantics

Meeting Event Name

Colourful SemanticsModule One

Learning Objectives

• What is Colourful Semantics (CS)?• Who can use CS?• Who can implement CS?• Why use CS?• The Colour Coded System• How to use CS• How to generalise the skills learnt• Resources and further information

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What is Colourful Semantics?

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What is Colourful Semantics?

• CS is an approach founded by Alison Bryan

• It is aimed at helping users develop their grammar but is routed in the meaning of words (semantic system)

4Book Image © Copyright of Stass Publications

What is Colourful Semantics?

• The system reassembles sentences by cutting them up into their thematic roles. This creates structured and graded sentences.

• The System Colour codes each thematic role, which gives excellent support to children who are visual learners.

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Who can use Colourful Semantics?

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Who can you use CS with?

• Almost anyone!

• Colourful semantics is used widely with children who have a Specific Language Impairment.

• However, the system was formed by Alison Bryan when she worked with an adult client who had suffered from a stroke.

• The approach can be used with children, adolescents and adults with a range of Speech, Language and Communication Needs.

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Who can you use CS with?

• This includes:– Specific Language Impairment– Language Delay– Developmental Delay or Disorder– Autistic Spectrum Condition– English as an Additional Language – Learning Disability – Down Syndrome– Literacy difficulties/Dyslexia– Aphasia – and so on….

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Who can implement it?

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Who can implement Colourful Semantics?

• A range of adults trained in the approach can implement it, including;– Teachers– Teaching Assistants– Parents– Carers– Tutors– Professionals

• A Speech and Language Therapist can train you on how to use the approach with select children or can provide training for a whole school approach.

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Why use Colourful Semantics?

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The benefits of Colourful Semantics

• Encourages wider vocabulary• Helps to increase language/use longer sentences• Helps answer questions or generate responses to

questions• Improves use of nouns, verbs, prepositions and adjectives• Improves story telling skills• The oral system can be transferred to written sentences• and written language comprehension

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The Colour Coded System

The Colour Coded System

• Colourful Semantics has a range of levels and phases which are all colour coded. They include levels of ‘who’, ‘what doing,’ ‘what’ and ‘where’.

• The system also includes using adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and negatives.

This module will focus on levels 1 to 4 of the Colour Semantics Approach.

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Level 1

• Who is the Subject– People– Animals

• It is always represented by the colour orange

• It is first to appear on the sentence strip

Who?

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Level 2

• What doing is the VERB – Example ‘is throwing’

• It is always represented by the colour yellow

• It is second to appear on the sentence strip

What Doing?

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Level 3

• What doing is the Object – Example ‘the ball’

• It is always represented by the colour green

• It is third to appear on the sentence strip

What?

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Level 4

• What doing is the Location – Example ‘in the park’

• It is always represented by the colour blue

• It is fourth to appear on the sentence strip

Where?

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How to use Colourful Semantics?

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The Rules

• Introduce each level separately • Introduce the colour cue card and state what you will be

doing – ‘Let’s talk about who is in the picture.’ • Do not move on to the next level until the child

consistently understands the concept being taught - For example, they understand the concept ‘who’ and can correctly

identify the subject of a picture.

• Encourage the use of the ‘little’ words - For example, The man is eating the cake

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Introducing the level

• You introduce each level by showing the child the colour cue card.

• You can provide additional visual information and reinforce the concept by using a visual sign such as Makaton Signing.

Makaton signs can be found on their website www.makaton.org

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Colour Coded Cue Cards

Who?

What Doing?

What?

Where?

You can use the CueCard to introduce theLevel, and discuss theConcept

For example, WHO

Who is your FavouritePrincess?

Who is she? (point to another child or adult)

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Sentence Strips

• Use the sentence strips to organise the child’s oral responses.

• The child should look at a picture/photograph and choose the corresponding symbols for each level. The child can then practice putting each level together.

• Only use the sentence strip appropriate for the level you are working on. For example, if you are working at level 2, ensure your sentence strip only has ‘Who + What doing’

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Level One Strip

Who?

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Level Two Strip

Who? What Doing?

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Level Three Strip

Who? What Doing? What?

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Level Four Strip

Who? What Doing? What? Where?

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Using Colourful Semantics for literacy

• You can used the same colour coding within the CS system.

• To increase awareness of the levels within text you can get children to make their writing more colourful by getting them to colour the chosen level.

• For example:

– is washing her face. (Instruction: colour who is in the picture)The girl

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Using Colourful Semantics for literacy

• You can also use the sentence strips so that the user can write about a picture or story.

• They can identify the content of the picture/story using the colour cards and use this to help them sequence their writing.

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Generalising Colourful Semantics

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Use Coloured feely bags

• Use different colour feely bags and place the correct level in each bag.

• Get the child to pull out the pictures to construct a sentence – who knows what they could come up with?

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Model the framework

• Use the sentence structure and reinforce it in the home/classroom.

• Use as much as possible throughout the day.

• For example:– Harry is painting a picture. – Eva is playing with sand in the playground.– Mummy is cooking the food in the kitchen.– Daddy is sleeping in his bed.

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Snap Snap Snap…

• Take pictures of your child or the children in your class

• You can do a ‘picture of the day/week’

• Show your child/the children the picture and ask them to tell you all about it

• Cue further information by using your colour cue cards or Makaton signs.

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Story Time

• Reinforce the system during story time.

• You can ask key questions after a short story…– Who was the story about?– Where did they go?– What was Goldilocks doing?

• You can ask the questions after reading a passage or you can get the children to look at the images before you read it, so that they generate the sentence, and you reinforce using the written text.

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Questions and answers

• Ask questions using the key terms– Who– What doing– What– Where

• For example:- Child: ‘Miss, look at Harry!’ - Teacher: ‘Wow, what is he doing?’ - Child: Climbing the ladder- Teacher: Yes, Harry is climbing the ladder in the

playground

• Answer questions using the structure

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Expanding Questions and answers

• Reinforce the content of the level the child is at.

• Prepare the child for the next level by expanding your response to the next level.

• For example:– The boy is drinking – Yes. The boy is drinking his juice.

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Case Study – Child aged 4;03

May 2013 – She was at a one word level with some 2Word Level utterances. Limited understanding and use of verbs.

December 2013 – Examples of up to 8 word utterancesFor example: What you have? I have a boy a swimming in water.

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Case Study Continued

May 2013 – “Teddy bear”

December 2013 – “A girl a hug a teddy bear”

Child’s language has improved.She is now classed as having a moderate language delay as opposed to severe. She continuesto make good progress

Image taken from the Renfrew Action Picture Test © Copyright of Speechmark

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Further Information and Resources

• Symbols shown within the PowerPoint are Boardmaker ®

• Our ready to use Colourful Semantics Pack is available to

download for free on our website.

• We update our resources regularly to include nursery Rhymes, Stories, and Special Occasions.

• We provide enhanced training for a range of settings. You can ask about our training packages here.

Thank youTel: 0845 838 2921

Web: www.integratedtreatments.co.uk

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