Turn-taking games can be a valuable part of the day for a student with significant disabilities. It is the perfect way to target communication and social skills goals. In addition, turn-taking games are perfect activities to engage with their general education peers. Today I will give you sample goals that can be targeted when playing group games and some of my favorite group games to play!
Play Turn-Taking Games with IEP Goals in Mind
Playing games during the school day is a great way to target different IEP goals! It adds extra fun during the day, but students also learn! *gasp*
Goals focusing on sharing, requesting, commenting, or participating in a small group are great goals to work on during turn-taking games. It is also easy to target core vocabulary if you have students learning to use AAC devices. Read more to see what core vocabulary I target for each game.
Here are some IEP goals to target:
- Given a structured group setting, student will attend for x minutes without disruption or leaving the designated area in x% of opportunities.
- Given opportunities for cooperative interactions with peers, student will share materials and engage in turn-taking in x% of opportunities
- Given structured play, student will interact with a peer for 10 different shared activities and demonstrate simple social interaction rules (waiting turn, requesting a turn, sharing an item) as demonstrated on 3 occasions each.
- Given a variety of activities and preferred mode of communication, student will use x number of words/phrases to request, comment, or protest in x% of opportunities.
The IEP goals above are only a small sample of what could be targeted during turn-taking games. The opportunities are endless!
What are the Characteristics of a Good Turn-Taking Game?
Not all games are created equal. Students with significant disabilities will be more successful with games with the characteristics below. These characteristics are essential because they make the game easy to understand, reduce wait time between turns, and limit sensory stimuli.
Many special education teachers have ended a game in frustration because a student swiped the pieces off the table. I’ve been there! That’s why I’ve been strategic in the type of games introduced to my students. I like to use games where I can control how many pieces are on the table at once. Once students become more successful with turn taking and using the materials appropriately, I can give more “freedom” with the materials.
My Favorite Games:
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Pop the Pig includes dice and little hamburgers. I keep the hamburgers in a box and show a few at once. Students love it when the pig pops!
Core words to target: turn, big, little, eat, more, put
Zingo does contain a lot of pieces, but students love it! There are many different core words to target and the game’s rules are simple. Students match the piece to a picture on their bingo board.
Core words to target: turn, same, different, have, who, put
Beware of the Bear is super fun! Students roll the dice, and depending on what they land on, they must poke the sleeping bear x amount of times. Each time they poke the bear, they get to collect a goody. When the bear wakes up, everyone must give back a goody. Students love it when the bear pops awake!
Core words to target: turn, put, in, out, up
Jumping Jack Game is similar to Beware of the Bear and Pop the Pig. Students roll the dice and pick the rolled number of carrots from the garden. When the rabbit pops, the game is over. Whoever has the most carrots wins!
Core words to target: turn, in, out, finished, more
Tator Toss is a simple game and reminds me of the Hot Potato game when I was a kid. Squeeze the tator, and the music will stop playing. Pass the tator around until the music stops!
Core words to target: turn, fast, slow, stop, go
What are some of your favorite turn-taking games for students with significant disabilities? Let me know in the comments!