We all remember those familiar nursery rhymes from growing up. “Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock.”
What do you remember the most about them? Their sing-song cadence and fun gestures are what come to my mind. These characteristics and more are why using nursery rhymes to teach early comprehension to students with significant disabilities and autism is a great strategy. Let’s discuss what those characteristics are and what aspects of comprehension they help address.
Familiarity and Repetition
Nursery rhymes often have a predictable and repetitive structure, which can support students in understanding sequencing. Regular exposure to nursery rhymes helps build familiarity, making it easier for students to anticipate the sequence of events within the rhyme.
Essential Skill: Sequencing the events of a story
Visual Supports
Many nursery rhymes have accompanying illustrations or gestures that can provide visual cues to support comprehension. The story is simple; therefore the visuals are simple. Be sure students can identify the tier 1 vocabulary most likely included in nursery rhymes (ie. the mouse in “Hickory Dickory Dock” or the lamb in “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”) Many students with autism or other significant disabilities have delays in receptive language. We should not assume they have a strong understanding of the simple vocabulary included in stories. Furthermore, utilize visual aids, such as pictures or simple storyboards, to help students follow along. You may also act out or practice identifying the tier 1 vocabulary included in stories. Finally, complete a simple craft depicting the characters or an object in the story is a great activity! Visual supports also make it easier for students to answer simple WH questions about the story.
Essential Skill: Identify tier 1 vocabulary, identify characters and setting of a story, answer WH questions about the story
Gestures and Actions
Nursery rhymes often lend itself well to acting out the story with gestures and actions. This creates a high engaging activity for students that incorporates the entire body. Create gestures and actions that correspond to specific elements in the nursery rhyme. Students participating in those gestures will reinforce their understanding and aid in memory recall of specific details of the story. Also, students who have IEP goals to imitate gestures can get in on the action as well!
Essential Skill: recall specific details from a story, imitate actions or gestures
Auditory Discrimination
Nursery rhymes expose students to different sounds, rhythms, and language patterns. Engaging with nursery rhymes’ rhythmic and melodic qualities can enhance auditory discrimination skills, which are essential for understanding and sequencing the story. The rhythm and cadence of nursery rhymes will also encourage students to read and reread these stories. Rereading stories help enhance performance.
Essential Skill: phonemic awareness, rhyming
Using nursery rhymes to teach early comprehension skills makes it easy to use a multi-sensory approach. Repetition, whole-body engagement, visual aids, and simple language are all essential strategies to use with students with significant disabilities.
Looking for a ready-made resource with all these aspects used to teach comprehension skills? Check out my Nursery Rhymes Comprehension + Crafts by clicking the button below!
