MC6 subject + prepositional phrase

 You will need:

• Oval, rectangle, diamond, semicircle shapes and/or SHAPE CODING app
• Symbols for target preposition words – laminated on flashcards. 
• Small pictures or text flashcards of subjects and objects for sentence work/app. 
• Real objects/toys

App setting: Default

Intervention steps:

1. Introduce WHERE semi-circle shape which contains yellow (preposition) words. Show the template below.          
     Place a figure (e.g. Sam) in the oval, a preposition symbol (e.g. for on) on the yellow line and a small object such as a chair on the rectangle. Say the sentence again, but this time pick up Sam when you say “Sam”, and move him along the sentence whilst you say each word. When he gets to on the chair, put him on the chair. If the child can read, write the words in the shapes. Leave the toy chair on the rectangle, with Sam on the chair.                                  
   

Ask these questions (turn the shapes round or do a long press on the app to reveal the question word) and ensure the child answers using the information from the appropriate shape:

“Who is on the chair?”  Sam (oval)
“Where is Sam?” on the chair (semi-circle)

NB – do not ask “What is Sam on?” This asks about the rectangle and is a harder question, so comes later (see Q7)

Make changes to the sentence (such as those below). Get the child to “read” and act out the new sentence and then answer questions about it.

• Change the preposition on the yellow line e.g. Sam is under/behind/in front of the chair. (The focus here is on the sentence structure, not the meaning of individual prepositions, so use prepositions that the child already knows – you may also need to teach the meaning of some prepositions).
• Change the character in the oval, e.g. the dog/cat is on the chair
• Put inanimate items in the oval, e.g. the ball/cup is on the chair
• Change the item in the rectangle, e.g. Sam is on the table/shed/ball
• Reverse the order of the item in the oval and rectangle and show how this changes the meaning e.g. the cup is on the saucer vs the saucer is on the cup; the ball is behind the tree vs the tree is behind the ball.

Keep asking individual questions to ensure the child understands which part of the sentence corresponds to which question/phrase/shape.

3. Expression: The child says a sentence matching the pattern for you to act out.
   
   
4. Reduce shapes: Repeat earlier steps without shapes, but then bring them back to check responses.
   
   
5. Monitoring: Start making “errors” and get the child to spot them:
   • Using shape templates as an aid 
   • Without the templates

6. Repeat steps using items with the same animacy (e.g., both oval and rectangle animate or both inanimate, i.e. more reversible). 

7. Consolidation: At the end of each session, review prepositions covered in previous sessions and start to mix up instructions to use a range of subjects and prepositions in consecutive instructions. Make sure that some of these are reversible. If the child can read, you might like to use this PowerPoint.
   
   
8. Generalisation: Hide and seek/ find items. Once found, child says where the item was. Use prompts at first (SHAPE CODING shapes, signing etc.) then gradually reduce the support.