Speaking, listening & understanding : games for young children

Winner of the Primary Books category at the 2004 Education Resources Awards and Highly Commended in the Books for Learning Teaching category of the 2004 TES/NASEN Special Needs Book Awards.

Written by two experienced speech language therapists, who have worked extensively alongside mainstream teachers, this book provides activities that are both teacher and child friendly.

It contains a collection of graded games and activities designed to foster the speaking, listening and understanding skills of children aged from 5 to 7. The activities are divided into two main areas: Understanding Spoken Language: Following Instructions; Getting the Main Idea; Thinking Skills; Developing Vocabulary; Understanding Inference.

Using Spoken Language: Narrating; Describing; Explaining; Predicting; Playing with Words. "Each activity has a clear aim, simple instructions, and requires minimal equipment. "Activities may be carried out by teachers, classroom assistants or volunteers. "Incorporates user-friendly opportunities for assessment, target setting and evaluation. "Includes photocopiable material to support the activities. "Many of the activities can be used by speech language therapists, and the book can be used as an effective part of a speech and language programme. "Promotes the skills outlined in Speaking and Listening in the English National Curriculum Key Stage One.

Catherine Delamain has forty-seven years' experience of working with young children.

Her last post before retiring was team leader for education in a large speech and language therapy service.

She is currently collaborating in the delivery of a rolling programme of training for first and primary school teachers, designed to help them meet the needs of children with speech and language difficulties in mainstream schools. Jill Spring is a speech & language therapist specialising in speech and language disorder in children, and the impact of these difficulties on their learning.

She qualified in 1972 and has worked in paediatric settings including community clinics, assessment centres, opportunity playgroups and mainstream schools.

She is currently senior clinician in a speech and language unit, and is actively involved in providing training for teachers and learning support assistants, health visitors and those involved in nursery education.