Here's a peer-to-peer Valentine’s Day social language activity to ask and answer questions that can be shared with your students as a conversation starter for children with autism and speech-language delays. By reading the beginning reader question to a peer, the students can use this as a conversation prompt to begin a verbal exchange. As the second student reads the written response aloud, the conversation can continue with a back-and-forth exchange to increase verbal conversational skills, language and speech development, and social skills. All questions and responses include a variety of generic questions that may be applicable to any student.

HOW WILL I USE THIS IN MY CLASSROOM?

1. Print and laminate each numbered conversation card.

(NO VELCRO NEEDED!)

2. Trim each Valentine’s Day conversation card along the black border.

3. STUDENTS ARE READY TO BEGIN!

4. Have two students sit across from each other at a desk or small table. The first student asks the question (green heart) and the second student reads the response aloud (red heart). The teacher, therapist, or assistant can help the students by asking additional questions to guide more in depth responses.

5. A DATA SHEET is included to track reading, responses to questions, conversational skills, and focus and attention to task. The teacher, therapist, or assistant can complete the data sheet.

DOES THIS SPEECH AND LANGUAGE ACTIVITY ALIGN TO STATE STANDARDS?

YES! For Social Emotional Learning Standards:

1. Recognize personal qualities and external support.

a. Identify one’s likes and dislikes, needs and wants, strengths and challenges.

b. Describe personal skills and interests that one wants to develop.

c. Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others.

d. Use communication and social skills to interact effectively with others.

e. Demonstrate appropriate social and classroom behavior.

YES! For Reading Standards for Informational Text:

1. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

YES! For Reading Foundational Skills:

1. Demonstrate of the organization and basic features of print.

YES! For Reading Phonics and Word Recognition:

1. Read common high frequency words by sight.

2. Know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

YES! For Reading Fluency:

1. Read emergent reader texts with fluency and understanding.

2. Recite or read a sentence.

YES! For Language:

1. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

2. Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns (e.g., I, me, my; they, them, their; anyone, everything).

3. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).

YES! For Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:

1. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

DO YOU HAVE IEP GOALS THAT MAY BE USEFUL FOR THIS RESOURCE?

YES! Here are some suggested IEP goals that you may adapt for your students!

SUGGESTED IEP GOALS FOR LANGUAGE:

1. STUDENT will maintain attention during a scripted conversation with a peer and provide an appropriate response with minimal prompting in 3 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation and data collection.

2. STUDENT will expand upon their initial response during a scripted conversation with a peer, using at least two additional relevant details or clarifying questions with minimal prompting in 3 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation and data collection.

3. STUDENT will initiate a scripted conversation with a peer by asking a relevant question or making a comment, with minimal prompting, in 3 out of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation and data collection.

SUGGESTED IEP GOALS FOR READING:

1. STUDENT will read grade-level questions and responses independently or with no more than 1 verbal prompt during a peer-to-peer question and answer exchange, in 4 out of 5 trials.

2. STUDENT will engage in a scripted conversation of one question and one sentence response with a peer by reading the grade level question or response, with 80% accuracy, as measured by teacher observation and data collection.

SUGGESTED IEP GOALS FOR SOCIAL SKILLS:

1. STUDENT will independently initiate and engage in a scripted conversation of one question and one sentence response with a peer, with at least 80% accuracy, as measured by observations and data collection.

2. STUDENT will maintain focus and eye contact during peer interactions for a minimum of 2 minutes, with no more than 2 verbal prompts, as measured by observations and data collection.

3. STUDENT will demonstrate the ability to engage in unscripted conversations with peers, including initiating conversation topics, responding appropriately, and sustaining conversation for at least 3 turns, with 70% accuracy, as measured by observations and data collection. (*This goal can be used when the scripted conversation is close to mastery.)

CAN I SHARE THIS WITH MY TEAM OR CO-WORKERS?

If your teammates or co-workers would like to use this activity with their students, please encourage them to purchase additional licenses. ANY TYPE OF FILE SHARING VIOLATES OUR COPYRIGHT POLICIES AND ARE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The purchaser may print as many copies as he or she would like for their students ONLY. Your compliance is greatly appreciated.

IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

© Copyright 2024 Autism Educators, Inc. (AutismEducators.com). All rights reserved by author. This product is to be used by the original purchaser only. Copying for more than one teacher or classroom, or for an entire department, school, or school system is prohibited unless additional licenses are purchased. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view, uploaded to school or district websites, distributed via email, resold by an individual or organization without express written consent, or submitted to file sharing sites. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Intended for single classroom, therapy room, homeschool and personal use only.

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