Did you ever notice how much figurative language is used in the famous poem Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore? I just recently noticed this and thought about our children with auditory processing deficits, language processing problems and autism spectrum disorders and how difficult enjoying a classic could be for so many of our students/clients. So I thought, how I can help these kiddos understand and "visualize" what they are reading and hearing? Of course the problem lies in the fact that so much of the language is difficult to understand. When breaking this poem down I realized the figurative language used and inferencing required in understanding this holiday classic is far greater than most books these days. Therefore, I made the following inferencing cards to go in tandem with the poem.
(For free downloads go to bottom of this blog)
The first two pictures here are the poem. It is my understanding this version is written as it was originally by the author.
Below you will find four pages with 6 inferencing cards on each page (total of 24 inferencing questions). The object is for the student/client to use their background knowlege, life experiences, context clues, and any other great tricks up their sleeves to answer these questions.
I added a blank cards template page for 2 reasons:
1) you can use this to create your own questions and tailor it to your own needs
2) you can have your students use these cards to draw pictures of what is happening in the poem that relates to these questions so by the end of the session (or sessions) your child has their own booklete of this story they created themselves to help them visually recall, sequence and retell the story to you and to others
I hope you enjoy this activity as much as I enjoyed creating it! Have other ways to use this activity? Comment below so we can all can take advantage of your great ideas!
For free downloads click below:
Enjoy and happy talking!!!!
