Categories and Function: What Belongs and What It Does
Semantic organization by category and by function, both directions.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Ask why after every answer. The answer to which one does not belong is worth almost nothing on its own — carrot is a vegetable among fruits is the whole point, and a student who says carrot with no reason may have guessed. Alternate the two question types deliberately rather than grouping them, because a student who has learned the pattern of one will coast through a block of it. Twelve minutes covers the set with explanations.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows, such as 'banana' and 'carrot'.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Sixteen items running in both directions at once: which one does not belong — apple, banana, carrot, grape; what do you use to cut paper; a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver are all what; which one belongs with plate, fork, cup; what is a stapler used for. Category and function are the two organising principles of a semantic network, and testing them together shows which one a student is actually using.
What to listen for
Listen for which strategy the student reaches for. Some children categorise by what a thing is and cannot say what it does; others describe function fluently and cannot name a category. Both are usable and the missing one is the target. Watch for over-inclusive categories — a student who says a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver are all things is technically right and has not found the level of specificity the question wanted.
Carrying it home
Putting away shopping is a category task, and setting the table is a function task. Asking which shelf something belongs on, or what a thing is for, takes no extra time and uses the same reasoning this board is building.
What's in this activity
- Which one does NOT belong: apple, banana, carrot, grape?
- apple
- banana
- carrot
- grape
- What do you use to cut paper?
- A ruler
- A glue stick
- Scissors
- An eraser
- A hammer, a saw, and a screwdriver are all ___.
- toys
- tools
- clothes
- foods
- Which one does NOT belong: shirt, socks, hat, spoon?
- shirt
- socks
- hat
- spoon
- What do you use a thermometer for?
- Telling time
- Measuring temperature
- Cutting food
- Playing music
- A robin, an eagle, a sparrow and an owl are all ___.
- insects
- birds
- fish
- mammals
- Which one belongs with 'plate, fork, cup'?
- pillow
- spoon
- crayon
- shoe
- What is a stapler used for?
- Holding papers together
- Erasing pencil marks
- Sharpening pencils
- Measuring a line
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- First through third, and older students working on word retrieval, since semantic organisation is what retrieval depends on.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all sixteen items play with no account.
- Why does this help word finding?
- Because a word is easier to retrieve when it sits in a well-organised network. A student who knows a spoon is cutlery, is used for eating, and belongs with plate and fork has several routes to the word instead of one.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.