Taking Turns at Play
Phrase scripts for sharing, turn-taking and joining play.
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
Practise them inside actual play rather than at a table. My turn said during a real turn is a different act from my turn said to a card, and only the first transfers. Can I play is the highest-value phrase here and deserves the most rehearsal, since being able to join is what everything else depends on. Five minutes of scripts and the rest of the session playing.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the situation and wait for the student to respond on their own.Log as correct
- Nonverbal cueUse a look, a gesture or a point to the visual cue card.Log as cued
- Indirect promptAsk 'What could you say now?' or 'How do you think they feel?'Log as cued
- ModelShow what to say or do, then run the moment again so the student can try it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a script or two choices of what to say, and practise with you before a peer.
Role-play with a new partner, or add a twist the student has not planned for.
Matching IEP goal
During structured play, Student will use the target social word or phrase at the right moment in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a nonverbal cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten short play scripts: my turn, your turn, can I play, let's share, here you go, thank you, want to trade, good game, help me please, I like your tower. Every one is a phrase a preschooler needs on a carpet or a playground, and several of them — can I play, want to trade — are the entry moves that decide whether a child gets included.
What to listen for
Watch whether the child waits for a response after using a phrase. Can I play, said while walking away, does not work, and the pause is part of the script. Notice I like your tower, which is a compliment rather than a request — it is the phrase most likely to produce a friendly response and the one children are least likely to produce spontaneously.
Carrying it home
Siblings and cousins supply turn-taking practice constantly. Prompting the phrase before the conflict, rather than mediating afterwards, is the change that helps.
What's in this activity
- My turn
- Your turn
- Can I play?
- Let's share
- Here you go
- Thank you
- Want to trade?
- Good game
- Help me please
- I like your tower
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Preschool through first grade, for early pragmatic and play skills.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten phrases play with no account.
- Which phrase matters most?
- Can I play. Entry into a game is what everything else depends on — a child who cannot join has no opportunity to take turns, share or comment at all.
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.