Topic Maintenance: Four Turns on One Topic
Turn-counted conversation tasks with an explicit maintenance rule per card, so staying on topic is the measurable thing rather than an impression at the end of the session.
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
Put the turn count somewhere visible, fingers or tally marks, so the student can see the four turns building. Start with the school lunch card, since the topic is easy and the rule is simple. The boring topic card and the stop after four turns on a topic you love card work well together, because they target opposite difficulties. For the steer-back card, agree beforehand that you will make one unannounced topic change. Fifteen minutes allows four or five cards.
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
In structured role-plays, Student will use the target conversation skill appropriately in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a nonverbal cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten turn-counted conversation tasks, each with its own rule: stay on your partner's topic for four turns; talk about school lunch where every turn adds something new; stay on a topic you find boring for three turns and ask one real question; change topic only after a bridge sentence said out loud; notice when your partner changes the topic without warning, name it and steer back. Staying on topic becomes something you count, not a general impression at the end.
What to listen for
Separate the different ways topics fall apart. Some students jump to a new topic, some repeat the same comment each turn, and some take over with a monologue on a favourite subject. Each needs a different card. Listen for whether the student's turns connect to what the partner just said, which the weekend plans card makes explicit. Note bridge sentences the student uses without being told, such as that reminds me.
Carrying it home
Ask the family to try the four-turn rule at dinner once or twice a week, on a topic the child did not pick. Counting the turns out loud keeps it light, and the family can take a turn at the rule too.
What's in this activity
- Your partner names a topic. Stay on it for four turns without changing it, then say how you did.
- Talk about school lunch for four turns. Each turn has to add something new, not repeat.
- Your partner starts a topic you find boring. Stay on it for three turns and ask one real question about it.
- Talk about a topic you love. Stop after four turns even if you want to keep going.
- A topic change is only allowed after a bridge sentence. Say the bridge out loud when you use it.
- Your partner will change the topic once without warning. Notice it, name it, and steer back.
- Talk about weekend plans. Every turn of yours has to begin by referring to what your partner just said.
- Pick a topic you know nothing about. Stay in the conversation by asking questions for four turns.
- Have a three-minute conversation on one topic. Count the topic changes together afterwards.
- Tell your partner about a problem. Their job is to stay on your topic; afterwards say whether they did.
Questions
- What is a bridge sentence?
- A sentence that links the current topic to a new one, such as speaking of lunch, or that reminds me. It makes a topic change feel connected rather than abrupt.
- Who is this for?
- Students in third through eighth grade with pragmatic or social communication goals around conversation.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten tasks play free in the browser. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment.
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.