RL.E.78 SELECTS OPEN AND SHUT

Materials for this activity may take a little more organising. Doll’s house furniture is useful, but you will need 2 examples of each, or pieces with 2 doors or 2 drawers. Pictures of open and shut are easily drawn – you could try ‘mouth open’, ‘mouth shut’, ‘eye open’, ‘eye shut’, ‘door open’, ‘door shut’. It is not advisable to use pictures exclusively, but they can be used to provide variety. Perhaps you have a jewellery box with little drawers, or a doll whose eyes can be moved separately.

In the notes below we will refer to doll’s house furniture, but feel free to substitute the materials that are available to you.

How to Assess

Materials: 2 doll’s house cupboards, one with door open, one with door shut, or similar. Other materials, for variety, if possible. Remember there must be a choice – shutting an open door when there is only one door does not really demonstrate an understanding of open and shut. Method: Place the cupboards on the table, one with its door open and one with its door shut. Say to the child ‘Open the door’. After the child has responded return the doors to their original positions, and say ‘Shut the door’. Continue, varying the order of your directions, until 4 tries have been given for each word. Change materials from time to time if possible.

Score plus if your child opens the door when asked in 3 out of 4 tries and shuts the door when asked in 3 out of 4 tries.

How to Teach

In your special teaching sessions, use materials (such as those described above) which give your child the option to either open or shut. If you offer only one door or drawer at a time, your child will move it into the opposite position without necessarily attending to what you say.

Demonstrate the actions at the beginning of your session, then give a direction to open or shut. Step in with assistance is necessary, and continue teaching until assistance is no longer needed.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

Most opportunities to open and shut around the house will offer only one choice to the child, so they may not by themselves teach the child to distinguish between the words. Nevertheless, using such opportunities is important for strengthening and extending learning done in special sessions. Your child will enjoy opening and shutting her hands and eyes – and watching you do this. There is a well-known song which starts with opening and shutting hands:

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Give a little clap.

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap.

Creep them, creep them,

Creep them, creep them,

Right up to your chin.

Open wide your little mouth . . .

But do not let them in!

Remembering and Extending

You will find many ways to help your child remember this skill. Perhaps you could tie it into Fine Motor activities such as opening and shutting boxes and screw-top jars.

Your child will need to learn that shut means the same as close.