Colours
Visual-spatial recall: the Colours Game
This is the second teacher-led activity, which is delivered through a slide show presentation. It is introduced when the child has reached a level in 'Word' recall that is too challenging because they did not get four points out of nine in the initial sentences nor in the alternative slides for that level. In order to avoid further disappointment for the child, you move to a different activity for a change of context to practice rehearsal.
Getting started
Open Colours Recall Games: Level 1 to 7 and show it as a 'slideshow' so that you click to go from screen to screen.
You will need a copy of a record sheet before you start to complete for each child each time they play.
Structure and procedure
- The child is shown a strip of colours and needs to practice where each colour belongs on the strip. First go through the colours in order and ask the child to try to remember it. The child can pair a colour with a finger and then try to remember the list of colours.
- When the child has gone through the list four or five times, show a printed blank strip and ask which colour goes there. Do this four or five times, but not with the aim of the child reaching a certain level. You can then move on to the game.
- The child will be asked to remember two colours from the strip to start with and the number of colours to be recalled will increase as the child succeeds.
- The task starts with two colours recalled in order, then moves on to two colours recalled in the reverse order. These are called forward and backward recall.
- It moves to three colours forwards, then three colours backwards.
- This activity also goes up to seven levels.
- To pass a level, the child needs to have four questions correct, achieved in one game.
Rehearsal strategy to be taught
- The children will need to use a visual-spatial rehearsal strategy, based on pointing to the screen where the colour appears and saying the colour. So make sure they look closely at positions of the colours on the strip. Recalling the position of a colour is an aide to remembering the colour.
- If the task is a forward recall, they can point to the strip and say the colours in the order of appearance. If the task is a backward recall, remind them that they need to swap the order. As an initial aid, you can point to the position of the last colour and then the first colour, to help them use position as a recall cue.