Daily Detective (#4318-IN)

Ages 10 through 15. Children with language or learning deficits often have difficulty identifying, describing, and making inquiries about the salient features of various social situations. The activities help students to describe the critical elements of a situation, to ask relevant questions, to organize information, and to report that information concisely and effectively. Role-playing activities are also included.

The book is divided into three sections:

• Detective Training. To be effective in solving crimes, detectives must learn to make careful observations, to distinguish relevant from irrelevant details, to ask pertinent questions, and to describe precisely what they have found. As children participate in the activities, they learn to identify descriptive words and to use these words to produce statements that are specific and relevant to the needs of the listener. The importance of carefully selecting words is emphasized.
• Detective Adventures. The activities in this section relate directly to detective situations in which various crimes need to be solved. As students participate in the activities, they practice using precise language skills to describe people, objects, and events. They also practice asking questions to obtain details that are relevant to the crime.
• Beyond Detective Work. The worksheet activities in this section help students make use of basic "detective skills" as they talk about social situations commonly encountered in the home, at school, and in other settings. The activities provide functional practice in using descriptive language skills for a variety of purposes.

As students participate in the activities, they practice distinguishing specific statements from vague statements and relevant statements from irrelevant statements.

Examples of Skills Emphasized

• Using Descriptive Words
• Identifying Specific Answers
• Making Specific Statements
• Vague vs. Specific Statements
• Identifying Details
• Adding Details
• Using Precise Vocabulary
• Identifying Irrelevant Statements
• Giving Relevant Answers
• Asking Relevant Questions
• Expressing Feelings
• Explaining Situations

The book includes short stories and worksheet activities. The short stories can be presented orally to non-readers. Reproducible worksheets are included.

Miscellaneous: