Toggle Lights

Toggle lights copy

Is everyone back in the swing of things?  My school year starts a bit later than most.  I’ll be starting screenings next week and can’t wait to see all those little faces again!

My space changed this year (you can see all the pics next week) and it was kind of fun to unpack all the boxes of things that moved with me and rediscover some favorites.

One of them was my box of toggle night lights.  I bought a set of four at Walmart a few years ago and I use them primarily for phonemic awareness tasks and some articulation/phonology issues.  (I’ve added the link so you can see what you’re looking for but I’m fairly certain I spent less then this in the store and mine came in a pack of four.)

You simply press the light to turn it on or off (it does require a bit of firm pressure).  I’ve used them to mark syllables by having students turn a light on for each syllable as they hear/say it.  I’ve used them to break words down into individual sounds like, “b-a-t,” and turning a light on for each sound.  Then, I might turn off a light and say “now change the ‘b’ to a ‘k’.”  When they turn the light back on, they say the new sound and just tap gently on the lights/sounds that stay the same.

For kids with phonological processing issues, I’ve used a light to “turn on” the final consonant.  For many kiddos, having that visual and tactile cue to place a sound at the end of the word works wonders.  I’ve used it for kiddos with cluster reduction in much the same way (similar to my sliding worksheets).

You can also attach an artic card and hide the lights around the room, having them turn on the word as they locate it.  It’s like a variation of flashlight tag.

It’s particularly fun to use them in a dim room.

Anyone else using toggle lights?  How do you use them?

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This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Jeannette

    Love this idea !

    1. admin

      Thanks, Jeannette!

  2. Mary-Beth

    So creative! Can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing!

    1. admin

      Sure! I should have also mentioned that at least on my lights, you can use dry erase markers and they come off easily. (I’d test it first though!) Kim

  3. alison

    I use them for increasing MLU!

    1. admin

      I like that!

  4. JoannHaas

    This sounds like an inventive way to visually as well as articulation wise working on multi-syllabic word production. I bet my students would like it.

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.