Pronouns going mobile

There are many moments throughout the week when I think that pronouns are one of the least fun things to teach. I've pulled out quite a few crazy ideas in search of the elusive "a-ha" moment when things will just magically click. Teddy Talker, stuffed animals, books, magnetic dolls, pictures, chants, etc.....It has worked for some of them, but there are a few that still need more explicit instruction. 

When I run across a topic that is troubling, my solution always seems to be looking for some kind of creative outlet. My pronoun supplies are somewhat limited as much as I love using the Webber fun deck and my combination of stuffed animals with picture cards. I decided to make two things to address my need for the basics.   

Crafting supplies at the ready. My first idea to address my lack of pronoun materials was to make a mobile. I really don't know why I went in that direction. It's something that I haven't done in my therapy room before as they do take up some room. They also have the bad tendency of getting tangled. However, it was a new challenge so I bought the ribbon and the pipe cleaners for .49 cents at Salvation Army. The hanger is one that I already had at home. 

The images are all from MyCuteGraphics. It's one of my favorite sites for free black & white clip art. I colored the children to my liking and created word cards to go with each image. I had the pictures and words laminated at work. I simply punched holes into each card and strung them all together with the pipe cleaners. I twisted the pipe cleaners around the hanger and secured them with the red pipe cleaners for extra durability.

 The pronoun mobile is a bit too bulky to take to inclusion groups so my second project consists of a pronoun book. The images are the same ones from the mobile with removable words. This way, the students can have a binary choice for each target. All it required was a little adhesive Velcro and a jump ring to hold the pages together.

The students that have tried this activity out are fascinated by the Velcro. Even just having it on the table to point to as a gentle reminder has turned out pretty well.

They can trace their fingers over the letters in each word or "write" the pronoun in sand as they say this little chant: "he is for boys" or "she is for girls".

You can grab a copy of the images here if you'd like to make your own book or mobile.