Musical EET - DIY Therapy Game

Most SLPs are familiar with Expanding Expression Tool, or EET in short, an amazing therapy technique to work on description skills (find out more information about EET here). EET is my go-to strategy whenever I have students working on describing an item.

For those of you unfamiliar with EET, it is basically a visual of multicolored circles. Each circle represents a different descriptive aspect of an item: Green - Group, Blue - What does it Do, Eye - What does it look like, Brown - What is it made of, Pink - Parts, White - Where do you find it, Orange - What else do you know?

Students are guided through this hierarchy and provide the respective information about the item they are describing. I like EET because it is visual and easy to implement.To add some variety to my EET session, I came up with a really fun game that my students just loved: Musical EET! And the best part is that you can recreate it for virtually less than $1.50.

You will need:
* Felt sheets (Green, Blue, White x2, Brown, Pink, Orange)
* A paper plate or other large circular object
* A marker
* Scissors
* Some sort of music

Cheap materials.

Preparation:
1. Using the paper plate and marker, draw circular templates onto each felt sheet.
2. Cut out the circles.
3. On one of the white circles, draw the outline of an eye and cut a smaller circle from the leftover blue felt which is glued in the middle of the eye (this will be the iris). Draw some eyelashes.
4. On the orange circle, use the marker to draw a big question mark.

Our EET circle.

Once all of the circles are ready, place them in a big circle on the floor. The circle should be large enough for students to walk around the outer perimeter without being crowded. Also note that if you have bare floors, students may slip if they step on the felt. It is therefore most feasible to do this activity on a carpet. If you don't feel like taking the time to make these circles or have bare floors that are not conducive or safe for felt, you can buy non-slip steppers from the company (unfortunately only with the purchase of the entire kit).

Game play.

Tell the students that they will get to play a game like musical chairs. Start playing some music. As the music is playing, have students walk around the circle. When the music stops, they have to stand by the nearest circle. Once everyone is placed at their spot, they will look at a "mystery object" (i.e. a picture card) and have to provide the information about the item based on the color of their circle. For example, if they are standing on the brown circle, they have to state what the item is made of.

My students had a blast with this game and the activity reinforced their memory of what each color stands for. In addition, the movement piece added a kinesthetic component and was especially feasible for my students with an ADHD diagnosis. 

~Viola