You put a symbol under вЂfirstвЂ™ for what you want your student to do first. Personally, I have a set for every student in my class, along with spares.Д«asically, a first and then board is literally as it sounds. They are so helpful to have and I recommend that every classroom has a set. ThereвЂ™s no other words for them вЂ“ they are just amazing. If youвЂ™re not using these, seriously I donвЂ™t know how youвЂ™re managing. ItвЂ™s a great way to ensure everyone is having the same amount of time. For situations like this we have a visual timer on the iPad that we take with us. ItвЂ™s just a great visual reminder, and it means they can go and do something else and then come back. They get given the visual and then they know what place they are in line. So, to stop them all squabbling about who is next, we hand out вЂfirstвЂ™ вЂsecondвЂ™ and вЂthirdвЂ™. ItвЂ™s always the big rubber tyre swing that my students want. You know how you go to a massive playground, with loads of different equipment, but all your students want the same thing? Yep, that happens to us too! One of the main ways we use these tends to be in playgrounds. They are great to use in class or out and about.

I use these with my higher understanding students. People are always intrigued with my вЂfirstвЂ™ вЂsecondвЂ™ and вЂthirdвЂ™ visuals. For this, I like to use the visual that shows a line of people and that we have to wait in this line. Especially if waiting in line for example. I have a few different visuals for this, because they can be useful for different concepts. вЂWaitвЂ™ symbols are used for just that вЂ“ showing the student that they have to wait. Below, IвЂ™ll explain a little how I use the different visuals. I like to put them on a keyring and then I make sure to always have a few on me. These can either be kept in your pocket or on a keyring. I love having symbols or visuals on hand that can have multiple uses. I use these visuals for вЂgenericвЂ™ waiting and thereвЂ™s no right or wrong way to use them really. They can move their faces on and off as their turn comes and goes. Once your students have started to master using this visual, give it to them to use! Let students play on games together using this visual turn taking card. This visual doesnвЂ™t just have to be used when a teacher is present. ItвЂ™s such a simple idea, yet it works wonders! YouвЂ™ll also be helping to improve independence.The next person whoвЂ™s turn it is now gets to put their face onto the visual. When that person has finished their turn, they take their face off the visual board.The person who has to wait for their turn, can either hold their face or keep it on the table.The person whoвЂ™s turn it is right now, their face gets put onto the вЂWhoвЂ™s turn?вЂ™ board.It will help students get used to the visual quicker. I recommend starting to use this visual with turn-taking games where you get 1 turn each. First, get photos of the 2 people who will be using the game/toy/item and this visual.This is a way to get them started with using the visual and understanding what it means. I start teaching this skill and using this visual with myself and 1 student. It helps my students to visually see whoвЂ™s turn it is. You might think IвЂ™m crazy вЂ“ a lot of people did when I first started using them in the classroom. ThatвЂ™s when I pull out my trusty turn taking cards. You can imagine how well turn taking goes down.

Some have never been to school before or socialised with other children. Why canвЂ™t they have the toy now? And when my students come in, theyвЂ™re real young. Turn taking is the WORST, right? My students just donвЂ™t understand why they have to take turns. There are so many different types of visuals to use, how do we know what ones to use? IвЂ™m going to share with you my top 3 visuals that we use for teaching waiting skills. And itвЂ™s one of the most important social skills to learn. To help them manage in the future with their day-to-day life. By teaching waiting, weвЂ™re helping to prepare our students for the real world. And in my classroom, life skills are always one of our top priorities вЂ“ and parents are so grateful for this. This is why I always work with parents to ensure itвЂ™s one of the first skills we begin working on. Why canвЂ™t they just have their food? Why do they have to stand behind these people? For them, thereвЂ™s just a lack of understanding. It can help to provide that visual understanding of what they are waiting for, how long they have to wait, or just to let them know, right now we have to wait.ДЄ lot of the time my students just donвЂ™t understand why they have to wait. People seriously underestimate how powerful a visual resource can be.

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