Emojis are everywhere these days, from your text messages to commercials. Why not use emoji inferencing to make therapy a bit more functional for our tech savvy students?
Here’s my favorite way to practice emoji inferencing.
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Print off several different emojis, cut them out and place them on the table.
Tip:You can print the emojis from your phone by bringing up the emoji images, taking a picture of your screen, then sending your self that picture. You can make it bigger in Powerpoint, or any other program, but it may get grainy if it is too big.
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Have students write down messages or statements they may text or say on a white board or paper.
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At the end of each message/statement have them place a different emoji and talk about how that message could change it’s meaning to a the person reading it.
For Example: The first picture shows the message ‘I’m having a great day.’ with a smiley/happy face emoji at the end. Someone reading this would see the message the happy emoji and infer that yes, this person is having a great day and are in a good mood since the emoji matches the message. Now look at the second picture. If we change the emoji to a neutral face or disappointed face, someone may take that message as being sarcastic because the emoji does not match the message. These are also great moments to work on other pragmatic skills such as then expected way to respond to that particular type of message.
*If you can’t find emojis to print, have students draw them at the end of their messages/statements.
Using emojis can help students understand how emotion can change the tone and feeling of a statement and that each image conveys an emotional message. Understanding and using emojis is a skill that practical for today’s kids and can transfer into their day to day lives.
Speech Room News had a fun post using an app to turn yourself into an emoji if you want to keep the emoji fun going.
For a list of emoji faces and their meanings you can check out this site HERE.
One Response
Great idea!