The Great Fish Race

The Great Fish Race is a free downloadable switch activity designed to promote turn-taking and competition.

It is a simple two-player racing game designed for pupils with severe learning difficulties. While it is designed to be fairly fun and motivating, it can also be used as an assessment tool and potentially as a method of attaining certain targets.

Auditory and visual attention

The game can be used to discover whether the pupil reacts well to the sound and/or the visual aspect of the game. Can then maintain attention on the game? Do they respond to the awards?

Accessing a single switch

Even without having a second user around does the pupil understand the connection between the switch and the movement of the fish on the screen? Do they need physical or verbal prompting or can they work independently? Are they able to make a choice if both switches are made available?

Turn taking and competition

Finally, with another user (either a member of staff or another student) does the pupil understand the concept of turn-taking? Do they show a desire to win over the other student?

I recommend that, for most pupils, you employ a range of activities and restrict each one to fairly short sessions. This should help keep motivation up and give a better chance of progression.

Download now (1.7 Mb Windows only)