Step Into My Sessions: Conversation in Real Time - Bringing Characters’ Voices to Life
Sometimes, the best way to practice conversation is to play with it!
To write these Step Into My Sessions, I pick session activities that bring smiles to my face and the faces of the students with whom I work. Hopefully, this one will do the same for students in your caseload! 😁
Conversation in Real Time
The weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break can seem strangely long, but short at the same time. Students are often eager to move into more weeks off, so they come in looking for FUN. 🎉
One group of 5th and 6th graders in particular, was looking for something new. They LOVE Maca & Roni, and often clamor for their favorite characters. I really scored when I presented Conversation in Real Time (CRT), one of the practice activities included in CPPEV.
CRT is basically voiceover. Students each pick a character, and, in partnership with others, spontaneously “give words” to the characters as the animation plays. 🎞️💬
CRT gives students the opportunity to practice:
generating expressive language
showing flexibility as they have to go with whatever others contribute 💪🏼
matching the emotional expression of their character via tone of voice
staying with the pace of the conversation as it unfolds
monitoring not to talk over others, unless the characters appear to be doing so
CRT lets students practice conversation using engaging visual material that provides a structure within which conversation unfolds spontaneously. Like all therapy activities, it’s not for everyone, but many students like this way of growing their social understanding and conversational chops. 🧠💡
Ready to give it a try?
Here are some tips: 📝
Use an animation with which the students are familiar – they need to understand what is happening to be able to provide the dialogue.
Turn down the volume.
I often use a slower playback speed. My sweet spot is usually .75. ⏩
Hand out sticky notes identifying who is playing which character, so everyone remembers who’s who (including me.)
If a student misses their “cue,” perhaps not portraying an emotional expression or using more sounds effects than language, pause, rewind ⏪, and suggest a “take 2.” (Unless doing so would embarrass or in any way make the student feel badly about themselves!)
Switch roles and do it again, or select another animation.
For extra fun, record, so they can hear how they were stars!
Here are some of my favorite animations to use with the CRT activity: 🎥
A Cloudy Lesson by Yezi Xue
Game Changer by Aviv Mano
Maca & Roni: Christmas Stocking, by Kyungmin Woo
Maca & Roni: Cactus Party, by Kyungmin Woo
Soar, by Alyce Tzue
Clean Cut, by Soo Choi & Nancy Jing
Molly, by Viddsee
Remember, always preview animations prior to using.
Have fun, and let me know how it goes!! I hope 2026 is starting out smoothly for all of you.
