An important key to working on effective meaning-making in therapeutic or learning contexts centers on using those contexts and activities that enhance pragmatic mapping.
      * Should include discourse genres other than just conversations
      * Should focus on skills as they are situated within event structures
      * Should vary skills and activities to fit the experiences of particular children in their
              everyday contexts
      * Context Embedded

Several Points concerning the Situated Contexts that are utilized:

 1.   Since language is a tool for making sense of something else, the "something else" has
       prominence and serve as the situated contexts -- the activities and the contexts within
       which those activities occur.

2.   The contexts should be as natural and authentic as possible. More work must occur in
       real situations and on real tasks.  Teaching/Learning should involve true
       interaction and discourse that is authentic.

3.   The contexts should be rich in meaning-making and organized to provide as much
       opportunity as the child can have with a range of text types and activities.
                        -- Talking                               -- Listening
                         -- Reading                              -- Writing
                         -- Problem Solving                -- Reflecting
                         -- Arguing                              -- Justifying
                         -- Drawing                             -- Acting
                         -- Gesturing                            -- Manipulating
      These help focus on multisensory approaches and different learning styles

4.   The students should be immersed in appropriate mediational support throughout
        the activities.

5.   The Contexts/Events chosen often act as scaffolds for the child

6.   Themes, interest units, problem solving activities, and topics or subjects relevant to
       the students should be the situated contexts of teaching/learning. Unmotivated
       activities should be avoided.

 7.  The following considerations should be employed when choosing the Situated
        Contexts:
                        -- What is most relevant to the needs of the child
                         -- What is most salient for the child
                         -- What is most motivating for the child
                         -- How do the targeted meaning-making skills fit into the context
                         -- Which Contexts/Events are easiest to stage
                         -- What are the preferences for the parents/teachers (for collaborative
                                   purposes)
                         -- The contexts typically vary according to developmental level, interests, and
                                    needs of the individual child.

8.   You must respect the logic of experience and not interfere with it.

9.   Present a preparatory set for the activity initially.

10. Material may be worked through in cycles where the depth of understanding
        and range of comprehension increases in each cycle.

11.   Since academics is the primary business of schools, the classroom context and
         academic activities should be a primary intervention target and agenda for any
         school-age child.

12.  The situated contexts should have authenticity and it should have relevance to the
         student.
             --  Whole texts, stories, conversations and other phenomena that occur
                      naturally and normally in life.
              -- The language, interests, and experiences that students bring to school should
                      have high value.
              --  The students should have choices.
              --  The Community in which the child is immersed should have a part.

13.  There are number of Situated Contexts that can be utilized.   For example:
            * Settings and activities that can be routinely applied to interact effectively with
                 young children when working with language and meaning making
                       1.   Interactional Formats
                       2.   Toy Play (Symbolic)
                       3.   Constructive Play
                       4.   Art
                       5.   Looking at Pictures and Books
                       6.   Oral Learning Activities with Everyday Routines
                       7.   Child Care Routines
                       8.    Excursions
                       9.    Story Telling (and acting stories out)
                      10.   Music

              * Settings and activities that can be routinely applied to interact effectively with
                  older children to create the vehicles for intervention
                        1.   Literacy activities (reading and writing)
                        2.   Academic interventions
                        3.   Conversational formats
                        4.   Representational Play
                        5.   Hobbies
                        6.   Excursions
                        7.   Themes
                        8.    Problems to Solve
                        9.    Research Activities
                       10.   Story Enactments
                       11.   Preparation for authentic tasks (job interviews, work)
                       12.   Art

 * There are many ways that the systematicity that is known as narrative structure can be
        strengthened.

 * It must be recognized, however, that trying to teach narrative organization
       explicitly or outside of a contextual setting is a violation of pragmatic naturalness
      constraints and should not occur.

 * The use of direct story grammars and the request that the child tell or retell
       narratives by making explicit reference to story grammar structures suggests a
      significant lack of understanding regarding meaning-making and its principles.

* Narratives do offer a format to practice meaning-making in extended discourse
      and often they are advantageous formats over conversation, for example, because   they
      are less open-ended and more structured.  Depending on the child, this may   assist in
      creating effective scaffolds.

 * Narratives are also considered a transition between the "language of  conversation" and
        the "language of literacy".  As such, narratives as vehicles for intervention may be
        preferred when trying to work to language for learning   purposes.

 * Some examples of facilitating the narrational structures via various vehicles for
        intervention:

1. Literacy Formats:

        Read Alouds of  well-organized and well-motivated Literature implicitly builds
                    the maps referred to as narrative structure and story grammar.  The more
                    opportunities that children have to hear stories with strong organization and
                    motivation, the more opportunity and success with such structures

         Reciprocal Reading also provides these experiences.   Additionally, the more
                    competent reader can summarize and mediate in such a way as to highlight the
                    setting and action....and even the motivations or feelings of the characters all
                    within the context of the story and in an implicit manner.

         Pre-reading strategies can also highlight (implicitly and in context) the major
                    mapping functions  referred to as story components or the story grammar...but
                    this should not be done explicitly

       2.   Representational Play Formats:

           Exemplifying Narrative Structures during Play  can be accomplished by proving
                    the child with clear examples of select narrative structures during the
                    actual play.  Whether engaging in symbolic play like going to work or having a
                    tea party or using action figures to fight or explore a wilderness, explicit
                    demonstrations can be staged through action.  The clinician can decide which
                    narrative components to emphasize during play and simply makes certain those
                    actions are frequently represented. For example:
                      *  Temporally related events can be exemplified via the natural sequences of
                          preparing tea and setting out the dishes......or the loading of the half-track by
                          the solders or explorers who are hunting their "prey".  Continual and
                          contextually embedded exposure to such events will result in integration.

                      *  Causally related events can be introduced by having events happen that have
                          serious repercussions for the "actors"..... running out of tea or having a
                          mechanical failure during the expedition are examples.  Again, repeated
                          and embedded exposure acts to emphasize for integration.

                      * goal-directed behavior

                      * Plans

                    Engaging the Child in Direct Planning of the Play will also enhance the
                    narrative knowledge.  That is, before the play begins, a type of
                    metalinguistic planning can occur where you introduce the theme and
                    characters, solicit the child to play, and permit the child to select a role.
                    Then jointly (using appropriate mediation) make decisions about the goals.
                    Plans, attempts, and outcomes.
                         Guiding the development of the narrative during play can be accomplished
                    by adopting various modes or voices to impose an organized narrative-like
                    framework.  The use of different voices (stage manager, character, narrator)
                    not only can accomplish this structure in an embedded context but it also
                    provides the play with a structure that is layered rather than sequential only.
                    These voices can be used to participate and direct the action.  The stage
                    manager provides direct comments about the play (Let's pretend that the
                    green solders are sneaking up and the blue guys can't even see them); the
                    narrator functions as an observer and can supply feelings, assumptions, and
                    intents that frame the play's development (The captain knows he and his men
                    are surrounded.....he must have a plan); while the character can supply the
                    same aspects as the narrator but from a personal perspective ("I think we are
                    trapped! Quick men, get in the tank.....we will bust our way out!).  In each of
                    these, every aspect of narratives can be woven into the fabric of the
                    play.......again, the continual presentation of such features will cause
                    integration to occur.
                         Supporting the child's contribution to the play in the voices that the child
                    uses will also strengthen narrative structure.  In such cases, all the child's
                    contributions to the play should be incorporated into the play unless they are
                    too repetitive, violates script knowledge or impinges on the rights of the
                    other characters.

       3. Story Telling and Acting out Stories as a Format:
                         Allowing children to tell stories of their own choosing and then writing
                    them down for the children while they tell them is another excellent vehicle.
                    You then use the verbatim work as a "script" for a play by the child and
                    others (if there are more characters).  This  is another excellent way to work
                    simplicitly on narrative structures and organizations.  In telling the story and
                    then getting it written down, no comments are made by the clinician.  The
                    child simply is allowed the creativity....but when the child and others come
                    together to plan the "play" the script is scrutinized in terms of the characters
                    and actions and such.......now the need for the motivations and a setting and
                    other elements may require more direction........usually, the other children
                    ask about aspects of their roles which revolve around good structure and
                    motivation.  The "author" then gets to deal with each aspect of the story as
                    it is brought up by the others.  The Clinician can write down the additions
                    and corrections........from the author or ask the author if he/she wants to
                    incorporate the ideas that others have expressed.  Only the child who was
                    the author can agree to incorporate suggestions from others.  The clinician
                    writes down the revisions and then can summarize....but try not to guide too
                    directly....let the      natural consequences take hold.......this is an excellent
                    way to work on the organization without explicitly referring to it........the
                    focus is telling a good story that makes sense to the actors and not adhering
                    to some external story grammar