Becoming SLP Strong Together: The Best Thing I Learned This Summer

As summer comes to an end, this is the perfect time to reflect on what I learned this summer. The Frenzied SLPs have started a linky party for fellow bloggers to discuss The Best Thing They Learned This Summer.

I have to say I learned quite a few things this summer... 1. It is extremely hot in TN in July and August. 2. How to market using social media. (This is an ongoing thing for me.) 3. When I put my mind to something, I always achieve it. 

But the BEST thing I learned and probably the best advice I could give to anyone working in the school system is....

During summer vacation it is important to relax physically and MENTALLY. I definitely relaxed physically this summer; sleeping late, hiking, bowling, swimming, jumping at the trampoline park, having water balloon fights and much, much more, but I didn't stop and take a mental break. 

 

I have been so busy I forgot to rest my brain for the upcoming school year. You would think that with all of the fun stuff that I mentioned above that school would be the last thing on my brain.  I didn't realize it until a few days ago when people began asking if I am ready to go back to school, and typically I am. But this year I am not. I have really enjoyed spending quality time with my family and just having time in general. I have about a week and a half left before school begins so what do you think I'll be doing?

Enjoying every minute of the rest of my summer with lots of rest and relaxation!

To see what others are sharing click here. 

Wacky Wednesday Book Club: If You Take A Mouse To School & Giveaway

I know.... it's Thursday, which means I am late posting this. What a crazy busy week it has been for me. I am finishing up with summer school, which means lots and lots of work to do. And we are still moving and setting up the new pre-k room. Wow, can you believe I only have 2 weeks left of summer break? Where has the time gone? 

I do have a new book companion, which I am so excited about! And did you notice in the title there's a giveaway this week. Yippee!

This story is about a mouse who goes to school with his friend. He learns math, performs science experiments, builds a house, plays soccer and much more. It is perfect for speech, language, and literacy. Here are some of the activities I use with my students. You can find these activities by clicking on the picture below.

Sequencing Pictures: for story retell.

Sequencing With Ordinal Numbers Worksheet: Students will sequence the events from the story.

Comprehension Questions & Retelling Mat: Students will answer WH questions about the story. Once all of the questions have been answered I have my students retell the story using the story retell mat.

Yes/No Questions

Thinking & Reasoning Questions

Object Function: I describe an object and my student(s) will point to the object that was described. 

Cause/Effect: (3 worksheets) Students will draw a line from the cause on the left to the effect on the right. Blank sheet included to make your own.

Prepositions: Students will cut the objects off the bottom of the worksheet. The teacher will give simple instructions on where students should glue the objects. 
(ex. Place lunchbox in the mouse’s hand.)

Preposition Cards: (10 cards) Use as review or have students generate sentences using the preposition on the card.

Describing: Students will draw a card and provide two words to describe the object.

Basic Concepts: Use with game board; Have students pull a card and identify the concept labeled on the card

Syllable counting: Place a sticker on the back of the card behind the correct number of syllables so students can self check.

The Mouse Wants… Interactive Book

The Mouse Has A… Sentence Strip: This can be used for producing simple sentences.

My Speech Words Worksheet: Students will find words with their speech sounds from the story and write them in the blanks.

Open-ended game board

Happy reading! I hope you try some of these activities with your students.

You can grab If You Take a Mouse To School here. Want to win a copy? Enter through Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wacky Wednesday Book Club:The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark

Whew! What an eventful week so far! I have been so busy entertaining three kids (my nieces are in town), doing school work, and shopping the surprise TPT sale i'm a little exhausted and it's only Wednesday! I decided to let my nieces choose the book I would blog about this week and they chose "The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark" by Deborah Diesen.  

               The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark (A Pout-Pout Fish Adventure)

This is an adorable book perfect for an ocean theme or just a good summer read. It's about a fish who sets out on a journey through the ocean to help his friend find her pearl. But, he soon finds that the deeper he goes in search of the pearl the more afraid he becomes. By the end of the story he finds the pearl and a bunch of new friends.

There are many ways to target language, literacy and articulation with this book. Here are some of the activities I use with my students. You can find these activities by clicking on the picture below.

Here is a look at whats included in this book companion:

Story Map: The student(s) will use this worksheet to identify different components of the story.

WH Questions: I ask questions as I read the story and then check for comprehension by asking questions at the end of the story using these cards.

Rhyming Matching Game: Lay the cards face down on a table and have students flip them over to make matches. Record their answers on the answering sheet which is included.

Context Clue Vocabulary Cards: There are many tier 2 vocabulary words throughout this book. These cards provide a sentence with the targeted vocabulary word underlined and three answer choices. They are perfect for working on identifying word meaning using context clues.

Vocabulary Worksheet: The student(s) will write target words from the story: define them, provide antonyms/synonyms, and write sentences using the new each vocabulary word.

Past, Present, and Future Verb Sort: The student(s) will write the correct tense of each verb on the line, then they can develop a grammatically correct sentence using each verb tense.

Comparative & Superlative Adjective Sort: The student’s sort the cards onto the ocean scene into the correct box.

Comparative Worksheet: The student(s) will compare themselves to other things then draw a picture to illustrate in the box.

Barrier Game: Provide each student with an ocean scene and interactive pieces. The teacher will provide directions on where to place the interactive pieces on the ocean scene.

Preposition Matching Game: These cards can be used 2 different ways. (1) Lay all the cards face down on the table and have students match the word with the correct picture. (2) Review prepositions using the picture cards having student’s tell you where the animals/objects are.

Fish Practice Articulation Too Worksheet: The student(s) will write their articulation words onto the fish.

Articulation Word List

Happy reading! I hope you try some of these activities with your students. What ocean themed crafts or activities have you done with your students?

Wacky Wednesday Book Club: We're Going On A Safari

I found a fabulous book a couple of months ago that is very similar to a childhood favorite of mine. Do you remember reading the book in pre-k or kindergarten, "We're Going On A Bear Hunt". That book was fabulous! You have to use your imagination to hunt down a bear. You would move around the classroom doing various activities as you hunted for the bear. Well, I found "We're Going On A Lion Hunt" adapted by Margery Cuyler. It's about a group of students and their teacher who use their imagination to go on a safari to find a lion. Of course, since I have such an awesome book, I have to create a book companion for it. 

Here is a peek:

This packet isn't just your ordinary book companion, but includes many other activities to teach your students about animals that live in the jungle.

This packet includes activities targeting:

Welcome to the jungle: (pages 3-4) Have students identify animals in the picture/ label objects/ animals. 

-Comprehension questions: (pages 5-6)

-Jungle animal photographs: (pages 7-8) These are perfect for attaching to a bulletin board as a talking point for students.

-Listening comprehension/animal facts: (pages 9-11) Read about each animal then answer the questions at the bottom of each card.

-Vocabulary cards: (pages 12-14) These cards can be used as a matching game or for a word wall.

-Animal attributes: (pages 15-16) Students will identify the described animal by its attribute.

-Comparatives & Superlatives: (pages 18-20) Students will sort the cards from smallest to biggest while practicing comparative/superlative adjectives.

-Label the elephant: (page 21) Students will label the different parts of the elephant.

-Describing: (page 23) Color in the circles that describe the animal. (pages 24-26) Students will write words on the lines around the animal to describe it.

-Color the animals that live in the jungle: (page 27)

-Sorting : (page 28-31) Sort the animals into the correct habitat.(page 32) Use with pages 28-31 to work on length of utterance

-Safari Bingo (page 33-35) 

-Help the kids pick out their clothes for the safari: (page 36-37)

-Graph your favorite animal: (page 38) After talking about the different animals have students graph which animal is their favorite, then talk about which animal was picked the most and the least.

-Compare & Contrast: (page 39-41)

-We’re going on a safari interactive book

You can find it in my TPT store by clicking HERE!

Enjoy using books in therapy!

Fab Friday Freebies

We have come to the end of the four week Fab Friday Freebies series. I wanted my last freebie to be a big starter kit to get your year started off right. Since I work between multiple schools I don't usually do a lot of decorating. (1) It's time consuming (2) It's expensive. However, I have seen all of the beautifully decorated classrooms all over Pinterest and decided this year I wanted to decorate but as inexpensively as possible. 

This packet includes a banner, incentive chart, subway art poster rules, I Am A Great Listener poster for boys and girls, editable file cabinet labels, and a smart goal sheet.

You can grab this freebie here Speech Starter Kit.

Here are some other awesome freebies I found this week:

The SLP Starter Kit by Sublime Speech

This download is filled with documents to get your year off to a great start.

Back To School {Motivational Posters} Freebie For Classroom Decor by Class of Kinders

Need some motivation? These are perfect to hang on your walls or place in a picture frame s around your classroom. 

Speech & Language Therapy Incentive Bracelets by Queen's Speech

Love, Love Love these!

Behavior Visual Cues (FREE) by Super Power Speech

These are excellent visual cues to use through out the school day to remind your students of school expectations.

How do you decorate your room?

TPT Seller Challenge: Make Your Masterpiece

Hey everyone! This is week three of the TPT SELLER CHALLENGE hosted by: Third in Hollywood, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate.

To learn more about the challenge click HERE!

I just uploaded this product last week and am so excited to use it this fall. It is full of interactive activities as well as worksheets to target articulation skills with your students.

The following sounds are included in this packet /k,g,f,v/. 

Here are all the activities that are included for each sound:

Word list
Turn & Talk Book
Smash Bash Play Dough Mat
iTalk Articulation Cards
Matching Cards
Spin & Say
Spin & Say Worksheets
I Spy
Artic Parking Lot
Hop Till You Drop Game Board
My Coloring Book
Articulation Tic Tac Toe
Articulation Draw & Drill
Articulation Wheel of Fortune
Articulation Word Search
Crack The Case Mystery Words
Worksheets: Each sound has 10 worksheets for additional practice or for homework.

You can check out this packet HERE!

Are you a TPT seller? What is your masterpiece?

Wacky Wednesday Book Club: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Shell

Graphics by: Melonheadz, Teaching Super Power, Sonyia Dehart, and KG Fonts

I LOVE books! I especially love using books in therapy. They are an excellent tool to target multiple skills: comprehension, vocabulary, a model for grammatical structure, the list goes on and on. One reason I love using books is it gives students exposure to things they may have never experienced, such as a visit to the zoo or circus. 

Book companions are perfect for extending the learning experience that books provide. Each Wednesday I will highlight a book and book companion I love using with my students and provide you with activities to accompany the book. 

This week I want to show you my book companion for "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Shell". This series of books is probably one of my favorites. They are wacky and silly and so fun to use in therapy. 

Lucille Colandro's books are excellent for making predictions, themed vocabulary, comprehension, sequencing and rhyming as well as many other language skills. 

Here is a peek at my book companion:

This packet includes activities targeting:

Story retell: Students will retell the story while feeding the old lady objects. 

Ordinal Numbers: Students will sequence events from the story.

Comprehension Questions & Retelling Mat:As students answer questions correctly, they remove the card to reveal parts of the picture. Once all the cards have been removed , students will use the retelling mat to retell the story.

Yes/No Questions:Students will draw a card and answer the question. Use with open-ended game board. 

Matching:Students are to draw a line from what she ate to the reason she ate it. 

Summer Bingo:These boards can be used for identifying vocabulary from the story, describing, identification by attributes, etc. 

Rhyme: Students will match rhyming words from the story.

Verb Tense:Use the mat (page 19) to sort the cards into past, present and future tense.  Students will formulate sentences with one or all verb tenses.

Counting Syllables:Students will draw a card and put their finger on the correct number of syllables in each word. Students can also use small clothespins.

Mini Book

The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Shell Interactive Book

Roll & Color open-ended worksheets

Open-ended game board

You can find it in my TPT store by clicking HERE.

Enjoy using books in therapy!