Fall Week in Review

I was excited for this week to come:  the first week of Fall! I adore Fall: cooler weather, crisp air, and football. (I'm Southern...of course I love football!)

5 Minute Day:
For the independent station, the kids used this from Autumn  Worksheet and HW Pack by Lauren LaCour. I glued the trees on the paper, and cut out the leaves ahead of time to save time. This was also their homework activity: The piece of paper I glued the trees on had the instructions for their homework at the top. The students wrote words with their sound in it on the leaves, then glued the leaves on the tree.
To reduce distractions from the kids having questions, I made some quick instructions using picto4.me:
Younger Language:
We read this book:
We re-read the book, attempting to put the animal + the action together.
Then, I got real creative, and made a mini-book using Custom Boards from Smarty Ears. I'm super-excited about making this book...it took me less than 30 minutes!
One of my students worked on following directions using "in, on, under". These cards from The Dabbling Speechie were perfect for that:
Cut, Sort, and Glue! Activities for the Entire Year by Miss Speechie was great for making complete sentences. We worked on answering yes/no questions using Fall Early Language File Folder Activities (also by Miss Speechie!).
Articulation:
I didn't play this game like it should be played: The cards have a sentence and a question about the sentence. Some of the cards have worms; the person that gets that card loses all of his apples. I looked everywhere so that I could give credit for this game, but unfortunately I couldn't find it. If you know, please contact me!

This was a rough week for me: I had a bad case of laryngitis that started last Thursday. I never really felt bad, I just couldn't talk. I pulled out the iPad and used Language Empires, Syntax City, Question It, Idiom Stories, Inference Aceand Articulate It quite a bit to try to save my voice. Is it just me, or does everybody else feel the need to talk a lot when your students are using apps? I'm sure it helped some, though. Probably not the best quality therapy I've ever done, but it is what it is!

My Mountain School does this every year:
Acorns, fruit, and anything else a bear would eat are collected and donated to the Appalachian Bear Rescue, which is just up the road. It just makes my heart happy to see the kids helping the bears out.

I'd love for you to link up by using the linky button below. You can review what you did this past week, or what you're planning on doing next week. All I ask is that you mention my blog when you link up! (We're pretty laid back around here!)


Wild About Books

Wow!  Week 2 participating in Wild About Books with Speech is Sweet! This week, I'm using the book When the Leaf Blew In by Steve Metzger. I found this book last year when my local library had a book sale.

A leaf blows into the barn, setting of a chain of events: The cow sneezes, which causes a spider to land on an owl, which causes the owl to swoop, and so on. 
The book was great for working with a student who is working on verbs. I also used it for sequencing, retelling stories and staying on topic. 

Pirate Week in Review

I explained Pirate Week to a student and then asked what a pirate says.  His response:  "aaaaah"! Which would explain why he is in speech!
This week, I used a book that I bought in last Spring's Book Fair: Pirates Love Underpants by Claire Freedman. What kid doesn't laugh at the word "underpants"? 
Reminder:  to view larger pictures, click on the picture and scroll through.
5-Minute Day;
During the "independent station", the students played "Treasure Hunt" (from Pirate Language Activities! by Jenn Alcorn) to see how far they could get. The picture below is actually from a couple of artic groups that I had to see together due to a schedule change on Tues. I had 6 students in 1 group & didn't accomplish anything! Instead of a "5 minute day" with that group, we played the game.

Wild About Books

Every Wednesday, Speech is Sweet hosts a linky party:  Wild About Books Wednesday. It's a way to get some fresh ideas about books that you may not have ever heard of, as well as ideas about how to use them in therapy.
This week, since Friday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I am using a pirate book that I bought at last Spring's Book Fair: Pirates Love Underpants by Claire Freedman.
How I used it in language:

1) Predicting:  What was going to happen? 
2) Vocabulary:  The book has different kinds of "underpants", such as bloomers, knickers, long johns.
3) Inferencing: Why did the pirates snip the elastic? Why did the pirates fall? 
4) Feelings: How did the pirates feel when they tripped?
Oh, and there's rhyming in this book, too. 

How I used it in articulation:
My older students tallied each time they heard their target sound.  Then, we compared their total to the actual total. I re-read the story with the student identifying each word with their target sound, correctly producing the words.
With my younger students, I used it as an auditory bombardment activity.

The students really enjoyed this book.  I read the last page on Monday & Tuesday, but left it out today.  They just didn't "get it", and I thought it was a little out of place. Plus, I didn't think it was needed to end the story.

Head over to Speech is Sweet to see what books other SLPs are using, and how they're using it.

Week in Review: Old Lady...Books Week!

Wow. Where did last week go? Here it is, the beginning of a new week, and I need to review what I did last week!
5 Minute Day:
The students looked through cards with their target sound, picked 6, and drew those on the sheet, courtesy of The Dabbling Speechie. The student took this home for homework.

TpT Essentials & Storage Tips

To all of you wonderful ladies who spend countless hours making things to share with those of us who have no creative skills:  THANK YOU!  If you are just getting started with TpT or (gasp!) have yet to delve into the TpT world, here are the essentials:
1. A printer with color cartridge
2. Cardstock paper. You could use regular printer paper, but don't you want your materials to last?  Cardstock is the way to go.
3. A laminator.
Mine is about 9 or 10 years old, but it's still going. I bought another one from Amazon a few months ago when it was on sale for under $20. It's in the box in a closet so I'll be prepared when this one finally bites the dust. If you don't have one, keep an eye on Amazon.  Every now & then they'll have an excellent sale.  
To go along with the laminator, of course you'll need laminating sheets, or pockets.  I use 3 MIL, and again, bought some "off brand" when they were on sale at Amazon.  I can't tell the difference between them or the Scotch brand.

I Heart to Organize Speechy Things!

I'm joining in on Sparklle SLP's "I http://www.sparklleslp.blogspot.com/2014/09/i-heart-to-organize-speechy-things-linky_2.html#comment-form to organize speech things!  Linky" As SLPs, I think it's in our nature to be organizers.  After all, there are so many things we have to organize! I gave you a peek into my room with this post, so now here's a closer look:
I found a little metal "basket" at the dollar store last year.  They were perfect for keeping my clothespins for my Artic Ladder; I kept the basket on my desk at my previous MWF school. The only problem with my new/old school is that I didn't have anywhere to put it since it didn't fit on the whiteboard. I have coat hooks on the wall (just to the right of the board in the above picture), and had some ribbon left over.  This was my "aha" moment:

Organizing Mass Screening Results

I have to admit:  I get a little OCD with my mass screening results. I write down every error a child has, and then go back and recheck the developmental errors...even if /ɵ, ð/ are the only errors. Keeping track of the errors and the rechecks isn't that difficult. You just have to be organized and document.
(Reminder:  To see the forms in a larger view, click on the form.)
After I finish my mass screenings (we only mass screen Kindergarten students), I go through the forms and find the students with errors or questionable language skills.  I record the results on this form:
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