S...Peachy Feedback Linky! (August 2014)

I'm so excited to link up with Nicole over at Speech Peeps for her monthly S...Peachy Feedback Linky Party! This linky was designed to show appreciation for those who leave feedback on Teachers Pay Teachers products. Each month, I will select one person who has left feedback to receive a free item in my store!

Seriously, not to get all mushy, but it makes my day when someone takes time out of their busy schedule to leave helpful, kind, and encouraging feedback on one of my products. I truly appreciate each and every person who visits my store!

This month's winner is KateSLP!

Thanks, Kate! Your feedback has made my day more than once! Please email me at speechissweet@gmail.com to receive a product of your choice from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

My Color, Cut, and Glue Articulation Activities can be found HERE. Fall is now in my store and Halloween is up next!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the linky party to see if you're a winner! Remember when you leave feedback, you earn TPT credits! Currently, I have $5.00 to apply to my next purchase. Have a wonderful day!

TPT Shining Stars Linky Party! (Back to School Boost Sale!)

Wow! How awesome is Teachers Pay Teachers?! Many teachers believed that the back-to-school sale was a tad bit too early, so TPT decided to throw a one day back to school BOOST on August 20th! On August 20th everything in my store is going to be 28% off when you use the TPT code: BOOST.

To celebrate this surprise sale, I'm linking up with SLPrunner for her TPT Shining Stars Linky Party! I'm going to discuss some new shining stars in my store and other great materials I've purchased or will be purchasing that I think you'll love!

First, I'm so excited that I have completed ALL of my Fall Color, Cut, and Glue Articulation Activities! My students love these sheets and my Color, Cut, and Glue Articulation series is one of my shining stars! Students say each word 10 times, color everything, and then cut out their words to glue on or around the main fall themed picture on the top section of the sheet. I get soooo many repetitions when I use these materials and students remain engaged while they wait for their turn. I have bundled all five packets (514 NO PREP activities) for MEGA savings. The Fall Articulation Bundle is already discounted more than 15% off and on Wednesday, August 20th it will be discounted an additional 28%! That's like getting over two packets FREE! Check out the bundle by clicking HERE. Or check out the individual packets by clicking HERE.

I LOVE book companions. Recently, I made a companion for There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books by Lucille Colandro! It's perfect for back-to-school. It contains a variety of prep and no prep materials! Check it out by clicking HERE.

Have you scooped up my Back To Speech packet? It quickly became my best-seller! It contains 48 NO PREP materials (fluency, language, articulation, social skills, and more!) that are designed for the first month of school! Check it out by clicking HERE.

Thanks for checking out my materials! While you're in my store, please consider following for updates and freebies!

Now for some shining stars by other SLPs on TPT! In a previous sale, I scooped up this gem - Speech and Language Therapy Rubrics by Schoolhouse Talk!

There is now an expansion packet and I'm excited to add this to my authentic assessment collection!

I think Courtney Gregg's Color-A-Deck series is a true shining star! She recently created a version for Apraxia and of course, it went straight to my wishlist! I'm scooping it up during this boost sale!

Have fun shopping the back to school boost! Seriously, this sale is a huge surprise to me! I'm excited for another 28% off shopping day haha... I'm also extending my sale for an additional day, so if you miss out on the 28% off on Wednesday.. you can still save 20% on Thursday!

Have a fantastic school year! My first official day with kids is August 20th!

Wemberly Worried (Plus Freebies!)

Welcome back to Wild About Books Wednesday! Each Wednesday, I discuss a specific book and how it can be used in speech/language therapy. Books open up a realm of possibilities for therapy and I absolutely love them! If you're a blogger, you can join in on the fun by linking up with a new or recent blog post with your own ideas.. just use the picture below!

It's back to school season and I'm a little worried. What if my caseload becomes astronomical? What if I drown in a sea of paperwork? What if a medicaid log gives me a paper cut? haha.. I can definitely relate to another little worrier - Wemberly. Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes is such a wonderful book for the beginning of the school year. Teachers, SLPs, and students alike can make text-to-self connections with Wemberly.

Wemberly is an endearing little creature who worries about everything under the sun! As the first day of kindergarten approaches, Wemberly becomes more anxious that ever! She's worried that she won't make any friends, that her teacher might be mean, and even worries about crying in front of her classmates. On her first day, her teacher introduces her to someone who is very similar to her! There are endless ways to use this book in speech/language therapy.

1) Comparing/Contrasting: I love making venn diagrams with my students! It's such a great visual. Students can make Venn Diagrams and compare/contrast themselves with Wemberly or they can compare Wemberly to her new friend Jewel.

2) Inferencing: Wemberly is such a predictable character... which is a wonderful thing for students who have trouble making inferences. We know that Wemberly worries all day, everyday. You can ask students how they think Wemberly might feel in a variety of scenarios. The answer will almost always be, "she will feel anxious or worried, because she worries about everything!" What a great way to ease students into inferencing with some guided repetitions!

3) WH ?s: This book is great for practicing simple WH ?s. I made a cute reinforcer page for this skill! Each time a student answers a WH ? about the book, they get to color a mouse!

 

4) Fluency: This is a great book to share with primary students who are stuttering. Oftentimes, children who stutter feel anxiety in the classroom, because they're afraid they'll stutter in front of their peers. A huge part of stuttering therapy can be dealing with emotions and anxieties. This book will springboard a great discussion about worrying and how it can be conquered. After reading the book, students can also practice their easy starts (easy onsets) using vocabulary from the book! 

If you would like to grab these little freebies, just click HERE.

Have you read this book? What are some of your favorite activities to go along with Wemberly Worried?

Don't forget to follow me on bloglovin' so you'll never miss a Wild About Books Wednesday! Have a great day!

EDIT: August 22, 2014
I'm linking up with Speechie Freebies for Friday FreeBEES! It's the beginning of the school year, so I wanted to share these freebies for a great back to school book!

Back To School Books

Summer has come to a screeching halt! I have no choice but to get in a back-to-school state of mind. I'm easing myself into a new year by brainstorming some of my favorite school themed storybooks! I've created a short list of some of my favorites to share with you all! Please comment and add your own!

1. If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff

I love a good mouse story. If you take a mouse to school.. crazy antics will ensue! This book is perfect for introducing little ones to school vocabulary such as: lunchbox, locker, backpack, pencils, etc. It's also great to address cause and effect. "If you take a mouse to school, he'll ask you for a lunchbox!"

2. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books by Lucille Colandro

My students LOVE the old lady. She makes an appearance in my speech room at least one time per quarter! She's awesome and has a terrible case of pica, but anywhoo.. I love this book for practicing basic WH ?s, such as "who swallowed the book?" It's also perfect for sequencing! The book is highly repetitive so it really helps students who struggle with that skill.

3. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

When I think of school the first word that always comes to mind is library! It's my favorite room in the school! This is an adorable story of a group of bats that go to the library at night. It's perfect for reviewing rhyming and other phonological awareness skills. I also think it would be cool to take students on a "field trip" to the school's library to read this book! On the way to the library students can make predictions about the book and you can activate their background knowledge about libraries and bats.

4. Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

I told you I love mouse stories. I've also talked about Kevin Henkes quite a few times here on the blog. I just adore his stories and illustrations! This is a wonderful story about a little mouse who worries about everything! So you can imagine the anxiety she feels the night before school. It's a perfect story to talk about back-to-school jitters and to discuss text-to-self connections. I believe every student can connect with Wemberly, which makes it the perfect story for the beginning of the school year. Check back on Wednesday to score some freebies for this book to celebrate Wild About Books Wednesday!

5. Hooway For Wodney Rat by Helen Lester

I know what you're thinking, another mouse story?! No, this one is about a rat. haha.. This book is wonderful! It's about a little rat who cannot pronounce his /r/ correctly. Perfect for speech therapy! Rodney is picked on by some of his classmates and especially by the school bully, Camilla. Many students can make connections to this book and it will fuel a great class discussion about how to treat other people. It's a wonderful tale about courage.... and it takes a lot of courage to start a new school year! haha

What are your favorite storybooks to kick off the school year?

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful day!

Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct (Plus Freebie!)

Happy Wild About Books Wednesday! Each Wednesday I talk about my favorite therapy tool - books! If you're a blogger, please consider joining in on this wild rumpus by linking up with a new or recent post about how you use a specific book in therapy! Just use the photo at the end of this post to link back to me. No blog? That's okay! You can join in by commenting on this post!

Today I'm talking about another one of my favorite books - Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems!

 

Mo Willems is an absolute genius. I adore all of his characters, but none like Edwina! She's my homegirl. I've used this book a couple times in my speech room and my students adore her too. It's about a happy-go-lucky T-Rex who doesn't seem to know she's the only one of her kind left. The entire town loves her, except for one boy - Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. He's on a mission to rain on her parade and to convince her that she is supposed to be extinct.

Reginald soon finds that nobody in town cares that she's supposed to be extinct; They're too busy eating her deliciously baked chocolate chip cookies. Eventually, Reginald finally convinces Edwina. She's shocked at first, but after a few moments of thinking about... she is happy again! The rather miserable Reginald cannot help but to be happy too after seeing Edwina's reaction.

It's a great story about positivity! We all can learn from Edwina's carefree attitude.

There's endless possibilities to enhance language using this book! Here are a few ideas:

Pragmatics: Let's face it. Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie isn't the nicest kid in the world. This book opens up a great discussion about how to be a good classmate, citizen, and friend. You can talk about how Reginald can improve his social skills! I created a great freebie that you can use to discuss the qualities of a good friend!

Comparing/Contrasting: Create a venn diagram and compare Reginald and Edwina!

Persuasion: Reginald spends the ENTIRE book trying to persuade everyone in his little town that Edwina is supposed to be extinct! This is a great book to teach persuasion. Students can write a persuasive letter to their teachers/friends/parents about how dinosaurs are extinct or why chocolate chip cookies are the best!

Sequencing: This is a fantastic book for sequencing! You can really break the book down into three main events for students who are struggling or it can be broken down into many more. In addition, Edwina makes cookies for all of her friends and neighbors! You can discuss the sequence for making cookies! I made a sweet little freebie for this too:

Have you used this book? What are your ideas? If you would like these freebies feel free to grab it from my google drive by clicking HERE.

Be sure to follow me on bloglovin' so you never miss a Wild About Books Wednesday! Have a great day and consider linking up!

Summer Grammar

As a speech-language pathologist, I work with many students who struggle with using and understanding higher level syntax. Syntax is one of the major language underpinnings to reading comprehension and writing. If a student is struggling with comprehension, it's usually one of the first things I investigate. Truly, you can still understand a passage without knowing some of the vocabulary... but if you get lost in the syntax of a story, you're in trouble.

Implicit teaching of grammar is extremely important, but I think it's worthwhile to target it explicitly as well. As a grammar junkie, I had to create a resource for primary teachers and other speech-language pathologists that is hands-on and engaging! Let's face it, grammar can be boring for children when they are given regular ol' worksheets. I'm super excited to introduce my new grammar line - Snip and Stick! These interactive sheets only require scissors and glue!

Summer Grammar: Snip and Stick can be found by clicking HERE. This packet is appropriate for primary grades. It addresses plurals, irregular plurals, pronouns, subject-verb agreement, and changing verbs to nouns! There are 50 NO PREP activities that are perfect for teaching, reviewing, and reinforcing grammar. I think these interactive sheets would be excellent additions to literacy/language centers in the regular classroom! Of course, they will also be cool additions to any speech room. Students who love hands-on activities will definitely enjoy this packet!

Here is a preview:

In the future, I plan to have more posts about the importance of grammar, tips/tricks for teaching grammar, and research information! Please make sure you are following me on bloglovin' and facebook, so you'll never miss a post!