Speech Globes!

Last week, we were busy creating some snow globes! First, let me say that I'm pretty craft-challenged and I don't attempt any craft that requires me to move mountains (ex. drawing templates or more than three pieces) haha... So, if I can whip up these snow globes then they are truly super easy to the peasy.

First, I grabbed a cookie bulletin board decoration and traced it to create my globe template. Seriously, I can't even draw a circle! They're always hot messes when I try to free-hand. I was able to successfully draw the base and create my own template for it. Then I folded white paper and made a bunch of little snowballs.

I whipped up all the necessary pieces in about 15 minutes and even made a sample for my students.

You can use these globes to target nearly all of the goals on your caseload! My articulation groups wrote their target words onto their snowballs prior to gluing. To target vocabulary, you could write one word one the base and have students write synonyms or antonyms on the snowballs!

I required students to create at least four snowballs and then they had the option to flip it over and draw a winter scene. My students know they always have to be busy in my room! When students wait for their turn to practice, they have to be engaged with something.. so these snow globes were perfect to keep students occupied. I think this stems from my teaching days... downtime in a classroom = bad news.

These little snow globes also doubled as homework! I instructed my students to practice their snow globe words with their families.

My students really enjoyed this little craft and it was soooo easy! It was very simple to assemble! These kindergarteners are super proud of their snow globes!

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for visiting!

The Day It Rained Hearts

Welcome to Wild About Books Wednesday! Books make my heart go pitter-patter. They are my favorite therapy tools, as they can be used to target a wide array of language goals. Each Wednesday, I discuss a different book and explain how it can be used in speech-language therapy! I also invite fellow bloggers to link up with their own ideas!

Get your umbrellas out - it's raining hearts on the blog today!

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond (the illustrator of the If You Give A... books) is a precious story of a girl named Cornelia Augusta. Can I just say that Cornelia is on of my favorite characters of all time - just is so darling! This book follows Cornelia on a day that it rained hearts! She catches a few hearts and makes a unique valentine for each of her friends - rabbit, dog, turtle, and mouse. It's a wonderful story that I'm so excited to share with my students next week!

It's a simple sweet story that is perfect for targeting higher-level thinking skills! Inferencing is tough, but I believe it is the gateway to comprehension. I wanted to outline a few opportunities in this book that lend themselves to supporting inferencing:

1) "It must be getting close to Valentine's Day" - Cornelia said. This is a great place to stop and ask your students why does Cornelia think that?
2) Ask your students, what do you think she will do with all the hearts she collected? This question is a great opportunity to teach students that they shouldn't just merely make a prediction, but use the clues in the story to make an inference. When I was younger, I was all about asking students to make a prediction.... but no. I no longer want them to make guesses, but rather use clues to come to a conclusion.
3) Discuss each of the valentines and make inferences. Cornelia cuts holes throughout one of the hearts and sends it to her friend mouse. Why did she send that particular valentine to mouse? She also sends her friend rabbit a valentine with a cotton ball on it! These are wonderful opportunities to tap into your students' higher level thinking skills.

I love this book so much that I even made a book companion for it! You can find it in my TPT store by clicking HERE. It contains some colorful card games for all my laminator lovers out there and also a wide variety of NO PREP activities. It addresses comprehension, retelling, temporal directions, pronouns, and more! Here's a peek:

Thank you for visiting my blog! If you would like to link up, please use the picture below:

Don't forget to follow my blog so you never miss a Wild Wednesday! Have a wonderful day!

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IEP Cheat Sheets!

It's Quick Tip Tuesday! I'm linking up with Kim, The School SLP, for her linky party! Each Tuesday, she shares some "quick tips" on her blog to help speech pathologists become more efficient! I'm probably the world's most unorganized SLP (and most likely the ONLY unorganized SLP haha), so I anticipate learning a lot from Kim's new blog series!

At the beginning of the school year, I have tons of new students and truly it can be hard for me to remember hundreds of goals. I also work in a district where students move in and out frequently. It can be hard to keep up with an ever-changing caseload. So, I created an IEP cheat sheet.

In August, I thoroughly review every student's file and read through their IEPs and create what I call an IEP cheat sheet! I'll be honest, it is somewhat time consuming.. but I believe it creates an invaluable reference tool for the rest of the school year (which you can update every month or so to accommodate updated goals, dismissals, and new students).

What is an IEP cheat sheet? Basically, I created a table in Microsoft Word that outlines some vital information (Student's Name, Teacher/Grade, Times Per Month, and Goals). I put this on my clipboard and reference it as needed. Here's an example:

I organize the students according to grade and teachers (not alphabetically). This allows me to quickly glance and see how many students I have in a particular teacher's class.


If you're ever doubting yourself for a moment during a therapy session (especially in those first few weeks of school!).. No need to run to your filing cabinet or computer to double check on a goal - just glance at an IEP cheat sheet on your clip board!

The Night Before Valentine's Day! (Plus Freebie)

It's Wild About Books Wednesday! Each Wednesday, I highlight a different book and discuss ways that it can be used in speech/language therapy. I also invite my fellow bloggers to join in on the fun! If you would like to link up, please link back to me using the picture at the bottom of this post! No blog? No problem! I'd love if you would leave a comment sharing your own ideas! I love talking about books and literacy! :)

Last week, I found myself wandering aimlessly around Target when an adorable book caught my eye! It was also $3.99, so I promptly picked it up! It's called The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing and follows that same format as you guessed it - The Night Before Christmas. Now, I've seen a million of these books (The Night Before First Grade, Thanksgiving, etc), but this is the first time I have taken a close look at this series. The book is super cute, so I had to whip up a few freebies to share with you!

I've mentioned before that I love using series in language therapy, because they naturally help build background knowledge. When a student is familiar with the same characters or in this case, the same format their comprehension is supported.

There are many ways you can use this book to support language and literacy! Here are some ideas and freebies:

1) Phonological Awareness - Students can work on rhyming discrimination, as this book is written in an ABAB rhyme scheme
2) WH Questions - A made another "A Dab of Comprehension" sheet to go along with this book! Students simply use a bingo dauber (or marker/crayon/etc) to color in the circle after they answer a question.

3) Sequencing - The children in this story make valentines. You can discuss all the steps required to make a valentine. I also made a little "How To" sheet where students can write down the steps!

4) Compare/Contrast - Students can compare their Valentine's Day party at school with the party in the book!
5) Text-To-Text Connections - Have students make connections with The Night Before Christmas or another book in the series!
6) Predictions - At the end of this story the principal drops off a Valentine's Day present! Have students predict what may be inside! It ends up being a cute little hamster - which surprised me! haha

If you would like to scoop up these free printables, just click HERE. I hope they may be useful one day! If anything.. it gives you a reason to swing by Target to pick up the book and most likely a few other things! haha.. If you're following me on Instagram (please do!).. You saw my latest haul!

It's only January and I already have my first bag of Starburst jelly beans under my belt. Eeek! haha

P.S.
Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter! The first issue will be sent out on February 1st! I'm really excited! I love making things so each issue will contain newsletter-exclusive freebies, my favorite blog posts, and all news related to Speech Is Sweet!

P.S.S.
If you're a blogger - I'd love if you would link up and share your literacy ideas! If you only have Facebook, please feel free to link up with a Facebook note too!

Have a wonderful evening! Thank you for visiting my blog!

An InLinkz Link-up

Winter Blends Giveaway!

Seriously, I absolutely love NO PREP activities. This has probably been one of the busiest years of my career and print n' go activities have been an absolute lifesaver. Last week, I shared some winter printables for early developing sounds and later develop sounds. Today, I want to share the consonant blend versions! Over winter break, my /s/ blends, /r/ blends, and /l/ blends packets received MAJOR updates. Now, each blend contains THREE different options! This allows for more variety, as you can have 21 different sessions with either blend without ever repeating the same words! I'm also going to host a MEGA giveaway! Just enter the raffle below to win all three packets!

Winter NO PREP Articulation: S-Blends

If you're new to these activities, they're all in black and white ink to save money and time! These activities were also designed to maximize repetitions of targeted sounds. While students wait to participate in repetitive drills, they remain engaged as they color, cut, and glue! Here are some examples to showcase the variety contained in each packet:

Winter NO PREP Articulation: R-Blends

These packets are full of cuteness! These interactive sheets are also perfect to send home for additional practice. When students are also doing something they enjoy, repetitive drills aren't so bad. ;) I often use the finished product as homework too. Students have a craft-like project to show their families when they're finished, which can be used to practice their speech at home.

Winter NO PREP Articulation: L-Blends

The /l/ blends packet follows the same format! With two more months of winter - I'm so glad I made these packets for my students. They contain endless possibilities and my K-2 caseload eats them up!

All five of my winter articulation activities have been bundled and discounted 25% off - if you're interested! You can find it by clicking HERE.

I hope you have a fabulous week! Just entered the raffle below for FIVE chances to win these packets for your speech room.

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There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow!

Welcome back to Wild About Books Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I highlight a different book that can be used in speech/language therapy and invite my fellow bloggers to join in on the fun! If you would like to link up, please link back to me using the picture at the bottom of this post!

I don't know about you... but I've been an awfully cold lady lately! Brrrr...

Today I'm talking about Lucille Colandro's There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! If you've visited my blog before, then you know how much I love book series. They are wonderful for students with language disorders, because they enter a therapy session with some background knowledge!

Here are some fun ways to use these old lady books:
1) Inferencing - While this book is certainly wonderful for basic comprehension questions, it's also perfect for tapping into higher level thinking skills. The old lady is systematically swallowing the parts of a snowman! Scaffold students to help them infer what will be swallowed next and what may pop out after she hiccups!
2) Categories - Although, I've never talked about ways to use this book series for categorization - it's a wonderful tool to target grouping! Have students sort the items that the lady swallows in a variety of ways! (ex. sort the items into "hot" and "cold," "clothing" and "things," or by colors)
3) Describing - Students can describe each of the objects that the old lady swallows

I also made a book companion for this book! Here's a peek!

You can find this companion in my TPT store by clicking HERE. It's also part of a growing bundle that you can find HERE.

I hope you have a wonderful Wild About Books Wednesday!

An InLinkz Link-up

A Slice of Speech (January 12, 2014)

A Slice of Speech is back! Each Sunday, I share a little slice of my speech room by providing my visual lesson plans for the upcoming week! If you're following my on Instagram, then you know that last week was full of MagneTalk! After a long break, I love pulling out MagneTalk and Chipper Chat! They're both fun games, no prep, and target a million goals. Does anyone else like to take it easy on the preparation following a break? Or is it just me? lol

This upcoming week is going to be a short one.. We are having a professional development day on Friday, so there will just be four days full of therapy. My articulation groups will spend another week coloring, cutting, and gluing! In expressive language, we will continue our study of the EET and use my cards from my winter expressive language packet. We spent a lot of time last week getting to know each of the beads. I absolutely love the dice that are provided with the kit - they're a great way to practice what each of the beads mean. In addition, students with comparing/contrasting goals will be getting their practice in with a winter themed activity! Receptively, we will be working on WH ?s, basic concepts, and following directions.

You can download these visual lesson plans by clicking HERE. After you download it, just click on each of the pictures and it'll lead you to the resource! Super cool, huh? I borrowed this idea from many of my favorite teacher bloggers - they're awesome and so creative!

I hope you have a wonderful week! Stay warm!

Winter Articulation Giveaway!

Winter is coming!! Sorry, I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan. I know winter is already here, but I just wanted to say that. haha.. I don't like very cold temperatures, but I ADORE snow. I spent some of my childhood years in the mountains of Kentucky and winter always brought 3-4 feet of snow and countless snow days! It truly was the most beautiful time of year! It's also one of my favorite times of year for speech/language therapy! Snowmen, snow globes, snowflakes, oh my! There's lots of freezing fun to be had!

A new season, also means a new theme for my Color, Cut, and Glue Articulation Series! Winter break brought a MEGA update to this series. Each sound now has two different templates in the initial and final positions! Also, each blend now has three templates to choose from. Endless options. Endless fun.

Winter Color, Cut, and Glue Articulation Activities: Early Developing Sounds

 Here is an example of the amount of word choices these packets now provide!

I love variety, so I'm super happy about this update! You can find this packet in my TPT store by clicking HERE. It includes early developing sounds and contains 6 pages in the initial position and 6 pages in the final position for each sound.

You can find the later developing sounds version HERE.

If you're new to my blog.. I absolutely adore these activities! They require NO PREP and only use black and white ink! Students simply color everything on the sheet, cut out their words, and then glue them around or on the main winter themed picture on the top half of the sheet. These are perfect for larger groups, because they keep students engaged while they wait for their turn to participate in repetitive drills. They also provide students with something tangible to take home to show their families and to practice at home!

We have already been using these bad boys in my speech room! Here are some examples:

This little snowy cottage is way too cute!

Adorable!

If interested, all five of my articulation packets are also part of a money saving bundle! You will save 25%!

I'm also hosting a giveaway to celebrate these new activities! I'm giving away the early developing sounds packet and the later develop sounds packet! Just enter to the raffle below for FIVE chances to win both!

Have a wonderful week! Greater Cincinnati is expecting freezing rain.. c'mon "ice day!" The prospect of a snow day is just as exciting now as it was when I was a child!

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Color By Pronouns: Groundhog's Day FREEBIE!

Happy Friday! I survived the first week back and the frigid temperatures. I love snow, but wind chills approaching -25 degrees are not for me. Especially when I can't even get a "cold day" out of it! But I digress.. I'm really hoping that my homie Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow this year. I wouldn't be mad at an early spring. ;)

I'm always thinking a little bit ahead, so I made a freebie! Color By Pronouns: Groundhog's Day Edition. It's a cute little sample of my Color By Pronouns series. You can check out some previous versions HERE and HERE.

This fella contains five different coloring pages that can be used in language therapy, sent home for extra practice, or used in language centers. Each page contains a color key (ex. she - green or they - brown). Students simply look at the nouns on the picture and color them according to the key! Here are some examples:

The pronouns addressed are: he, she, they, it, and we. These coloring activities will bring some novelty to pronoun instruction! If you're interested in scooping up this freebie you can find it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking HERE.

Have a wonderful weekend! A Slice of Speech will be returning this Sunday and there may or may not be a giveaway on Sunday too. ;) Make sure you're following my blog either on bloglovin' or by subscribing by email (or both!) so you never miss a post!