Anne Page | Beautiful Speech Life

SLP Social Media Series: We Rise By Lifting Others

by Anne Page | Oct 26, 2015 | Inspiration, SLP Social Media

SpeechLanguagePathologistDigitalConnection

I remember my first few years as a school speech language pathologist (SLP). I had a lot of questions and doubts. Wishing I had a wise counsel to turn to, I just kept solitarily moving forward. I checked the literature and research but sometimes it was just too formal. I wanted a connection.[spacer height=”20px”]

This was before the social media search. Now we have blogs, YouTube, Pinterest, Google, Facebook, Instagram and more. So much information and knowledge at our fingertips.[spacer height=”20px”]

The new challenge is in sifting through it; finding resources that speak to me and that are in line with my way of thinking as I build my practice and my skills as an SLP.[spacer height=”20px”]

This summer, I had the great fortune to attend the teachers pay teachers sellers conference in Las Vegas. Our Facebook group of SLP’s on TPT made arrangements to meet up and tentative digital connections became warm personal connections.[spacer height=”20px”]

We exchanged stories and ideas; shared links and tips. We realized that working together not only makes us better creators of therapy materials, it makes us better SLP’s.[spacer height=”20px”]

This is how the blog Speechspotlight.com came to be. Nine of us jumped on board when Sarah Wu (Speech is Beautiful) said “why don’t we start a collaborative blog?”[spacer height=”20px”]

Up and running since July this year; we share articles, tips, and therapy materials.Now, I have my wise counsel and I’d love to share it with you. Go visit Speech Spotlight. Follow us on Facebook for daily updates. New blog posts are every Monday. You don’t have to do it alone, now you have us.[spacer height=”20px”]

Come back next week to learn more about SLP social media sites to add to your SLP digital tribe. Join my email list (at the top of the page) to receive new blog posts right away (and get a great FREEBIE).[spacer height=”20px”]

Have fun connecting,

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Halloween Giveaway

by Anne Page | Oct 13, 2015 | Reviews

October is here and that means Halloween. I love capitalizing on holiday excitement by using Halloween themed therapy materials.[spacer height=”20px”]

Halloween Attributes Compare and Contrast 2

Looking for some Halloween vocabulary building fun? Kim Lewis from Activity Taylor put together a colorful, engaging and FUN Halloween Attributes: Compare and Contrast game. This is available in her Teachers Pay Teachers Store (where she has so many wonderful products).[spacer height=”20px”]

And guess what? She gave me one to give away.[spacer height=”20px”]

With this game students can practice comparing and contrasting with QR codes, charts and even a Cariboo option. Kids love the colorful comparing sets: jack-o-lanterns, witch hats, and costumed characters.[spacer height=”20px”]

Halloween Attributes Compare and Contrast 3

To play, one set of cards is placed face-up on the table. SLP reads first clue on clue card. For example when using the Jack-o-lantern set, first clue is “I look angry”. Student removes all the pumpkins that don’t look angry. Next clue “I have a triangle nose.” Remove cards that don’t have triangle nose. One more clue and they are down to one card. Use the QR code to check the answer (they love checking and seeing that they are right). It reminds me of the classic “Guess Who” game.[spacer height=”20px”]

Plus there are bonus Cariboo cards (if you are lucky enough to have a Cariboo game). You can have students describe the hat they are going to open or you give them 2 or 3 descriptors that let them know which one to choose. If you don’t have Cariboo, there is a cool little chart option to use.[spacer height=”20px”]

Want a FREE copy? Kim has given me one to give away. For your chance to win, just tell me your favorite-ever Halloween costume in the comments below. Winner will be randomly chosen after Midnight Thursday, October 15.[spacer height=”20px”]

Good luck!

Hide and Seek: Bus

by Anne Page | Sep 16, 2015 | Uncategorized

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Hello new visitors! Thirteen SLP bloggers are hiding–hiding on different blogs and hiding in the school. They’re here to show you that you can (and probably do) do therapy everywhere and that each locale has it’s own benefits. For all their tips, hop from blog to blog. While you’re there, jot down the author’s blog/school location listed at the bottom of each post to enter into Rafflecopter. While you’re here sign up (at the top of the page) to be on my email list, so you will be the first to know about fun activities like this. Please welcome my guest blogger, the vivacious Kelly. [spacer height=”20px”]

Hi, I’m Kelly from Speech2u. I was lucky enough to meet Anne at the Teacher’s Pay Teachers conference in Las Vegas this summer and now I’m grateful she is letting me hide out on her blog.

Kim from Activity Tailor is hosting a Hide and Seek blog hop-where you can discover speech and language activities that you can use across your school building. I’m going to be writing these down-what a great way to incorporate generalization!

Can you guess where I am?

Riding the bus. It’s one of the biggest transitions of the school days which can be challenging for some of our students. I’ll admit, I’ve never done speech therapy on a bus-mostly because at the end of my day, the last thing I want to do is walk home carrying a bag of materials from the bus company.

I am intrigued about therapy on the bus, as it presents several opportunities for helping our students generalize and use their language:

Concepts

Do you have students who love to talk about buses. We can talk about their school bus ride while waiting in line for dismissal. For example:

Spatial concepts:

sitting on the seat
sitting next to ______, in front of _______ or behind ____________.
climbing on the bus
walking off the bus.

Descriptive concepts:

fast/slow
bumpy/smooth
hot/cold
yellow (for most of us anyhow)

Social Skills

There are a lot of hidden rules on the bus. These are great to review with social language students. For instance:

How can you tell which seats are open?
Is it okay for your legs to touch on the bus or do you need to make sure that you don’t touch your seat mate?
What about body position? Do we look straight ahead while we are talking? Should we face them directly?
What does it mean if we angle our bodies towards or away from someone?
Can you talk to people on the bus-how loud is too loud?
What are expected/unexpected behaviors on the bus?

AAC

Don’t forget about our students who have communication devices? We could set up bus pages on their device to allow them to communicate on the bus. Maybe they need to say:

“Hi/Bye” to the bus driver and others
“It’s my stop”
“I see a police officer”
“You’re going fast” or “Too slow”
“When will I be home?”

There are challenges with this-but I think there are also rewards-even if you started with greeting the driver. You could take the student to their bus and act as a facilitator at the end of their school day.

Field Trips

Are you lucky enough to go to on field trips with your school? If you are-you could provide language and categorization games during the ride to the field trip. Some great bus games to keep students occupied include:

“I went on a field trip and brought ….” (each person adds a new item while repeating the previous items.) HINT: Adapt this by requiring students working on articulation to choose items with their targeted sounds.
20 Questions
Categories-Name a category and players take turns naming category members

Speech2u’s home base is Speech2u.com, but today she’s on the BUS! To enter the Hide and Seek Blog Hop Raffle, collect the names of the participating blogs and where they are hiding and enter them here.

6 Ways an SLP can use TPT to be Super Organized and Resourceful

by Anne Page | Sep 12, 2015 | Blog, Inspiration, Quick Therapy Tips for the SLP and SLPA, Therapy Ideas, TPT Products, Uncategorized



School is back in full swing for me.

Are you like me and tell yourself that you’re going to be more organized this year? (And say it every year?)[spacer height=”20px”]

This year I’m actually doing it-not perfectly of course. But I have to say Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) has made my life sooo much easier. When I first discovered TPT, I was just downloading freebies left and right and buying products that were cheap.[spacer height=”20px”]

Now, I’m a little more discriminating. Just because something is free or inexpensive doesn’t mean it’s the right product for me.[spacer height=”20px”]

Here are 6 ways that I use TPT to make me more organized and the therapy materials I need at my fingertips.[spacer height=”20px”]

1. Buy staple items that you know you can use every year.

Here is my list for K-3 (yours may look different, you’ll customize to fit your needs)

Articulation rings, flipbooks

Vocabulary Development: Categorizing, Opposites, Synonyms, Compare and Contrast

Phonological Awareness

Grammar: pronouns, verbs, plurals, possessives, adjective and adverbs

Following Directions

Book Companions

Games [spacer height=”20px”]

Middle School:

Articulation (s, l, r)

Vocabulary: grade level antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, context clues

Inferencing

Grammar: verbs, adjectives

Book Companions

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Watch for items that are Core Curriculum Aligned.[spacer height=”20px”]

2. Consider your teaching/therapy style.

Do you like worksheets and paper/pencil activities or do you motivate students through cards and games?[spacer height=”20px”]

Get products that you can easily picture yourself using. Do you need activities with no or low preparation time? Or do you love having colorful,laminated materials and don’t mind cutting laminated items while you watch the latest episode of The Bachelor?[spacer height=”20px”]

Purchase items that will fit into your way of doing things.[spacer height=”20px”]

3. Don’t re-invent the wheel.

You can get planners, data sheets, forms, posters, homework sheets, brag tags, and punch cards on TPT. Get SUPER organized by using them.[spacer height=”20px”]

4. Find your favorite sellers

Once you start purchasing items you’ll find sellers that seem like they are making products just for you. These sellers are gems! Follow them and show them some love by giving feedback on their products. (Especially the freebies)[spacer height=”20px”]

When I need something I save myself time by searching their stores first (less to scroll through than when I do a site-wide search).[spacer height=”20px”]

5. Buy seasonal and holiday items as little treats to keep your sessions fresh and fun. (for your students and for you)[spacer height=”20px”]

Kids get so excited about holidays (so do I). Fun seasonal materials can breathe new life into concepts you’ve been working on.[spacer height=”20px”]

6. Give some thought to how you store your TPT products[spacer height=”20px”]

You want them to be easily accessible. I use Globe-Weiss clear plastic envelopes with colored ziptops (from Amazon). I print the product cover page and place inside to use it as a label. These are really sturdy and can stand on a shelf.[spacer height=”20px”]

So there you have it, 6 easy ways to help you be organized, effective and fun by using TPT. Which tip will help you the most? Leave a note in the comments below. [spacer height=”20px”]

Happy Organizing,

Did you like this post? If you did please share with your friends! And head on over to my TPT store to find some fun organizational and game-base products.

6 Ways an SLP Can Help with Preliteracy Skills

by Anne Page | Sep 3, 2015 | Blog, Therapy Ideas, TPT Products

So what exactly is preliteracy?

This term covers all the areas a child needs to get ready to read. It includes important skills like oral language and phonological and phonemic awareness (the awareness of sounds), as well as knowledge of the alphabet and an understanding of common print concepts (print goes from left to right and from up to down on a page, how to hold a book).

A child that has been identified with a speech and/or language impairment (SLI) can be at a higher risk for having reading difficulties. Studies have indicated that as many as 40-75% of children with SLI will have problems learning to read.

A speech language pathologist (SLP) can help not only in the development of oral language but in the following areas as well:

1. Print Motivation

Get excited about what you are reading to a child, enthusiasm is contagious. Talk about why you like the book and what you like about it. Be animated. Let him know that it was your favorite when you were a child or that you read it to your little girl. Help them to make an emotional connection.

2. Print Awareness

When using books in therapy to help develop vocabulary and sequencing skills, take this time to point out the title and the author. Let the child turn the pages. Track with your finger under the words as you read them.

3.Phonological Awareness

Help kids play with sounds to help them understand that words are made up of smaller sounds. Sing songs, read books with rhymes. Play a funny rhyming game with their names.

4. Vocabulary

Need I say more? As SLP’s we are all about expanding vocabulary. Label the pictures. Talk about some words that you think might be unfamiliar. When you come across those words in the text, ask if they know what it means. If not, talk about the words and place them in a familiar context.

5. Narrative skills

Ask questions about the story that can’t be answered with yes or no. Ask him to retell the story; if this is too hard provide a scaffold by asking questions or giving choices.

6. Letter Knowledge

Learning about letters and know what sounds they make is so much fun. Help kids get excited about recognizing the first letter in their name and make a game of looking for letters in their environment. Make playing with letters fun and multi-sensory.

Learning the letters of the alphabet is a big part of Kindergarten. It can be challenging to incorporate the repetition kids need and to keep them interested.

I created this Letter Recognition and Sound game to do just that. It’s an engaging, colorful activity with two levels of play. Students can apply their knowledge of letters and letter sounds as they play games and interact with letters by flipping over the cards and building a smores.

Smores Letter and Sound Recognition Activity

Smores are available by clicking on this link to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

So there you have it…6 Ways an SLP can help with preliteracy skills and have fun doing it!

If you like this post, sign up to receive emails for more inspiration and ideas every month. Keep up the great work, we are changing lives one child at a time.

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