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Wednesday 27 January 2016

Play-doh mats for Expressive Language!!

Playdough Mats {First Words}

Recently I've started working with some kids at a school who have severely delayed expressive language skills. I had to go on the hunt to get some fun and motivating activities. I haven't used play-doh much in speech so I thought it might be a good fit since my kids are about 4 years old.
 


Instead of just using these mats the way they were designed, I threw in my own twist. I would explain the item and then the child has to find it and cover it up with play-doh after they say the word. With the kids who were more advanced, I got them to say I found the _ _ _. Using the mats this way is also great for receptive language! These Playdough mats are by Primary Punch! Thank you Primary Punch for making them FREE! You Rock!

:) 
Cheers,
Mindy

Friday 22 January 2016

Letter Names and Sounds

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/FREEBIE-Letter-Names-Sounds-Writing-Strips-Sets-1271412  

I provide speech, language and reading support to schools. Usually I work with Kindergarten, grades 1 and 2's. When teachers are open to allowing me to take over ( ha ha), I love to provide activities to the entire class or in small groups. Mostly, teachers are seeking support and guidance on phonological awareness and reading skills. The number 1 complaint I get from teachers is that their students have not learned the letter names and letter-sound correspondence. I am always on the search to find something new, fun and cheap.... Low and behold I found Tara West.
 Not only does she have a great store with some wonderful products but the one thing that I was looking for was FREE!!!
Tara suggests you use the as printing practice, upper/lower case practice or beginning sound practice but I came up with something different.

http://creatingcommunicators-mindy.blogspot.ca/2016/01/teacher-favourite.html

I kept the picture cards full and cut out the letters. Then I had the kids match the letter to the beginning sound of each picture. You could do it the other way: keep the letters on the full card and then cut out each picture individually and match them up that way.

Thanks for this great freebie, Tara!

Do you have any ideas on how you teach letter sound correspondence?


Cheers,
Mindy


Wednesday 20 January 2016

Parent Handouts!

Hey Everyone!

Let's face it we can do a lot in speech but we really need carryover and practice at home. Also, we need parents to understand speech and how they can keep the language going in their home. Many parents don't understand how to increase language in their everyday activities. They turn on the T.V. or an iPad and think- "this is educational it has to help my child speak."

 Electronic devices may help with some things but it doesn't help teach language skills, vocabulary and conversation skills like turn taking. What we need is parents to get out the old fashioned toys, get on the floor and play with kids, especially toddlers. The kids love the interaction and it also helps to build bonds with the little guys.

 Speech & Language Homework {Toddler Toys}

I am not saying you need to spend hour upon hour on the floor but a few minutes (even 10 minutes because lets face it younger kids can't focus for much longer than that) a few times a day is crucial for language development.
I found these homework handouts (for use with Toddlers and common toys that most people have in their homes) that are awesome, and FREE! Thank you, Primary Punch! Great work!
Speech & Language Homework {Toddler Toys}


I am thinking of making my own but right now I have a 1 year old and I need to go play with him!



What do you use for parent handouts?


Cheers,
Mindy

Tuesday 19 January 2016

What's New in Your Store Linky

Hello Everyone!
 
I would like to a part of SLPrunner's What's New In Your Store linky party! I wanted to share what I am purchasing on the next TPT- Start Your Year Sitewide Sale which will be held on Jan 20th & Jan 21st.  

I am nosey and love to see what others have found because maybe I would like it but missed it. :) 



http://creatingcommunicators-mindy.blogspot.ca/2016/01/linky-party-tpt-sale.html



Here are some new items from my store:
 1 month of Speech TherapyFree /s/ articulation homeworkJar Categories
 
 
Here is what is in my cart:

1. Evidence-Based Practice Quick Reference: Speech-Language Pathology 
by Carissa Ten Hoeve. Always learning... Great to have all of this information in one place!

Evidence-Based Practice Quick Reference: Speech-Language P 

2. Speech Sound Homework and Handouts by Primary Punch because you just can't get enough home practice!
Speech Sound Homework and Handouts

3. Winter Language Scene by Allison Fors! I can't wait to use this!!

Winter Language Scene

4. Interactive Articulation Flip Books for s, l & r blends by The Dabbling Speechie!

Interactive Articulation Flip Books For /s,l,r/ Blends

Monday 18 January 2016

Opposites

Hey Everyone!

I made this  opposites activity for speech therapy or as a cute center activity in the classroom.
You can use these as clip cards as a task cards. They would be perfect for any kind of group work because the kids can really get the conversation going and talk about all of the pictures. In speech  you can use them for both targeting receptive and expressive skills.






10 pages and targets many of the commonly used opposites! Really good activity for increasing vocabulary and concepts!
They are free but only for a few days so grab them fast!






Get them while they are hot!

Please email if you have questions mindyopcc@gmail.com.

Saturday 16 January 2016

Classroom Articulation Activity

Creating Communicators presents K in the Classroom- first pack in the series...







 

I have spoke to many teachers who have concerns about many children having trouble with certain sounds. A few of those sounds are k, s, l and the dreaded r. Since speech people can't work with every single student ALL of the time I thought how about making a few classroom activities for some of the easier sounds. (I will not target r).  To be clear, this is in now way supposed to take place of diagnosis, or treatment of articulation sounds. What it is meant to do is, bring awareness and consciousness of sounds to students and it may help to reduce treatment time.

http://creatingcommunicators-mindy.blogspot.ca/2016/01/classroom-articulation-activity.htmlhttp://creatingcommunicators-mindy.blogspot.ca/2016/01/classroom-articulation-activity.html
The first classroom pack is geared toward teachers who have many students who are making /k/ sound errors.
This pack includes sound discrimination, awareness, auditory bombardment and class activities to practice making and hearing the /k/ sound.
There are step by step instructions on how to use the worksheets, mats, and group activities to build the awareness of the sound for your students. The entire activity can take as long or as little as you like. I've done it in classes in about 20 minutes but you could do it everyday for a week if you like...the package can also be used by parents.






I am making the pack free this weekend so get it quick!

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/mindyop/k-in-the-classroom
 

I hope you like it and please email mindyopcc@gmail.com if you have questions. 






Thursday 14 January 2016

Pronoun Favourites

Hey Everyone! :)

I have a few favourite pronoun activities that I use often. I thought I would share some of the freebies I've found with you. 
But first, from my shop is a pronoun pack that is great for both receptive and expressive skills. You can ask questions and get the children to point or color the answers as well as use the target (he, she & they) in words and phrases.  You can also work on verbs with this activity- since they seem to go hand in hand ;)
 It is in my shop here!




The first is from The Dabbling Speechie! I just love Pronoun Fun with Ranger Rick and Susie! These would be super cute for a camping theme. I just love this clip art. It targets he, she and they. You can also use possessives with this activity.  You can find it here.


The other freebie is from Small Talk SLP. It's called Bubbles Verbs and it features pictures of girls and boys performing everyday activities. This activity is so great because you can tackle verbs at the same time!

Below is the bubbles page. You can cut out and laminate and use the bubble cut outs to place over the correct verb. I chose to do it a little differently. I use my little chipper chat wand. They can place the chipper chat on the correct verb when you have targeted it either receptively or expressively. The kids always love the chipper chat wand! You can find it on Super Duper Inc.




These are just a few of the fun things I like to use for targeting pronouns. What do you kike to use?


Cheers,
Mindy

Tuesday 12 January 2016

Free Language Stuff!





http://freelanguagestuff.com/
http://freelanguagestuff.com/

Free Language Stuff


I found this really cool website with tones of free printables for speech and language.

 comp page pos concepts 3

Free Language Stuff is a cool blog with free resources and, Pam Morris, also has a blog called The Language Fix.


On her website she has so many resources and she also has tidbits of information on how to target those goals receptively and expressively.
I love her information on Language Therapies- I have never seen so much 
information on language therapy all in one place!
Thank you, Pam! Great sites! 


Cheers,
Mindy




Monday 4 January 2016

Screening Instrument

I found this Early Development Instrument! It is such a comprehensive tool!

According to their website:

The questionnaire has 104 questions and measures five core areas of early child development that are known to be good predictors of adult health, education and social outcomes:

Physical Health & Well-Being

Sample EDI questions: Can the child hold a pencil, pen or crayons? Is the child on time for school each day?

Language & Cognitive Development

Sample EDI questions: Is the child interested in reading and writing? Can the child count and recognize numbers?

Social Competence

Sample EDI questions: Does the child share with others? Is the child self-confident? Will he/she invite bystanders to join in a game?

Emotional Maturity

Sample EDI questions: Is the child able to concentrate? Is the child aggressive or angry? Is the child impulsive (does he/she act without thinking)?

Communication Skills & General Knowledge

Sample EDI questions: Can the child tell a short story? Can the child communicate with adults and children?

EDI questionnaires are completed by kindergarten teachers from across British Columbia for all children in their classes. They are filled out in February, after teachers have had the chance to get to know their students. This ensures that teachers are able to answer the questions knowledgeably.


I love this tool and would like to implement it at some of my Albertan Schools. It is a comprehensive tool.

Ideally, the EDI would be used as a part of a screening process for kindergarten children along side with a SLP screen.
My thoughts: you could do this in October and February and see how much the child has progressed. Hopefully you have aides and are able to carry out this extra task. :)


Thank you, Rick, for this information on this wonderful resource. Love that we are always trying to improve services for our First Nation's People.

Cheers,
Mindy

Saturday 2 January 2016

Fluency vs. Dysfluency

Fluency vs. Dysfluency

 
Recently I had a parent ask me about her son, she was concerned that he may be stuttering. Another term for stuttering is dysfluency. I thought maybe I should throw some information out there because I am sure there are other parents who are wondering when it is normal and when it is a problem.


*Normal Dysfluencies occur most often between ages one and one-half and five years, and they tend to come and go. They are usually signs that a child is learning to use language in new ways. If dysfluencies disappear for several weeks, then return, the child may just be going through another stage of learning.




When is dysfluency normal?



*It is normal for a child to occasionally repeats syllables or words once or twice, li-li-like this. Dysfluencies may also include the use of fillers such as "uh", "er", "um". 


*Dysfluency is most common between 3 and 5 years, when language development is particularly rapid.


When should I be concerned?
*When there is avoidance to speak and child is aware that speaking is difficult.
*If there is tension when speaking.
*If there are secondary characteristics like body and facial tension, eye blinking or closing, or other physical characteristics. 





 

I found these videos  and thought they would be particularly helpful and informative for parents.

Here are some more websites with valuable information:
 


Cheers,
Mindy





Phonological Awareness

I love, love, love working on phonological awareness skills with my kiddos! It is such an important skill that all children need to learn, and sometimes if they need a little extra help, I target the goals in speech!


I found this cool website it lists some great activities for the classroom you can find it  here: Oklahoma Phonological Awareness

According to their website...

Did you know: Phonological awareness is the most strongly related ability related to literacy development. Remember that phonological awareness includes two important elements: the awareness of or the sensitivity to speech sounds, and the ability to manipulate the sound structures in words. Phonological awareness encompasses phonemic awareness  in the understanding that words are made up of individual speech sounds and the ability to manipulate these sounds either by blending, segmenting or changing individual sounds within words to create different words.  Phonemic awareness is the ability to manipulate individual sounds.

and


Phonological awareness skills in kindergarten children have been identified as one of the best indicators of reading achievement between kindergarten and second grade (NRP, 2000; Snow et al., 1998; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002) Children who are better at playing with rhymes, syllables and speech sounds often learn to read more quickly because these skills enable them to learn the alphabetic principle and to learn phonics. Conversely, children with underdeveloped phonological awareness skills in preschool are some of the poorest readers in later years because those students, in turn, have trouble learning to decode.

Now that I've sold you on how important phonological awareness is  for ALL children I wanted to post a few of my  phonological items for $2 and under!

1. How Many Sounds? I cute group activity for children to segment the sounds in words! It uses 2-6 sound words. This is my product and its only $2!!





How Many Sounds? 


2. Beginning Sound Jars! This activity helps identify the beginning sound in words. They paste all the words that start with each letter on the correct page and they can also come up with their own words that start with each letter. Great practice for the little guys! It's only $1!

  Beginning Sound Jars 




3. Rhyming Necklaces! A great classroom activity where students where a necklace and then find someone that has a necklace that rhymes with their word. Fun and interactive group activity!
And it is also $2!!
 Rhyme Necklaces


Cheers,
Mindy