Whole Brain Teaching in Speech

Last fall I fell upon the Whole Brain Teaching method and thought it was genius! It seems like such a simple idea but it really seems to works wonders. In their words: At the root of Whole Brain Teaching is a large amount of highly structured, educational tomfoolery. Students learn the most when they are having fun. Whole Brain Teaching classrooms are full of task-focused laughter. Humor and games are used to increase the number of times students repeat core information and practice basic skills. Our classes are highly disciplined and tightly organized because students have more fun following our rules, than ignoring them. 

 I wish every teacher used it or at least hears about it- I am sure it would make all of their lives easier. Since then I have wondered how I could incorporate it in speech? I started looking around and saw that Allison from Speech Peeps came across it too.

The basics of WBT are (click to learn more about it here)

• Class? Yes!
• Teach, OK!
• Switch?
• Mirror 
• smiley face vs. frown face - scoreboard for managing behavior
  

Here are a few of the Whole Brain Teaching Ideas that I think will really enhance speech therapy:

Teach- ok!- this is great time for students to use their sound correctly in conversation or for them to teach you their newly acquired language skill. If you are working with students one on one you can have them teach you the goal/target.

Here is an intro video showing you the basics!

Switch- this technique is great when you have groups. The children who "get" the concept are able to explain it in a different way than you have and if anyone is struggling its another opportunity to learn! Listen to the kids at this point so you can fill in any information! Remember to chunk- don't speak more than 30 seconds!
The only thing that won't work in speech is having the child raising their hand to speak (because that is why they are here and that's what they are working on.)  ;)


Let me know if you are going to try it in speech!


Cheers,
Mindy

Associations & Play-doh!

I love providing therapy to my younger kiddies! Since they are about 4 years old, I need to have fun and engaging activities! I'm really glad that play-doh is so fun for the little guys, plus it keeps those little hands busy. I have started working on product specifically for play-doh and I am now making more- keep your eye out for them. Take a look at them now- while they are only $1!!!!

I made these sheets so you can use them 2 different ways.

1. You can have the students cover up the item that goes with the main item and explain how they go together. For example- in the first picture above the child would cover up the watch and explain that  a watch and clock go together because they both tell time.

2. The other way (the way I used it in the picture) is the kiddie covers up the item that doesn't belong (which is how you phrase the questions: which one doesn't belong?) and then explain that it doesn't go because it's not something that helps you tell time. This way can be confusing for the younger guys so be careful how you word your question and remember to be consistent. ;)

The best thing about these are that I didn't even have to laminate them- I just used page protectors! I STILL haven't bought my laminator yet! A definite necessity in the speech world! I also made them in black and white so you can use a bingo dabber if you choose. :)

 Keep an eye out for a similar product where we target categories!!!

How you do work on associations?

Verbs

Another way work on Verbs

I have been speaking with a great friend, and SLP, Roxanne who told me that some of the latest research shows that children need to experience language in many different ways in order to learn it. In the past, we taught the hierarchy in body, toys and pictures. Apparently, children need to see many different examples of items to learn concepts. For example they need to experience things, see things in real life, use tangible objects,  see items in books with different examples and pictures, etc.

 I haven't read about the this latest research and I think it may have came from an SLP at the U of Alberta but I am definitely interested in learning more about it...Sorry I can't give any more specific information than that. 

Anyway, back to verbs...

I seem to be having a lot of children who are working on all of the verb tenses, especially present tense verbs.  Remember  (I told you awhile back one way that I target verbs with pronouns? Read that post here.) I got out my Everything You Need for Verb pack out and decided to turn the page into a receptive activity. I would label the picture and the child had to find the correct picture, color it and then repeat the phrase. These pictures are a little harder to target pronouns with (there are very subtle differences but the "people" do look slightly female and male) but I did do it. You can also use it expressively by pointing to a picture and having the student label it in a sentence. Another fun idea is to point to the pic and have the child act out the verb like "charades."

In my verb pack there are future, present and regular/ irregular past tense  verbs. In it are poster, printing practice pages, and also work sheets that you can color or dab with a bingo dabber. 

How do you work on verbs with your kids? 

Cheers,

Mindy 

Early Signs of Autism Video Tutorial

Many of the kids we work with in the speech world are on the Autism spectrum. It is clear that we need to be aware of the characteristics of ASD.

I really like this video! It is helpful for parents and educators to clearly see what skills are appropriate and what things you need to be on the lookout for.

Have any of your students been diagnosed with Autism?
I found a cool website (Buildingblox) with some freebies for children with Autism. You can find that website here:

 

 On TPT there are many activities and stores. Take a look at this from The Autism Helper!

 

Working on Vocab... naturally!

Many students (especially ones who are in low socioeconomic schools) are at risk for having low vocabulary skills and  I see many kids who need help targeting their vocabulary skills. Often times they need help naming items from a group, identifying group names, and naming the functions and attributes of items. I have told you before that not only do I do one on one therapy, but I also provide in-class activities. I recently made a pack that can be given to teachers so that they can target this skill while I am unavailable. I made the pack that can work for varying  abilities and the games are made to be more interactive and a natural way to get the vocabulary going.... Included are pictures for younger students and also written/verbal activities that do not include any prompts for students who are older. 
These activities are meant to be printed off and cut out for quick and low prep use. You don't even need to laminate if you don't want to!! (Even though I seem to love the laminator!!!)

Classroom Activities to Increase Vocabulary Skills

 

You can also send this home with your students so that they can try these activities at home or for homework. It makes homework a little more fun and interactive!

Check it out and see if you like it! I would love to hear your feedback!

Valentine's Speech Treats- Freebie

 

I made this quick, easy to use freebie for Valentine's Day.

Download it quick, while it is free!

Happy Valentine's Day 

Love,

Creating Communicators

Thanks!

Creating Communicators $ Days!

Hey Everyone!
I like a good deal just like the rest of you and since we may still be catching up from Christmas (ugh!!) I have put all of my best sellers down to $1!!

 

Get this one!! It is 1 month of Speech therapy for only  $1!!

You save $15!!!

Anything in my store that was selling for over $1 is now reduced to $1 for this entire week!  So stock up on your fave speech needs!

My new best friends!!

 

I recently dowloaded The Dabbling Speechie's free L Flip Book and loved it! Then I looked and found the s and z flip book.

I am totally and in love! These books are so great

because you can target the sounds at all of the levels, you don't have to carry around a bunch of cards, they are small and portable, and they don't involve a lot of prep work.

I haven't laminated them yet, but I can't wait to get the dry erase markers for the kids!!!

I highly recommend you try the freebie /l/ flip book because I know you will be hooked and want to grab at least 1 more flip book of hers!

 

Thank you, The Dabbling Speechie!! 

Cheers,

Mindy