Category: Phonemic Awareness

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Birthday Extravaganza Day Twenty Eight: Literacy Checklists for Grades K-3

Today I am bringing you yet another giveaway from the fabulous Maria Del Duca of Communication Station Blog entitled: “Literacy Checklists for K-3rd Grade“. She created a terrific set of checklists to address reading comprehension and written expression in children K-3rd grade because according to Maria: “dynamic assessment of functional skills, when done well, can at times yield more accurate and salient information than standardized tests.”

This 10 page packet uses observational as well as teacher and parent reported information to present a holistic view of a child’s literacy skills with a focus on the following areas: Continue reading Birthday Extravaganza Day Twenty Eight: Literacy Checklists for Grades K-3

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If you give a mouse a cookie, it will want some phonemic awareness to go with it

I love book companion packs! Honestly I can’t get enough of them!

One of the reasons I particularly enjoy using them is because they nicely supplement thematic language therapy activities (see Twin Sister’s Post HERE on thematic therapy).  This is why I jumped at the opportunity to review Speech Universe’s  If You Give A Mouse A Cooke Phonemic Awareness Packet.

Phonemic Awareness activities are incredibly important for young (Pre-K-1st grade) language impaired learners.  They are especially important for children from low SES households as well as young  limited English proficiency learners.

Jen’s packet is terrific at addressing a number of phonemic awareness skills including:

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Focus on the common core

Today I am reviewing two products by Lindsey Swanson-Karol of the Word Nerd Speech Teach Blog related to the core curriculum: the Common Core Based Language Assessment as well as her Robot Phonological Awareness Pack.

Those of  you who follow my blog know that when I select materials, I always try to make sure that the materials are multipurpose, multi-functional, and curriculum embedded.

First up is the Common Core Based Language Assessment.  This 14 page informal language assessment is based on the common core for K-5 grade in the areas of the curriculum relevant to speech-language pathology. Continue reading Focus on the common core

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It’s all about RtI!

Today I am excited to review one of the latest products from Busy Bee Speech “Common Core Standards-Based RtI Packet for Language“.

So what is RtI or Response to Intervention?

Developed as an alternative to the ability–achievement “discrepancy model,” which requires children to show a discrepancy between their IQ and standardized tests/grades, RtI is a method of academic intervention aimed to provide early, systematic assistance to children who are having difficulty learning in order to prevent academic failure via the provision of early school based intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions for children who continue to have difficulty learning.

In contrast to a number of schools in my state (New Jersey), RTI or Response to Intervention is currently not utilized in my unique setting (outpatient specialized school in a psychiatric hospital). Continue reading It’s all about RtI!

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SPEECH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Today I am excited to tell you about another product in my assessment referral series: SPEECH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN 

I created this 9 page guide to assist speech language pathologists in the decision making process of how to select assessment instruments and prioritize assessment for preschool children. In doing that you are eliminating the administration of irrelevant tests and focusing on the administration of instruments directly targeting the areas of difficulty that the child presents with. Continue reading SPEECH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

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In case you missed it: The importance of targeted assessments for school aged children

Last week I did a guest post for The Simply Speech Blog. In case you missed it,  below I offer an explanation why targeted speech language assessments are so important, as well as list helpful resources that will aid you in speech language assessment preparation.

In both my hospital based job and in private practice I do a lot of testing. During staff/caregiver interviews I used to get a laundry list of both specific and non-specific problems by the parents and teachers, which did not always accurately reflect the students true deficits.  Experience quickly taught me that administering general comprehensive language testing to every student simply did not work. Oftentimes the administration of such testing revealed one of two things: Continue reading In case you missed it: The importance of targeted assessments for school aged children

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In case you missed it: Therapy Fun with Ready Made Spring Related Bingo

Back in late February I did a guest post for Teach Speech 365. In case you missed it I am running it again on my blog since spring is now in full bloom!

Spring is here and there are many fun therapy activities you can do with your preschool and school aged clients during this time of year.  Now, while many of my colleagues are great at creating their own therapy materials, I am personally not that handy.  If you are like me, it’s perfectly okay since there are plenty of free materials that you can find online and adopt for your speech language purposes.

Making Friends, an online craft store, and Boggles World, an online ESL teacher resource, are two such websites, which have a number of ready-made materials, crafts, flashcards, and worksheets that can be adapted for speech language therapy purposes.  One of my personal favorites from both sites is bingo. I actually find it to be a pretty versatile activity, which can be used in a number of different ways in the speech room.

Let’s start with “Spring” bingo from the Making Friends Website, since its well suited for preschool aged children.  The game comes with both call-out cards and 12-4×4 card printable boards that can be printed out on card stock or just laminated. Continue reading In case you missed it: Therapy Fun with Ready Made Spring Related Bingo