In my earlier post on complex sentences, I talked about teaching student to use and understand a variety of conjunctions. In this post, I'd like to address another area of syntax that can be challenging for students with language impairment: lengthy noun phrases.
Category: Uncategorized
Better Speech & Hearing Month
It's a bit late in the month, but I'd like to share some free and cheap resources for BHSM that I think are great for educating teachers and staff about speech-language pathology. 1. This free presentation from Autumn Bryant on our scope of practice is great for an in-service day. I liked it but also … Continue reading Better Speech & Hearing Month
Functional Problem-Solving Resource!
Sick of playing board games or reading hypothetical scenarios for your speech/language therapy students to problem-solve? Tired of pulling out those dull picture cards? Well, I have finally found a problem-solving resource that is actually engaging and very practical: GCF Global. Under the Everyday Life section, there are activities about grocery shopping, making change, using … Continue reading Functional Problem-Solving Resource!
Teaching Complex Sentences
Complex sentences are the bread and butter of academic subjects. Language arts, science, and even math classes are rife with long, complex sentences that students with speech/language impairments find difficult to decipher. Speech-Language Pathologists sometimes point out that complex sentences with conjunctions have been explicitly taught in regular and special education classrooms, so what can … Continue reading Teaching Complex Sentences
Free Social Skills Round-up
I know it's hard to find free social skills resources for adolescents in speech therapy. Over time I've found some gems so I thought I'd share my tween/tween social skills activities with you all!
Generating Definitions
For students with language disorders, definitions are tough work. So how does an SLP break down the skill of defining words into manageable steps? One word: templates!
Social Skills in the Age of Peer Pressure
How do we teach social skills like blending with one's surrounding and following expected behaviors without it conflicting with our lessons on privacy, autonomy, and self-respect? The answer is to bring questions about values and safety to every discussion about social decision making. It is important for our students to not just see bodily autonomy, violence, or high-risk behaviors as "exceptions" to the rules of social interaction; instead, values are an intrinsic part of social problem-solving and hold the ultimate say in what we decide to do in any given situation. I've decided to create a framework that embeds questions about values and safety into the decision-mapping process.
Context Clues: Start with the Basics
Context clues activities are hard to select because we don't know exactly which words are familiar or partially familiar to the student. Nonsense word context clues eliminate the confounding variable of prior word knowledge or exposure and allow my students to focus exclusively on using their pre-taught context clue skill.
Adolescent Grammar & Sentence Structure
Grammar & Sentence Structures Difficulties in Middle & High School I've noticed a trend when it comes to working on grammar and sentence structure with middle and high school speech & language therapy students. My students often look like they have "mastered" their various IEP speech/language goals: subject-verb agreement, copula use, & even complex sentences. … Continue reading Adolescent Grammar & Sentence Structure
8 Engaging Articulation Activities For Teen & Tween Speech Students
When your articulation students are in elementary school, they love any kind of game: Candyland, Shoots & Ladders, Pop the Pig. One time I even made a phonology game with tongue depressors, a permanent marker, & a plastic cup! Yet middle & high school students working on articulation & phonological goals are more difficult to … Continue reading 8 Engaging Articulation Activities For Teen & Tween Speech Students
