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Friday, March 28, 2014

Hoppy Easter

So I have to start this post by saying I am totally jelly when I read FaceBook SLP forums and SLP blogs and hear that others have already had their Spring Breaks!  We still have two more weeks until ours, and these next few weeks promise to be full of antsy students and worn out teachers/SLPs.  Which means I have to really get my students excited to be coming down to see me the next few weeks!

I try to do at least two or three books a month, and my book for before Easter break is Last One In Is A Rotten Egg by Diane DeGroat.
 
You know you have a good book for language when the title of the book is an example of figurative language!  This book is also good for predicting, cause/effect, social groups, and offers tons of ways to practice antonyms, synonyms, etc.  I am going to pair it with an Easter egg activity and the Expanding Expression Tool.
 
Just grab several types of Easter eggs and place an object inside for students to use the EET tool to describe.  If you don't have the EET program, any type of describing chart can be used.
My eggs are a mix of regular eggs and sports themed.  I put erasers, small animals, coins, toys, etc.
 
I let each student pick an egg and crack it open to see what object they are going to describe.
I love easy, quick prep activities like this one!

I am also going to do two games the week before as the students want fun, fun, fun before the holiday break.  I don't mind doing them because we always seem to get our goal work done without them even realizing it! 

I found this Bunny popper at my local Books-A-Million.  It is just like my Penguin popper that my students love, but Easter-themed.  We will use it as a reinforcer with drill work-  just pop the ball into an Easter basket.


And last but not least, my most requested game hands down, is the one I save for this time of the year-  Funny Bunny.  Amazon sells it for eighteen dollars, and I have to say, it is really fun for all age groups.  Makes a great reinforcer game!
Thanks for hoppin' by!
 


Friday, March 21, 2014

Linky Party- Technology


Jenna at Speech Room News is hosting another great Linky party for favorite technology.  Here are mine:

1)  My iPad-  love all of the apps and the fact that it is portable, high interest, motivating, etc.  I can use it to take mini movies, pictures, and also record students.  The uses are limitless!



2) SmartBoard-  I absolutely love mine.  Something about the bigness of it really makes ordinary activities a little more fun.  I love to read books on-line on it, play games on it, and run therapy software on it so all of my students can participate.  Plus, it is great to have on for some of my groups because I use Class Dojo with them (see that post here).
 
3)  The internet-  I use it all the time to read blogs, cruise Pinterest for inspiration, and to research new things with my students that pop up while we are working together (we had to look up what 143 meant on our candy hearts during Valentine's Day-  it means I love you in shorthand-  ahhh, instant knowledge).
 
The greatest thing about technology is that I can integrate it in to other activities-  it is one more tool in my therapy tool belt!  What are your favorite technologies?


Sunday, March 9, 2014

Lucky Four In A Row

St. Patty's Day is getting closer, and I have a freebie for you!

 
 
This game is played like the popular Connect Four game.  Simply print a copy and laminate or place in a sleeve protector.  Write in words with the students' sounds, words to give synonym/antonyms/function, descriptive words, or change verb tenses. 
 
Or you can print a copy and have the students color their clover once they give the right word/sound or use Bingo dobbers to color in the shamrock trying to get four in a row.  This can be a great sheet for students to write in words themselves that have their sounds one day of therapy and then play it as a game the next. 
 
Enjoy!