Speechy Musings is hosting a linky party to share products SLPs need in their speech room that you can find at Teachers Pay Teachers. I don't know what I would do without TPT- so many creative, affordable products ready for immediate download. It is truly a lifesaver for the busy SLP, and below is my list of must haves from TPT.
1)
Comparing and Contrasting Speech Pad by Miss Speechie
I use this for all of my students who work on comparing and contrasting. I LOVE the way it is broken down by skill (comparing by looks, comparing by function, comparing by location, etc.) I think it really breaks down a complex skill into easier steps and provides lots of practice to make sure the students really understand the concept. Plus, my kids love the "speech pad" graphic. A definite must-have!
2) Context Clues Packets for Tier Vocabulary by Nicole Allison
I love to work on context clues with my older language students and I use this product several times every week. I like that it uses tier 2 vocabulary words at two different levels (one with four possible multiple choice answers- which I sometimes use two of the choices when I first start with the students, then three, and then four as they become more skilled at using context clues), and open-ended examples. It is so hard to find good context clue prompts/cards- this pack is a gem!
3) Possessives Speech Therapy Unit by Liz Haider
Possessives is one of those things several of my grammar students really struggle with, but this deck of cards makes learning this skill so easy. It has cute graphics, and I like how it starts by introducing the person on the card (i.e. This is Katie), and then says "This is ______ balloon" with a picture of the balloons on the same card. Students can fill it in as "Katie's", or with the pronoun "her". I use these cards every week. They are the best ones I have found for possessives and pronouns work.
There are many more great products I use, but these are the three that have made their way to my therapy table every week this school year. I also love Speechy Musings WH Questions Binder (read about it on her linky main page here. What is your favorite must-have TPT product?
I think all kids (and adults) love the game Guess Who? It is a classic in most speech therapy rooms, and Lauren at the Speechstress has put a fun new twist on an old classic with the game "Who Stole Twinkleberry's Bone?".
Lauren was kind enough to provide me with a review copy, but the opinions are all mine.
The game is designed to help students with asking and answering questions. It is just like Guess Who, except with adorable dogs. Students can take turns picking a dog for the others to guess, or they can try to figure out which dog the SLP has chosen. This is the way we played it in my room.
Students cover up the dogs based on how their questions are answered (i.e. does your dog have long ears? No- then cover the dogs with long ears so only the ones with no ears showing or short ears are left). Is your dog's tongue showing? If yes, then cover those dogs who do not have their tongue showing. Keep playing until you are left with only one thieving dog- the answer!
Students have a great visual card to prompt them about dog attributes they can ask questions about making the game much easier for those who struggle with this skill.
This card alone lent itself nicely to a discussion of what attributes are, why they are important, and different types of attributes. Using the husky in the picture, we used our EET to go down the strand and talk about what group he belongs in, what does he do, where do you find them, parts, etc.
Overall, this is a great twist on a classic that engages the students and lends itself to a productive therapy session. Even my artic only students got in speech practice by reading the names of the dogs on the game board and using their good sounds as they asked their questions. Check out this fun game here, and more of Lauren's products at her Teachers Pay Teachers store. You won't be disappointed!
Nothing is more important than keeping up with your session data, and after posting my data sheets, I had questions about how I keep them and use them throughout the year. So, here is how my data sheets are kept for sessions:
First, I have two notebooks- one for Monday/Wednesday groups and one for Tuesday/Thursday (we have Fridays for evaluations, meeting, billing, etc. in our district).
My Tuesday/Thursday binder has a red cover. I am using 1 and 1/2 inch binders this year (I used to use three inch binders but they took up the whole table!). I have plastic dividers inside both that separate the groups by the time they come for speech.
I paper-clip to the back of the divider any worksheets I am going to use for that particular group, as well as any reference sheets I pull when I first write the goals for a student's IEP so I can have stimuli and prompts for skill practice when we are in sessions like below:
This set is double paper-clipped because their are several for idioms, antonyms, and multiple meaning words I printed out. I like to have these not only so I don't always have to pull out a deck of cards for each student, but I can give the sheet to the student to look over while I am having another student practice their skills.
You can also see I love me some post-it notes! The post it notes have an activity for Monday and one for Wednesday. On Friday mornings I look over what the group did the previous week and then I put on a post-it note for what we will do the upcoming week. I also add notes on it like if I have to take data for a student's annual IEP. Simple, not fancy at all, but works really well for me.
My data sheets I use are in a previous post so check them out. This is the system I have found that works for me. What is your way of organizing all of the data you collect?
