In Spontaneous Speech

Valentine Social Group Activity

26 Jan

January 26, 2023 Cindy 0

Will you be observing Valentine’s Day with your classroom students? The Trial and Error Pass Activity is a good way to celebrate and also work on social and problem solving skills at the same time. It is presently on my Teachers Pay Teachers store and I made it a FREE download until the end of February. There is a link at the bottom of the post.

This activity requires students to use a trial and error method of problem solving. This is quite difficult for some students who want success on the first attempt and have difficulty when they fail. This activity reinforces the idea that mistakes are not necessarily bad and can be used for learning. It also teaches students to work together toward a common goal. The solution will be found by observing the mistakes of everyone and it would be very difficult to succeed individually. It also requires students to use their short term memory and make inferences to predict the pattern.

This activity can be used with small groups of students, two competing teams, or with one or two students. The object of the game is to cross the grid in 6 moves stepping on the correct sequence of images.

Valentine TandEgrid — Trial and Error Grid

A judge, who could be a student or teacher, is selected. The judge takes one of the pattern cards that will be the solution to the stepping pattern. A student begins the challenge by stepping on one of the cards in the first row and moves one row ahead for each step. As the move is made the judge indicates if it is the correct one by saying right or wrong move. If a buzzer is available that can be used for the wrong step. There are some buzzer sounds available on apps for electronic devices that students really enjoy using. If it is the right step the student continues to move forward. If it is the wrong step the person returns to the start or the end of the line and waits for another turn. Students can watch the attempts of others until they get to the front of the line again. The students may notice that a pattern is developing as students discover the correct moves. This will speed up the progress until someone finally makes it across. The students should be reinforced for working as a team and not make it an individual competition to make it to the finish.

click here for link to TPT and free download

Winter and Cold Theme

1 Jan

January 1, 2023 Cindy 0

As we come back from holiday breaks , it’s time to bring out the winter theme items. There are a lot of wintery cold places across the United States weather map. Some places have been buried in deep snow drifts and are having difficulty digging out. Some students are experiencing snow storms for the first time. You may be exploring what a snowflake looks like.

I found a snowflake on Pinterest that was easy to make and looked impressive. It turned out so well that the students didn’t want to leave them for a bulletin board after making them. Thus I only had 3 of the large ones on my bulletin board at the end.

Following directions to make an item is a good way to engage students and introduce new vocabulary. I hope you find this activity useful for your students. You will find pictured directions within the free download.

button for free download — click here for the free download

The students were able to make them within a 20 minute time period. The directions review vocabulary such as half, triangle, corner, arch, curve, middle, small, medium, large, and center. Have fun. Don’t count on having any left behind for a bulletin board.

Fun With Angry Turkeys

4 Nov

November 4, 2022 Cindy 0

I am bringing “Angry Turkeys” to the top once again. It is a game that can be adjusted for the needs of different groups of speech students. For my younger students it was a great way to review prepositions. For my older students it was just a good reinforcement activity with a November theme.

This toss game was originally based on the old app Angry Birds. I renamed it Angry Turkeys and introduced it in November. Students may not be as familiar with the app these days but that doesn’t really matter. Basically the app had pigs building stacked structures. The birds became objects to toss at them and break down the buildings when they hit.

I made turkey bean bags from scrap fabric I had on hand. The only other things you need are paper rolls and coffee can lids. I covered the paper rolls to give them color. I made the green pigs from paper rolls cut in half. I printed out clip art of a pig and taped it to the paper roll to represent the pigs.

The directions for the Turkey Bean bags are here.

I started the game by making towers with the paper rolls and lids. I then gave students the pigs and told them where to place them or they told other students where to place them. This gave them practice following instructions and using prepositions.

I then handed out the turkey bean bags. They all tossed one turkey on the count of 3 and hit the towers down. They always requested to do it again. I love activities that are self reinforcing and encourage review of vocabulary.

Fall Bulletin Board

1 Oct

October 1, 2022 Cindy 0

I used this cute owl back in 2011 with my speech therapy students. I had searched for something that I could use for speech therapy and looked appealing for a Fall bulletin board. Here it is Fall 2022 and I decided to bring the post back to the top for those of you looking for therapy ideas.

I found an owl pattern that was simple to make, and used multiple shape and size vocabulary. It would give an opportunity for sequencing of directions and I could add preposition symbols to the finished project to reinforce those concepts. I used a die press to cut out most of the shape pieces for the owls. I printed out preposition icon symbols to put on the owls belly.

The Owl pattern is found on this page http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mshapesowl.htm

I made a tree as my background on the bulletin board. By twisting brown paper to make limbs and then then making them come together for the trunk. I then added a half moon behind and a rock below the tree. This allowed opportunity for my students to place the owls according to the preposition sign they had on their owl. They could place them in front, behind, beside, below, between, and next to an object or the tree.

I gave it a title of “Who is Here?” Here is a picture to give you an idea.

Word Association Tasks for Teaching Vocabulary

7 Jul

July 7, 2022 Cindy 0

It’s time to talk about strategies for teaching vocabulary again. Vocabulary is the cornerstone for most of what is taught in our schools and is important at every level. Studies have shown that a good vocabulary is a good indicator of success in the classroom.

Students acquire vocabulary best if they are taught through activities that allow them to think about the words rather than just memorize the definitions. Figuring out the similarities and differences in word meanings is a good way to study and retain the information.

My word association task cards are based on this principal. I made this post to tell you about additional features that are now included. If you have purchased the task cards in the past, you now have additional access to EASEL on Teachers Pay Teachers. This gives you two instructional methods. You have the option of two sided task cards that can be printed out and used as flash cards or a digital activity. The digital activity is a multiple choice activity which gives immediate feed back.

The already prepared digital activities are available with individual sets and as part of the bundle. Below are screen shots of the Animal and Household sets to give you an idea. All 3 sets are similar.

If you have purchased these in the past, go check out the new features. If it looks interesting to you, follow the link to see the Preview. You save by purchasing the bundle.