Penguin Plurals HW

Remember the Penguin Plurals activity I posted about the other day?

I came up with this quick sheet to send home for additional practice and carryover:  

You can grab a copy HERE.  What do you think?  Do you send home homework?  How often?

Chain Letter Link-Up

In case you missed it, Teach Speech 365 had a great idea for the SLP blogging community to connect!  She started a Chain Letter Link-Up (you can read the first post here).  To start, she interviewed four SLP bloggers (including me).  We each provided a FREEBIE to go along with our interviews.

You'll have to follow the link above to get the freebie I offered, but here's a peek:

Now...to continue the chain!

Crazy Speech World

1. Your name, email, blog address, link to TpT store if you have one

Jenn Alcorn

SLPgoneWiLd@gmail.com

www.crazyspeechworld.blogspot.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Slp-Gone-Wild

2. When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in June of this year.  I had been following speech blogs for a while and have always made my own stuff, so I thought I would join in the fun!  It has become a huge part of my life and I love it!

3. What is your favorite population to work with?

Depends on the day :)  I love working with children with ASD, as I did an autism program in grad school...they bring me the most joy with the simplest things. K-2 is probably my favorite age range.

4. How much time per week do you spend blogging and/or creating materials?

Holy moly.  A lot...probably about 15-20 hours a week.  It's like having a part time job that I adore!

5. What's your favorite topic to create materials for?

I work in themes, so I always make materials for those.  My favorites so far has been the ones I made to go with children's books.

6. What's the best thing about blogging? 

Connecting with other SLPs all over the world...Sharing my passion...and that it has made me a better SLP and I am so grateful and thankful for that.  

7. Do you have any blogging tips?

Patience, grasshopper.   I love seeing all the up and coming speech bloggers, there is sort of an explosion right now.  But I also have sensed some competition, which I wish wasn't there.  We are all here to help each other help our kids.  You will develop a readership in time, but it does take time & hard work.

8. Add a question and answer of your choice (can be speech related or not). 

What are your favorite indulgences?  Sushi, red wine, and night out with my girls!

Jenn included a FREEBIE!  It's called Beginning Sound Match Up. You can download it HERE.  And here's a preview:

Next we have...

Let's Talk Speech-Language Pathology

1. Your name, email, blog address, link to TpT store if you have one.

Name - Brea (full name is Breanna)

blog - www.letstalkslp.blogspot.com.

email - bre881@gmail.com

TpT - http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lets-Talk-Speech-Language-Pathology

2. When and why did you start blogging?

I first started in February 2012 while I was still in grad school. I started blogging because I love to create materials (in fact, that's probably the best part of my job), and I didn't really want to work for someone like Super Duper because I am not a saleswoman. I don't like to pressure people into buying things. I would rather have them look at something and say, "Wow, yeah, I can totally use that!" and then grab it for free. :)

3. What is your favorite population to work with?

I have the most experience working with K-4; however, I am getting more and more used to the Pre-K population. I LOVE working with my little ones. We do such fun crafts, and it's so great to see their little sponge minds absorb everything around them.

4. How much time per week do you spend blogging and/or creating materials?

Well, I am sure my end will be a bit smaller than others because I truly enjoy my down time and spending time with my fiance. I probably spend around 4-8 hours a week on creating materials and writing blog posts. If I have to do an app review, I probably add an extra 2 hours just so that I can review the app, take pictures, and write everything out. Also, I should probably add more time (and extra 2-3 hours a week) because I am on Let's Talk SLPs Facebook quite a bit.

5. What is your favorite topic to create materials for?

Honestly, I probably love making materials for articulation kids. Those materials are probably the easiest to make (in my opinion), and there's so much you can do for that topic. For artic all you really need is a variety of words. When you get into language, you have to break everything up into different areas (following directions, WH-questions, synonyms/antonyms, etc). That gets to be a lot of work, and everything has to be individualized per student.

6. What's the best thing about blogging?

I love being able to help people. I get a lot of emails about how thankful people are for my free materials. Every time I get a heartfelt email, I feel like that's exactly what I should be doing in the world. You all may think we don't care about feedback or anything, but we do. I read every single email I get and use that information when I am creating my next materials. Why do I only offer free materials? Well, I'll answer that in a bit.

7. Do you have any blogging tips?

My biggest one is to not use google images! :) I was probably using google images for... 6-7 months before I found out that it's technically not okay. Get a subscription to a larger clipart database and use that. Another blogging tip is if you're planning on starting your own blog, figure out what will set you apart from others. For instance, I offer all free materials, Let's Talk Speech Therapy is a grad student blogger, and Jenna from Speech Room News is well known for making big packets of materials. What will make your blog different and stand out?

8. Add a question of your choice. The question I am adding that I get A LOT is "Why are your speech materials free when you could make so much money off of TpT?"

This is a huge question. As a short reply, I would say that my free materials are a "thank you" for reading and following my blog. However, my reasons go deeper than that. In my opinion, one of the best ways to get our profession to grow is to share materials and ideas for free. I remember being a poor college kid (in fact, this is my first job, and I am still poor). I remember not knowing what to do or how to help someone. I had no idea where to go to get ideas, and even if I could get ideas, I couldn't afford them. No, I couldn't afford to pay $5 on TpT for one packet of materials that may or may not work in therapy with my specific student. Each child is different, and not all children will respond to materials in the same way. Some kids will love it and some won't. I really didn't want to spend the money on something that might or might not work. 

You know, my mother asked me this very question, and it was so hard to explain it to her. I simply said that education shouldn't cost anything. Why would I charge you, my coworker, my friend, a parent, a colleague, or an advocate for something that I could simply provide for free? I'm making these materials for my own kids anyway... why put a price on it? Don't think me to be a saint just yet. Trust me, there have been PLENTY of times where I have rethought this and almost decided to charge for materials. I get a little sad when I can't participate in Sunday Fun-day giveaways because I can't do giveaways since all of my stuff is free. I also get a little sad when I see how much money people are making on TpT for their stuff when I'm making practically the same materials and I'm not getting paid for it. In fact, I'm losing money. However, I had to wake myself up from that and tell myself that it's more important to help that one parent who can't afford to buy a packet of materials than it is to pay myself. That is more important. You might remember that I changed my Timeline photo on Facebook. That change wasn't for you (although it does look nice and pretty). That change was to remind ME why I do what I do.... and I love it. :)

Please don't think that I judge others for charging for their materials. I don't. It's an extremely personal decision, and everyone has different ideas with regard to charging or not charging. I don't care if others charge. More power to them. I just don't, and I won't.

Brea was kind enough to offer a FREEBIE as well.  It's called Make a Snowman - Shapes.  You can download HERE.  And here is a preview:

Last but not least...

Speech Time Fun

1. Your name, email, blog address, link to TpT store if you have one

Miss Speechie

Speechtimefun@gmail.com

http://speechtimefun.blogspot.com/

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Miss-Speechie 

2. When and why did you start blogging?

January 2011.  I started when I working on updating my portfolio and wanted a way to help document and remember fun therapy ideas.  Colleagues were always coming up and commenting on my therapy materials and how I often create my own to target specific needs.  I realized I would love to share what I do and my love for speech-language pathology!

3. What is your favorite population to work with?

Elementary!  I have worked with Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School.  Elementary especially late elementary is the best!

4. How much time per week do you spend blogging and/or creating materials?

Seems like 3-4 days a week currently!  I make what I need for my students and then share it with all of you!!  

5. What's your favorite topic to create materials for?

Describing, wh- questions, and auditory comprehension

6. What's the best thing about blogging?

Hearing from my readers how their students benefited from my ideas.  As well as learning from all of my readers more fun ideas to use!

7. Do you have any blogging tips?

Have fun with it!  Listen to the readers.

8. Add a question and answer of your choice (can be speech related or not).

Why do I remain anonymous???  I chose for professional reasons not be be "google-able."

Link to my wh- questions Christmas Board Game freebie http://speechtimefun.blogspot.com/2012/12/wh-question-xmas-board-game-freebie.html

*REMEMBER TO GO TO EACH BLOGGER'S FACEBOOK PAGE AND GIVE THEM A "LIKE!" LET'S ALL SUPPORT EACH OTHER!*

Now, keep checking Crazy Speech World, Let's Talk Speech-Language Pathology, and Speech Time Fun for the continuation of the chain!

App Review & Giveaway: Rainbow Sentences

I've seen a few reviews out there for Rainbow Sentences and I really didn't think it would be appropriate for the students on my caseload (mostly preschool, some kindergarten).  When Kyle from Mobile Education Store asked me if I'd like to try it, I was a little hesitant.  However, I knew it would be a great app and I was very curious to see it in action.

I was right! Rainbow Sentences is a great app!  I was also VERY pleasantly surprised with how well it worked with my little ones!

How it Works:

Once you open the app for the first time, you will be prompted to create a new student profile.  (You can enter multiple students with this app, but you can only take data for one student at a time.)

After that, you are taken to the "Settings" screen:

About the Settings:

Audio Instructions

This one is fairly self-explanatory.  On:  A narrator gives you step-by-step instructions.  Off:  You do not get the instructions

Correct Answer Reinforcement

If you have this option selected, when a student arranges the sentence correctly, a verbal reinforcement is provided ("That's right.  The correct sentence for this picture is...").  If you turn this option off, you do not get the verbal reinforcement.  Rather, you will move on to recording the correct answer if that option is selected.  

Record Correct Answer

This is one of the best features of all of Mobile Education Store's apps!  Once a student selects an appropriate answer, you have the option of recording the student saying the response.  You can turn this option off, but I can't imagine why you would want to!  Most kids love to hear their own voices.  Plus you can compare the narrator/student production.

Complexity Level

Level 1:  The student has to arrange two elements to form a sentence:  

Who/what the sentence is about + what they are doing.

Level 2:  The student has to arrange three elements to form a sentence:  

Who/what the sentence is about + what they are doing + where they are doing it.

Level 3:  The student has to arrange four elements to form a sentence:  

Who/what the sentence is about + what they are doing + where they are doing it + why they are doing it.

*In all three levels, some of the sentences have an additional element:  what the subject is doing the action to.  Here's an example:

Line Color Coding

You can choose to have the blank lines (where you drag the words) color coded or not.  If you do not choose color coding, the lines will be black:

Line color coding "off"

Word Color Coding

Just as you can choose to use color coding for the lines, you can choose color coding for the words.  Again, if this option is turned off, the words will appear in black:

Line & word color coding "off"

Color Themes

Another really neat feature!  You can use the standard "default" color theme, or create your own!  Just give your color scheme a name and select your favorite colors for each sentence element!

Word Grouping

You can choose to have the students order the sentences by individual words or by groupings of words.  Here is a scene with word grouping on and one with word grouping off:

Word grouping on

Word grouping off

Using the App

Once you have your preferred settings selected, tap "Play" from the bottom menu bar.  You will be shown an illustration and prompted to "drag the words to make a sentence."  

You can tap the words to hear them spoken.  Once you have the words in place, you can tap "Play" to hear your sentence read aloud.  When you think the sentence is correct, tap "I'm done!"  If you are not correct, you will be told "That's not quite right.  Try again."  If the student needs help, you can select "Play lesson" to hear a short tutorial.  

If you have the "Record Correct Answer" setting turned on, you can choose to record the student's response or move on to the next sentence.  You can save the recordings in the student profile.  They will save to the "Archive" screen on the bottom menu bar.

saving a recording

archive of recordings

Another fantastic feature is the data collection.  Notice the "Stats" button on the bottom toolbar?  If you tap that button, you will be shown a summary of the student's correct/incorrect responses.  You can then email the stats to a parent or to yourself.

data summary

See the "Show my puzzle" button?  Rainbow Sentences has built-in reinforcement.  For every five correct responses, the student is rewarded with a puzzle piece.  When the puzzle is completed, it becomes a short animated clip.

Puzzle reinforcement in progress

Puzzle completed

What I like about this app:

• Versatility!  Yes, there are three levels of complexity.  Beyond that, though, you have the line color coding and word color coding options.  Turning those off will increase complexity within each level.  This means that you can use this app with a wide age range!
• The color coding!  Because of this feature, you can really use this app with children who cannot read. The kids I used it with cannot read, but were able to match the colors and imitate the sentences.
• The illustrations.  They are bright and colorful.  Some are relatable...others are silly...they are all engaging!
• Data collection.  Need I say more?
• Built in reinforcement.  

What changes I would like to see:

• I really wish I could think of something to write here, but I really can't.  (I think this is a first for me!)

The Bottom Line:

I'm a fan of Mobile Education Store and their apps for language development.  With that said, I was very pleasantly surprised by Rainbow Sentences!  It really surpassed my expectations (even though my expectations were already high).  I thought for sure that this app would only be beneficial for students who are able to read.  Really, if a child can match colors, they will be able to benefit from using Rainbow Sentences.  I think this is a must-have app for expanding expressive language skills! 

Rainbow Sentences sells for $7.99 in the App Store.  Kyle was kind enough to provide another code for me to giveaway!  Enter using the rafflecopter below.

Disclaimer:  Although Kyle at Mobile Education Store was kind enough to provide me with a code for this app review, and another to give away, the opinions are 100% my own. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Penguin Plurals FREEBIE

This week in my speech room, I'm continuing my Gingerbread theme.  I figured some of you may want to get ready for January though, so I'm going to be posting some of my Winter themed activities this week!

I don't know if this is country-wide, but Massachusetts just passed a new Educator Evaluation System.  As a result, we all (teachers, SLPs, OTs, PTs, etc.) have to write up smart goals for student improvement and professional practice.

For my plan, I noticed that many of my just-turned-three preschool students had significantly reduced MLU (< 2.0).  Because of this, I wrote a goal to increase MLU in a cohort of these students (I know that probably sounds weird since increasing MLU is a goal for most of our students) and to research EBP methods for increasing MLU.  What better way to increase MLU than to increase use of morphological markers?

Here's an activity I plan to use...The penguin graphic is from Scrappin' Doodles.  All other graphics are from Graphics Factory.

It's actually a modified version of an activity I created a few years ago.  There are 24 cards with penguins holding a piece of paper containing objects (regular plurals only).  There are 8 plural nouns with each type of plural ending (/s/, /z/ and/ez/).  You can ask students to simply name the plural noun or use a carrier phrase (e.g., “The penguin wants/has two dogs” ). 

You can download a copy here.  If you do, let me know what you think!  (For some reason, when I converted to a PDF, one of the pages turned upside down, but the content is unchanged.  Not sure how to fix it right now.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!)

App Review & Giveaway: Conversation Builder Teen

When Kyle at Mobile Education Store contacted me about their newest release, Conversation Builder Teen, I knew it would be a hit!  He asked me to review it, but since I don't work with teens, I asked Kyle if he would agree to let one of my co-workers use the app and write the review.  He was kind enough to agree.  

This review is written by Jennifer Malloy, MS, CCC-SLP.  Jenn splits her time between an elementary and middle school in my district.  Take it away Jenn!

Carrie was kind enough to let me trial an app on the iPad that is designed for the population of students I work with at the Middle School. The app is called Conversation Builder Teen. I was very excited to trial this app because I already use other “Builder” apps from the Mobile Education Store (Story Builder, Language Builder and Sentence Builder) This app did not disappoint.

The first thing the app prompts you to do is create a user profile. I chose “Miss” seeing as this is what most of the students call me. You can select the conversation type with the choices being 2 or 3 players or Group.

The app allows you to select specific topics of conversation you would like to use. The choices included are: clothes, bullying, summer, entertainment, sports, sarcasm, relationships* and school. Or you can play all of the conversation choices at random.

 *Some topics are sensitive and may not be appropriate for all students, such as sex and pregnancy. In order to select these topics a password must be used to unlock the setting.

2 or 3 Player Mode:

This screenshot above shows the format the app uses when in 2 or 3 player mode. A field of choices is used to aid the students when formulating conversation. This picture depicts a situation in which the student must provide the best response to their friend who is beginning a conversation by stating, “I’m so mad at my parents.” Students select the BEST response to the question and are then able to record themselves saying the chosen response. Once all of the responses are recorded, the students are able to listen to the conversation in its entirety. 

Group Mode:

The above picture coincides with the group player setting. The students in the group are able to have a conversation with each other without prompts from the app.  Again, the students are recorded and can listen to the playback after the conversation is complete.

Therapeutic Applications: 

I work at a middle school and treat students ranging from 10-14, with varied speech and language targets. I found that this app was flexible enough to target a variety of IEP goals for every student I treated throughout the day:

Articulation This app is excellent for working on the carryover of articulation skills to the conversation level.  Students record their statements into the app in order to have a mock conversation.  They can listen to the recordings and monitor their productions.

Fluency  Students with fluency goals utilized speech strategies (e.g., easy onset, pull out) while using this app. The fact that the app allows for students to record their own utterances improved self-awareness of disfluent moments and strategies that helped to improve fluency.

Pragmatic  Students with goals addressing pragmatic language skills also benefited from this app. The students were given a field of three responses to each open-ended question or comment from the app. The students were able to see other responses that could work, however, not all were the BEST choice for the situation.

Expressive/Receptive Language This one is a no brainer! Students are cued to answer questions appropriately and utilize appropriate grammar and syntax in their responses.

The Bottom Line:

Every student I used this app with had a great time! I was having such a positive response from the students while utilizing this app that the other speech therapist I worked with asked what we were doing. I showed her the app and we collaborated groups for the rest of the day. It is VERY hard to find something this age group enjoys doing, targets a variety of speech and language goals and, most importantly, is cool!  I highly recommend this app!

~Jenn

See Conversation Teen Builder in action: click here to see a short video tutorial.  Conversation Builder Teen sells for $29.99 in the App Store.  Enter to win a copy using the Rafflecopter below!

Disclaimer:  Mobile Education Store provided a copy of Conversation Builder Teen for the purposes of this review and giveaway.  However, opinions expressed are those of the SLP who provided the review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book of the Week: The Gingerbread Girl

The book I'm using this week in therapy is "The Gingerbread Girl" by Lisa Campbell Ernst. In this twist of the classic tale, a lonely old woman and lonely old man decide to make a gingerbread girl to keep them company.  They figure a sweet girl would never run away from them as her brother did in the past.  A chase ensues!  The gingerbread girl proves more clever than her bother, and more clever than the fox that got the best of her brother!  The book ends with all of the "chasers" getting together at the home of the old woman and old man and having a get-together (even the fox)!

While the gingerbread girl runs, she chants:

Run, Run

With a leap and a twirl.

You can't catch me.

I'm the Gingerbread Girl!

For this story, I used Lesson Pix again to create icons for my story stick:

I'm also using the Gingerbread Pronouns activity from my Gingerbread Speech and Language Unit.  We're targeting the pronouns "He," "She" and "they.  

We also are using Starfall's Gingerbread app ($.99 in the App Store).  This app allows you to create a gingerbread boy or girl while practicing shape/color concepts.  When you are finished, you get to see an animation with the gingerbread rhymes.  You can also do this activity on the Starfall Website free of charge.  If you're wondering, the app does have an additional activity that is not available on the website - Shapes Maze.  Also, you can save your cookie creations on the app.

Starfall Gingerbread screenshots

Have you used "The Gingerbread Girl" in therapy?  What s your favorite Gingerbread variation?

Gingerbread Gumdrop File Folder Game

I loved this gingerbread clip art from Scrappin Doodles so much I decided to create another quick activity...a Gingerbread Gumdrop File Folder Game!  You can use this open-ended activity for just about any target.  There are three pages in this download:

Page 1 & 2

Page 3

Simply print the two game-board pages and glue them to the inside of a file folder.

You can use a game die from another game or the gumdrop cards included in the file (a la Candyland).  The game path is short so I did not include double gumdrops like Candyland.

You can grab a copy here (TPT).  That's it! Hope you like it!  If you download, what goals will you be targeting with this game?