How I Organize TPT Materials

I've heard a lot of discussion lately about how to store those TPT packets, especially when you have a small space.  I figured I'd share how I organize my materials and maybe you'll find something that could work for you!  

For starters, I print and laminate the materials I plan on using (I do not always print the instruction sheets and I do not print sections that I think will be too difficult/too easy for my kids).  When I first started printing various materials from the internet (pre-Pinterest and pre-TPT), I used these large mailing envelopes.  I wrote the topic and contents on the front of the envelope.  

It may be difficult to see in this picture because they are the same color as the envelopes, but I use sheets of cardboard (from the bottom of water bottles) as dividers.  They are labeled with categories like Animals: Zoo, Animals: Farm, Books, Seasonal/Holiday, Articulation, Language Concepts, Games, etc.  I put them in these build-it-yourself shelving system I got at Target when they have their back-to-school college dorm items.  The one above is on top of my closet.  

Well, I ran out of envelopes, so I started using the gallon-size Ziplock bags.  I actually like these so much better because I can see what's inside!  Since I'm running out of space in the shelves above, I started putting some into theme-based binders.  You can place duct tape on one end of the Ziplock bag and hole-punch through it (I got this idea from Speech-Language Pirates). Here's a peek at my Thanksgiving binder:

I have more materials for some themes than for others.  For those themes that have a lot of materials, I use plastic storage containers like these:

(Click image to view on Amazon)

What about the materials you're using or about to use?

Here's how I keep the "What we're doing this week" items:

They're basically in a mail organizer I got from a local odd-lot store and I keep them on the shelf right behind my chair so I can just turn around and grab what I want.

And I store the "What's we'll be working on soon" in a dish-drainer organizer on another shelf.

In the silverware cup, I store my baggie of game pieces.  These are what I use for those open-ended game boards.  The baggie contains several game die, and game pawns.  I've been using those little rubber erasers as game pawns to make it more interesting for the kids.  I have transportation and animal themed erasers.

 I think that's about it!  How do you store your printed materials?

Rhyme Time {FREEBIE}

February is almost over and March is right around the corner.  Classrooms across the country will be celebrating a certain author's birthday at the start of March.  You know who I mean, right? ;)  To accompany books you might be reading this month in your speech rooms and classrooms, I've created this simple rhyming activity:

There are 16 pairs of rhyming words (32 cards total).  Here's an example:

You can use the cards as a memory game, with rhyming words being a match.  You could also use the cards to play Go-Fish ("Do you have a word that rhymes with box?").

Here are some ways in which you can expand on the activity:

• When students make a match, ask them to name another rhyming word.
• Ask students to provide a synonym, antonym, and/or association for each word they select.
• Use only the nouns.  Ask students to formulate a sentence using the two words (e.g., "A mouse lives in a small house")
• Use only the nouns.  Ask students to describe the object using a specified number of salient features.  You could assign points for each feature given.

You can grab this free download HERE.  If you do, please leave a comment or feedback!

Book of the Week: The Day it Rained Hearts (And other Valentine's Day Activities)

Finally back to normal and caught up from the blizzard.  Time to start writing new posts!  I figured I'd share with you the book I plan on using tomorrow during my therapy sessions:

"The Day It Rained Hearts" by Felicia Bond is one of my all-time favorite Valentine Stories!  You can probably guess by the title and the cover picture what happens in the story. ;)  The little girl catches hearts that fall from the sky and sorts through them to make very special Valentines for each of her friends.

I have to stop here for a minute and tell you one of my favorite kid-quotes EVER.  A few years ago I was supervising a graduate student clinician, Jenn (she now works for my district and has written a couple of guest posts for me).  Jenn was using this story with a group of kids.  She drew their attention to the cover and asked them to predict what would happen in the story.  One little boy (who recently had broken his glasses) shouted out, "That duck is gonna get hit by all them apples!" LOL!  Kids are so funny!

Back to the story...The author describes what the little girl does to create each card.  I usually tell the kids that the girl's friends are all animals and ask them to guess which animal the card might be for.  You don't see the completed Valentine until the recipient receives it in the mail, so this can be challenging.  I made replicas of the Valentines in the book so we can discuss them a bit more after the story:

Can you guess which animal receives these Valentines?  You can use these Valentines to target inferences, providing explanations, using descriptors, etc.

Whenever I do a story as part of my lesson, I usually follow-up with an extension activity.  I have a few Valentine's Day themed language activities that I use with this story or during another session.  Here are some of my favorites...

Valentine Cards

Ever buy these little cards for your kids to giveaway at school (or to give to your kids at school)?  There's always a few left over, right?  Well, there are a few things you can do with them.

1.  Describing Game.  Put all cards in a mini mailbox.  I have a couple of these that I found at Target in the Dollar Spot.  Have students take turns pulling out a Valentine and describing it in as much detail as possible. You can also use sets.  Place one set on the table and the other in the box.  One student takes a Valentine out of the mailbox and describes it, the other students have to guess which Valentine is being described.

2.  Memory Game / Go Fish.  Find pairs of cards.  Glue to index cards or cardstock, cut to uniform size and laminate.  Use to play Memory or Go Fish.  You can work on describing, fluency strategies, articulation carry-over etc.

3.  Sorting Activity.  I use this activity a lot with my just-turned-three-year-olds.  I got these mini bags from Oriental Trading years ago.  I have extras, so I use them for just about everything.  I stapled a different Valentine to each bag and have kids sort into the correct bag.  You could also sort by "category" - Spongebob Characters, Princesses, Animals, etc.

Heart Shaped Go-Togethers

Here's another activity from Jenn, although hers were much cuter than mine.  She used pre-cut felt hearts from a craft store.  I couldn't find felt or foam hearts, but I did find these white ones.  In hindsight, I should have painted or colored them.  They're a bit boring, but they work.  Grab images of things that go together (e.g., tire/car, paintbrush/paint can, bird/nest, etc.).  Place one on each side of the heart.  I used scrapbook scissors to cut the hearts in half so that they were like puzzles:

Inferencing Activity

Last year I found this great inferencing activity from Speech Time Fun.  Listen to the rhymes and try to figure out who the Valentine is for.  Follow the link to Speech Time Fun to access these free printables!

I Only Have EYES for You

One of my very first Pinterest finds was this cute activity from The First Grade Sweet Life.  Listen to the clues and find the animal that is described.

What's going on in your speech room for Valentine's Day?

Spring-Time Synonyms (or, "Pick a Better Word") FREEBIE

Hey everyone!  As you may have heard, Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow, which means SPRINGTIME is right around the corner!  I saw on the news the other day that the amount of daylight we will have at the end of February will be 71 minutes more than the amount of daylight we have right now! Pretty amazing, isn't it?

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm definitely ready for springtime!  Here's a new activity for those of you working with mid to upper elementary:

This activity comes with six flower pots with common adjectives.  I chose opposite pairs so that you could also work on antonyms:

For each flowerpot, there are four flowers with less common synonyms:

synonym flowers for "big"

To use with your speech and language groups, have students match the synonym (or antonym) flowers to the flowerpots.  There are blank flowers so that your students can brainstorm their own synonyms and antonyms.

You could use this activity as an "Pick a Better Word" bulletin board for overused words as well.  Attach the flower pots to your bulletin board and insert the flower stems.  When students are "stuck" on one of the overused words, they can select a flower from the pot and use more "flowery" language!

Bulletin Board variation

You can download this freebie HERE.  Hope you're enjoying grabbing all of your freebies from one convenient spot!!!  

By the way, I'm guessing you've already been by the Speechie Freebies blog.  Are you following on Facebook as well?

TPT Super Sale Super Buys!

Some of my favorite SLP bloggers are sharing what they bought during the big Super Bowl Sale.  

Jenna over at Speech Room News encouraged us to share our buys with you.  I used my TPT credits for EXTRA savings!  So here's what I got today (The links on the activity title will take you to the TPT store, links on the author's name/blog site will take you to the blog):

Construction Receptive Language by Missie Wagoner (A Speechie's World)

Arr Mateys! Pirate Categories by Lindsey Karol (Word Nerd Speech Teach)

Blooming Preschool Language by Lauren LaCour (Busy Bee Speech)

Make a Silly Story by Speechie Musings

School Time Grammar and Vocabulary Activities by The Dabbling Speechie

Valentine Sock Monkey Articulation by Lauren LaCour (Busy Bee Speech)

The Napping House Companion Activity Pack by Miss Speechie (Speech Time Fun)

Friendly Fred and Mean Mark by Miss Speechie (Speech Time Fun)

Monster Questions by Danielle Reed (Sublime Speech)

Multisyllabic Circus by Simply Speech and Phoebe

What did you get that you're SUPER excited to use???

TPT Super Bowl Super Sale!

Just in case you haven't been online much this past week...

...today is the SUPER sale on TPT.  Everything in my store is on sale for 20% off.  When you use the code SUPER, you get an additional 10% off for a total of 28% off (that's TPT math).  What's in my store you may be wondering?

Here's a list (click the image to view the item in TPT).


St. Patrick's Day Preschool Language Pack:

Feed the Penguin Activities:

Articulation

Language

Combo Pack (Language and Artic)

Mouse Gets the Cheese: A Following Directions Game:

Snappy Snapshots:

Receptive Detectives:

Birds Nest Sentence Formulation Game:

Gingerbread Speech and Language Unit:

*also includes Pronouns, Barrier Game, and Open Ended Card Game

Groundhog Day Open Ended Games:

Happy Shopping!  Don't forget...if you purchase an item, LEAVE FEEDBACK!  Providing feedback earns you credits. Credits earn you FREE STUFF!!

Lunch Tray Listening {FREEBIE}

In honor of the launch of the all-new Speechie Freebies blog, I'm so excited to share a {FREEBIE} with you!  Lunch Tray Listening is an activity designed to work on increasing a student's ability to provide and follow directions.  

It comes with lunch tray mats:

2.

and food items...

There are two variations of game play:  

1.  Barrier Game:  To be used with two students or two teams of students.  Give each team  a copy of the lunch tray and a copy of the food items.  Place a barrier or partition between the teams.  Have one team create a scene using the pieces.  That team then provides directions (as detailed as possible) to the other team.  Once finished, the barrier is removed.  You can use this opportunity to discuss what worked/what didn’t and help students formulate improved directives.  

2.  Following Directions:  Print enough copies for each student in your group to have their own set of materials.  Have students complete directives (e.g., “Put the apple in the round opening on the tray” or “Place the milk carton above the tray and the fork below the tray.”).  

Sample directions are included in the download.  Here are some samples:

1-Step: 

• Put the sandwich in the largest tray.
• Put the milk carton above the tray.
• Put the cookie in the round opening.

2-Step:

• Find a vegetable and put it in the top right opening. 
• Place the milk carton above the tray and the knife below the tray. 
• Place the sandwich in the largest opening and the fork on top of it. 

•

You can download this freebie HERE.  Let me know what you think!

Educators Have a BIG HEART! Teachers and Speechies Valentine's Day Giveaway!

I cannot even explain how excited I am that I get to be a part of this AMAZING Giveaway!!!  

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Pink and red will cover our bodies, our walls, and even store shelves.  Classrooms and refrigerators will be decorated with hearts of all sizes.  

What group of people do you think has the biggest heart?

EDUCATORS!  We all saw this first hand when the Sandy Hook Tragedy was heavily in the media. 

 As educators, we work TOGETHER to care for, educate, and even love children who are not (necessarily) our own!  We collaborate daily in the best interest of the children who are entrusted in our care.  

Well, today, Teachers and Speechies will be working together in a different way...

...to bring you a GREAT giveaway with a first prize of 

$100 in vouchers and your choice of our educational products (see below)!!!

Teachers Pay Teachers has been all over the news lately.  I recently read an article that the site has been the biggest influence of change for this country's education professionals!  Chances are, you've spotted a TPT resource on Pinterest, shared on Facebook, or in a colleague's room!  You may have even snagged a freebie or two.  If you are active on TPT, you may have noticed the ever expanding presence of SLPs on TPT!  As of today, there are close to 3500 materials created for speech and language therapy on TPT!!! (Check them out HERE).  Some are free, but the vast majority are under $10!   

Today, Teachers and SLPs are coming together to showcase some of our products and to give YOU an AMAZING opportunity!!! Have I said that this is AMAZING?!? Well, it really is....

Before I fill you in on the prize details, we would like to thank our Giveaway Sponsor, Heidi from Unique Teaching Resources. On Unique Teaching Resources, you will find fun projects that will engage your students in learning and lesson plans ideas that will save you valuable time.

Heidi is contributing two Amazon gift certificates (worth a total of $100) and a $50 gift certificate of free products from her website.

---

Competition Details

The Grand Prize Winner Will receive: 

• An Amazon gift certificate worth $75

• Unique Teaching Resources gift certificate worth $50

• TPT Vouchers worth $25

• Your choice of 5 downloadable products from this selection.

The Second Prize Winner Will receive: 

• An Amazon gift certificate worth $25

• TPT Vouchers worth $25

• Your choice of 5 downloadable products from this selection.

Ready to win? Enter the Rafflecopter below. Our “Educators Have a Big Heart” giveaway runs from now until February 14, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLAIMER:  The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. We are not associated with any of the companies in this giveaway. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received. This promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, and is compliant with Facebook TOS. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. To qualify to win, you must fill out the Rafflecopter entry. Must be aged 18+ to enter and win. See Rafflecopter for complete eligibility requirements.