Teachers Pay Teachers Site-Wide Sale!

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a site-wide sale! Grab your promo code in this blog post

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week (but we appreciate all school staff, including speech-language pathologists!), and Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sale to celebrate! Many SLP Bloggers will have their shops on sale, plus if you use promo code: TPTXO you will get an extra 10% off! The sale will be May 6th and 7th, so don't delay - shop away!

Here's what I already have in my cart ready to purchase:

Match It Quick S-Blends (Speech Therapy With Courtney Gragg) - I have a ton of kiddos working on /s/ blends and this should be a great way to keep them focused and excited during therapy sessions.

A Year of Language Calendars (Speech Universe) - I get a lot of requests from parents for home activities. These will be excellent for sending home with students to keep them practicing their skills in other settings. Can't wait!

Quick (shameless) Plug:

These rubrics for therapy have quickly become the best seller in my shop. They are excellent for any SLP to track data on the go, keep their data organized, and collect meaningful information towards many goals. You'll definitely want to take advantage of the sale price and add these to your tool box for before end of the year progress reports are due.

So don't forget:
1) TpT Sale May 6th-7th
2) Schoolhouse Talk shop will be 20% off
3) Promo Code: TPTXO for extra discount
4) Leave feedback on your previous purchases before you make additional purchases. You will earn credits for leaving feedback, leading to additional discounts.

Have fun, and THANK YOU to all teachers, therapists, paraprofessionals, and everyone who helps our children!!

(Schoolhouse Talk linked up with Speech Room News for the What's In Your Cart linky. Click here to see what others have in their carts.)
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Abby went to bed at 4am on Sunday morning and is still recovering. #notincollegeanymore

SLP Facebook Frenzy!

20 SLP bloggers are giving you freebies May 4-5. Don't miss it!

Can you smell that? That's the smell of pure excitement! There's a Facebook Frenzy coming from your favorite SLP Bloggers, and it's going to be so much fun! If you aren't familiar with a Facebook Frenzy, here's the gist: you travel through a group of Facebook pages and download a FREE activity packet on each page! For real! There are activities for spring, articulation and language goals, Better Hearing and Speech Month, and more. You will not want to miss this!

Here's a map of everyone who is participating. The map is interactive, so once you download it (by clicking on the image above), you can click on any of the pictures to get started. Or, just make it easy and start right here on Schoolhouse Talk's Facebook page. Each page links to the next in a circle, so you will eventually hop around to all 20 pages.

As you hop from page to page, you will look for a tab that looks like this:

Just click on that tab, and you will be able to download the free item for that page. After you download, click the flower or sign to move on to the next participant. Some things to keep in mind as you travel through the Frenzy:

The Facebook Frenzy will only last from 8am EST May 4th - 10pm EST May 5th, so get going! Have fun, enjoy your freebies, and take some time to write a quick 'thanks' on each Facebook page.

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Abby nearly screamed out loud when she was asked to join in this Facebook Frenzy.

Make Paper Bag Books to Take Home

paper bag books make great take-home activities for your students

WOWZA! April really turned into a crazy wack-a-doo of a month, and I have been pretty absent from posting on the blog. I've been taking lots of pictures of the activities we've been using lately, but just have not had time to write up any blog posts. My apologies. That changes now!

My number one most favorite activity of the past couple weeks has been making paper bag books. Once the prep work is done, these are quick to put together during a session and are adaptable for many student goals.

I found this idea on Teacher Mom of Three, and you can read her post for more instructions on assembling your books. I did use ribbon instead of pipe cleaner for the handles because I felt they attached better.

My students made books containing their target speech sounds. I made an assortment of covers and black/white pictures ahead of time. We also included a few blank pages for them to draw and add their own pictures.

We also made some story retell books. This student was working on identifying story elements for The Wolf's Chicken Stew. As my preschoolers described the story elements and plot events, I helped them write in the books, and they drew the pictures. Pretty good illustrations for a 4-year-old if you ask me :)

You could use these for ANYTHING! Let me know how you'd use paper bag books in your speech sessions.

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Abby is so glad May is here! Only 21 work days left in the school year!

"S...Peachy" Feedback {linky party}

rewarding people for leaving great feedback on Teachers Pay Teachers

Every item I create is a little part of me, and it really brightens up my day each time someone leaves helpful and meaningful feedback. This feedback party is hosted by Nicole at Allison's Speech Peeps as a way to reward YOU for your encouraging comments. Click on over her way to check out her new website and to see who else is giving away freebies.

I really enjoy reading each and every bit of feedback that is left on product pages. Truly great feedback helps me learn what my buyers like, which activities are useful, and even ways to improve the activities I make. So make sure you leave detailed feedback, even on free items.

This month, I'm so grateful for all the kind words Speechasaurus had to say about the usefulness of my Speech-Language Therapy Rubrics.

Speechasaurus, thank you so much for your wonderful comment! Please email me at schoolhousetalkslp@gmail.com with your choice of a product from my Teachers Pay Teachers shop. Congratulations!

If you didn't win here, you may be the lucky one at a different blog. But you MUST leave helpful feedback on your TpT purchases to be considered. BONUS: Did you know you earn credits towards future purchases on TpT if you leave feedback on the items you buy? Happy shopping!

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Abby is out jumping puddles today, and drowning in paperwork.

Friday Funny

For your Easter enjoyment:

22 Worst Easter Bunnies of All Time! Nightmares! The full list can be viewed here...if you dare.

Have a blessed weekend!

Using Rubrics to Track Speech Therapy Data

rubrics are an efficient way to track student data 

Raise your hand if you have a student or two on your caseload who has more than one speech goal. Raise your other hand if you have students who have really extensive goals which require you to track many different elements. I'm talking multiple speech sound errors, including various story grammar elements in a story retell task, or using language functionally in different ways (i.e. asking questions, answering questions, and using greetings).

We all have these sorts of goals we address every week. Tracking data on so many different aspects of communication can get messy. None of us have the time to constantly round up several data sheets or log notes for every student every time we update their progress. How can SLPs quickly and efficiently track student data in a way that measures their true progress and still makes sense?

Rubrics. Rubrics are the answer! *cue angelic music* Rubrics are an efficient way to track and score goals which contain many components, and also measure student progress over time. They are also an excellent way to give students more credit for the progress they are making, or measuring the amount of prompts/cues that are required for success.

So what kind of communication goals benefit from using rubrics? Well let's see, I have used rubrics at some point for each of the following goals: MLU, AAC, story retell, articulation, wh-questions, functional communication, vocabulary, semantics, phonological processes, and fluency. So, really, rubrics are appropriate to use with any speech goal and can help you determine the course of instructions (i.e. increasing complexity of speech targets or fading prompts).

Create Rubrics in 3 Easy Steps:

1)   Determine the elements of your goal that need to be measured (i.e. steps to mastering an articulation goal). This could be the same as your short-term objectives, or might be in-between steps for reaching the ultimate goal.

2)   Set performance levels and assign points to each level. I like to set 3-5 criterion levels (generally, they are: not yet demonstrating, approximate, and proficient).

3)   Include descriptions/examples in your rubric cells of what would qualify for that score rating.

There are three things I like to keep in mind when I am creating my speech therapy rubrics:

1)   Include a score for each element of your rubric.

2)   Keep it simple – Just say no to 150-point rubrics! Your criterion must be clear and easy for others to interpret. If your student moves away and a new SLP inherits his goal/rubric, you want them to be able to continue using it with the same reliability.

3)   Allow yourself to score several weeks’ worth of data on one piece of paper. I don’t like rubrics that take up a whole page for each data point. That bulks up my student folders too much when I have to print off a new sheet every other week. Plus then I still have multiple sheets to sort through when it comes to writing progress reports. Not to mention the printing/environmental costs.

If you'd like to start using rubrics in your own speech therapy room, I've already done the work for you: here are 21 rubrics all bundled together. The packet includes instructions and scoring examples, as well as blank rubrics ready to print and use. So go ahead, try rubrics out for yourself! I bet you won't go back :)

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Abby typed the word rubric 18 times in this post.

Easter Egg Matchups

I found these cute foam Easter eggs at the Target Dollar Spot a few weeks ago (8-pack for $1), and I have been (impatiently) waiting for April to roll around so I could debut my activity idea!

The foam eggs were pre-cut into halves, which naturally led to some matching activities. I used some clear packing tape to make pockets on each half of the eggs. Cut one piece about an inch longer than the second piece, then match them up sticky sides together. The longer piece will overlap the shorter piece and will be used to attach the "pockets" to the eggs.

Here's how we used these in therapy:

This student was working on final consonant deletion. So we matched up words that have the same phoneme at the end, then practiced making sentences with those words.

matching up opposite pairs

For my articulation students, we played a matching game with our phoneme pictures.

Some students matched up community helpers with their related objects or tools.

And others matched up rhyming words. We practiced making lots of sentences with our targets throughout the day.

This was a fun activity, and we'll be using up until Easter. Let me know if you try it!

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Abby's Mom made her a bunny birthday cake when she was younger because her birthday is around the same time. :)

Friday Funny

Hehe, "crayola oblongata" :)

(source)

Using Marble Runs in Speech Therapy

Marble runs are versatile, super fun, and can be used to target multiple communication goals.

When I was working in a private pediatric setting in Texas, we had a giant marble maze in one corner of the common therapy area. And the kids went bonkers over it! It was a great reward at the end of our sessions, and almost every kiddo asked to use it each day. As time went on, I began incorporating it into my therapy, because marble runs have plenty of opportunities for speech and language practice!

Since leaving that clinic, I have missed having a marble run in my bag of tricks. Luckily, I acquired a small table-top sized one over spring break, and let me tell you, EVERY student I worked with today wanted to use it! Here's a rundown of the many ways you can use marble runs in your speech therapy sessions.

*Basic Concepts: talk about the colors of the marbles and the maze pieces; the number of marbles being used; count the marbles at the bottom of the maze; discuss the shape of the marbles; construct different shapes out of the maze; talk about which marbles were first and last; are the marbles going fast or slow?

*Emerging Language Skills: Marble mazes are excellent because there is a definite start and a definite end, and it doesn't take long for the marbles to reach the bottom. You will have lots of chances to elicit "ready...set..." and wait for your student to yell "GO!". Marble runs are also the perfect opportunity for students to practice requests: more, please, my turn, more marbles, all gone

*Turn-Taking and Pronouns: Some of my preschoolers have a behavior goal for turn-taking. Marble runs are perfect practice for this. We also get tons of opportunities to practice pronouns: my turn, your turn, we go at the same time, his turn, you do it, etc.

*Prepositions: up, down, around, bottom, top, inside, through, first, last - they're all covered here!

*Following Directions: You can instruct your kiddos how to build the marble maze, or have them practice telling each other directions. Since the maze pieces are different colors and shapes (curved, straight, wheeled, etc), it's perfect for adding describing words to your sentences: "Put the curved red piece on top of the short purple piece."

*Articulation: I have my articulation students practice their target sounds a designated number of times before they can shoot a marble down the run. Or they earn the marbles as we practice and enjoy sending them all down at once :)

Marble runs are a versatile and FUN addition to my speech therapy supplies. I hope you get great use out of them too!

(Note: The small size I have is perfect for me to carry with as I travel between buildings, but the bigger sets include additional exciting pieces such as rotating wheels. If you have the budget and the space, I'd spring for a larger set.)

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Abby assembled her marble maze as soon as she got home from the store, and played with it by herself :)

Love It & List It - Fave Technology

my top 4 favorite forms of technology for use in speech therapy

I'm linking up with Speech Room News again this month for her Love It & List It link-up. This month's topic is favorite technology. Here's what I use and love in my speech room.

1) iPad

I feel like I'm preaching to the choir here, because the iPad and apps are EVERYWHERE, but it is truly the number one piece of technology I use every day. Obviously there are tons of apps out there which are great for use in the speech room, but the iPad goes way beyond apps too.

It's a timer.

It's a search engine.

It's a voice recorder.

It's a tv.

It's a secret decoder.

It's a library.

It's a fun game.

It's a writing tool.

It's a flash drive.

It's a scanner.

It's therapy-on-the-go.

It's all that and more. I am so fortunate that my employer also sees its value and is willing to provide me with one. Now, if only I could triple the amount of memory available :)

BTW, I was supplied a case with attached bluetooth keyboard by my employer, which is great for writing reports on the go, but I'm looking for something less clunky sans keyboard for everyday use. What's your favorite iPad case? Let me know in the comments please.

2) Boardmaker Plus
 

Need a visual schedule for a student? Boardmaker. Need a token board to keep a student on task? Boardmaker. Need pages for a communication device? Boardmaker. Need a sheet of words containing target speech sounds for progress monitoring? Boardmaker. Need to write a social story? Boardmaker. It's such a versatile tool, and I use it all the time. Be sure to check out Boardmaker Share and Boardmaker Achieve to download ready-made activities from other users! Again, I am so very grateful to have this provided to me by my employer.

3) Voice Recorders

The top two I use are Quick Voice (on the iPad) and Audacity (on my laptop). They are both free to download, and perfect for taking language samples, screening a student, and recording story retell trials. I like Audacity on my MacBook Pro because I can turn it on and then tilt the screen down until almost closed so the student isn't distracted by the recording. However, I'm almost always working with students in their classroom or in the hallway and don't drag my laptop along, so I use Quick Voice on the iPad the most. Check it out!

4) Social Media

This isn't really something I use directly in therapy, but social media is definitely something that affects the activities I'm doing in therapy! Pinterest is overflowing with amazing therapy ideas! I have connected with a whole bunch of SLPs on Twitter and love using it to find information about current research and upcoming events. But my favorite right now is Instagram. It's such a great tool for connecting and interacting with other SLPs and I find a ton of great ideas from the creative people I interact with. I don't know what I'd do without these tools!

Schoolhouse Talk on Instagram

Schoolhouse Talk on Pinterest

Schoolhouse Talk on Twitter

Schoolhouse Talk on Facebook

So there you have it! My favorite technology tools for speech. What do you like to use? Go check out what other tools SLPs are using!

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Abby wishes there were 30 hours in a day so she could catch up on everything.