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If you give a mouse a cookie, it will want some phonemic awareness to go with it

I love book companion packs! Honestly I can’t get enough of them!

One of the reasons I particularly enjoy using them is because they nicely supplement thematic language therapy activities (see Twin Sister’s Post HERE on thematic therapy).  This is why I jumped at the opportunity to review Speech Universe’s  If You Give A Mouse A Cooke Phonemic Awareness Packet.

Phonemic Awareness activities are incredibly important for young (Pre-K-1st grade) language impaired learners.  They are especially important for children from low SES households as well as young  limited English proficiency learners.

Jen’s packet is terrific at addressing a number of phonemic awareness skills including:

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Normal Simultaneous Bilingual Language Development and Milestones Acquisition

5428Today I am excited to introduce another product aimed at explaining one of the aspects of typical bilingual language development. This 26 page introductory material describes simultaneous (from infancy) bilingual language development. It is part of several comprehensive bilingual assessment materials found HERE as a part of a “Multicultural Assessment and Treatment Bundle”  AND  HERE as an individual product entitled “Language Difference vs. Language Disorder: Assessment & Intervention Strategies for SLPs Working with Bilingual Children“.

 Learning objectives:
  • —Explain Dual Language System Hypothesis
  • —List important milestones of bilingual language development
  • —Discuss the difference between code-mixing and code-switching
  • —Review advantages of bilingual language development

Presentation Content

  • Simultaneous dual language acquisition in infancy
  • Dual Language System Hypothesis
  • Similarities between monolingual and bilingual language acquisition
  • Simultaneous Bilingualism
  • Vocabulary differences between L1 and L2
  • Bilingual Language Development
  • Important Bilingual Milestones
  • Bilingual Milestones and Age of Onset
  • Simultaneous dual language learning
  • Simultaneous dual language learning & language delay
  • Conclusion
  • Helpful Smart Speech Therapy Resources
  • References

Would you like a copy? You can find it HERE in my online store.

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And now on the Importance of Context Clues!

I am a huge fan of teaching children context clues to navigate text. Context clues are hints of information that help us figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Context clues are the words and sentences that surround a word and help explain the word’s meaning. Context clues are hugely important because their comprehension and effective usage leads to academic success. They can increase the child’s vocabulary, reading comprehension, and  make children better readers.

I am always looking for more materials to teach children how to interpret context clues which is why I was very excited when i got the opportunity to review Carrie’s of Carrie’s Speech Corner: “Out of This World! Context Clues“. This alien themed 21 page packet was created by Carrie to help students learn to use context clues by figuring out the meaning of nonsense words.

The premise is super cute and engaging. Student get to be the astronaut exploring a new planet who encounters aliens who speak a language similar to English, but with some very different words.  So her first set entitled “Context Clues Multiple Choice Cards” has  20  stories in color (which are also repeated in black and white) which have nonsense-words from the “alien language.” Based on the context of the story students need to figure out the meaning of the alien word.

The second activity is called “Out of this World Dictionary” in which students get to create a dictionary using the alien words they’ve  learned from the short stories. an answer key is provided of course.

The third activity involves matching English words to alien words by drawing a line, while the fourth activity is focused on making silly sentences with the alien words. There are two levels to this activity the first involving only one word while the second 2 words.

After  that is “Category Sort” in which students fill in the allotted boxes with the alien words that best fit into the categories (such as sports, colors, school subjects, etc.)

Finally, the last activity is super fun. Students get to figure out their alien name by using a cipher.

I love the fact that this packet is heavily focused on problem solving and critical thinking skills because so many of our students can benefit from an extra dose of that. Depending on the students abilities and cognitive levels the packet might be applicable with a wide variety of age levels ranging from early elementary through middle school.  You can find this packet in Carrie’s TPT Store HERE for a mere $2.50.

But that’s not all Carrie is doing a review of my Language Difference vs. Language Disorder Packet on her blog  so we decided to do a giveaway of our respective products.  She is doing a giveaway of my product I am doing a giveaway of hers, so enter my Rafflecopter giveaway below to win and don’t forget to head to Carrie’s Blog for an opportunity to maximize your chances to win both.

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Birthday Extravaganza Day Twenty Six: My First Signs Flash Cards Set

My First Signs Flash Cards

It’s DAY 26 of my Birthday Month Giveaways and I am raffling off a giveaway by Hear My Hands, which is  My First Signs Flash Cards Set. These flash cards are designed to reinforce all the American Sign Language signs taught in Signing Time Volume 1: My First Signs, but can also be used alone. ASL signs taught in this Set include:

Eat/Food – Milk – Water – Ball – More – Bird – Cat – Dog – Fish – Car – Airplane – Want – Shoes – Flower – Mom – Dad – Baby – Sleep.  Cards come with a pre-drilled hole and a plastic yellow D-ring for easy carrying. You can clip them to a bag and take them anywhere—in the car, at the grocery store, etc. Cards will also fit in any standard 4×6 photo album for easy reference. Continue reading Birthday Extravaganza Day Twenty Six: My First Signs Flash Cards Set

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SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists Review and Giveaway

In 2020 I reviewed a product kit (instructional guide and cards) from SPELL-Links™ Learning By Design, Inc. entitled Wordtivities: Word Study Instruction for Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading. Today, I am reviewing a companion to that product kit: SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists. This 180-page guide contains sets of pattern-focused word lists for whole class, small group, and 1:1 word study instruction purposes. Each grade-level word list supports the simultaneous development of pattern-specific phonological (sound), orthographic (letter), and semantic morphological (meaning) skills. The aim of this guide is to systematically address spelling, reading, speaking, and listening all together by developing a neural network for literacy and language.

SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists are useful for students 5+ years of age who have or are in the process of developing the following knowledge and skills:

  1. Letter-name knowledge
  2. Alphabetic letter writing ability
  3. Mastery of early phonological awareness (PA) skills by being able to segment words into syllables, understand and create rhyming words, and isolate sounds in words
  4. Basic concept knowledge of directionality (left/right; top/down)

The book is organized by patterns and grade levels (K-6 grade) and by the instructional focus. For each pattern, word lists are organized to support a specific instructional focus: phonological code, orthographic code, morphological code, storage and retrieval of orthographic representations, and writing application.

The Word Lists feature 128 patterns across grades K through 6. The number of patterns taught at each grade level ranges from 9 (K) to 25 (grades 4 and 5).

Here’s an example of a 4th-grade instructional overview:

Overview of Weekly Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Pattern: Prefixes pre- (before); mid- (middle); post- (after) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Pattern: Prefixes over- (above, more than); super- (superior, exceeding); under- (below, less than);
sub- (under, subordinate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘lb, ld, lf, lk, lm, lp, lt, lth, lve, lse’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘rd, rf, rm, rn, rp, rt, rsh, rch, rth, rve, rge’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘rse, rce’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Pattern: Homophones Set 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Pattern: Suffixes -ion, -ation, -ition (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Pattern: Suffix -ment (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Pattern: Suffix -en (V, ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ Clusters ‘nd, nt, mp, mph, nth, nch, ngth, nge’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ Clusters ‘nk, nc’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ clusters ‘nce, nse’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Pattern: Homophones Set 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Pattern: Syllabic-r Vowel Sound as in bird, father . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Pattern: Suffix -ward (ADJ, ADV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Pattern: Unstressed Vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Pattern: Syllabic-l Vowel Sound as in bottle, pencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Pattern: Suffix -al (ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Pattern: Suffixes -able, ible (ADJ) …………………………………………….. 109
Pattern: Suffix -ous (ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Pattern: Suffixes -ive, -ative, -itive (N, ADJ)………………………………………. 111
Pattern: Suffix -ure (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pattern: Contractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pattern: Prefix tele- (far); micro- (tiny) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Pattern: Prefixes mono-, uni-, bi-, tri-, quad-, oct- (number affixes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Pattern Review

The weekly instruction will look as follows:

  1. Monday-Tuesday: Review of Phonological and Orthographic Codes (these word pattern lists are organized into 3 groups to support differentiated instruction)
  2. Wednesday–Thursday: Morphology
  3. Friday: Mental Orthographic Representations and Application to Sentence Writing

The book comes with access to digital Materials Library, which contains access to the following materials:

  • List of pattern-loaded stories
  • SPELL-Links™ Pattern Inventory & Analysis Tool (PIAT)

The appeal of the product for me is that it offers numerous group-based opportunities for the solidification of evidence-based instructional practices.  The book comes with very detailed implementation instructions. A variety of daily activities allow students to further advance their abilities in the areas of prefixes and suffixes, numerous homophones and clusters, unstressed vowels and even contractions. The kit also offers several appendices that review the spelling rules for word roots prefixes and suffixes, as well as detailed recommendations for pattern-loaded reading materials. To me, the appeal of this curriculum is rather multifaceted. It continues to be very difficult to find an evidence-based group instruction curriculum, and Wordtivities Word Lists once again fit the bill for it. Because it focuses on skills integration of spelling, reading, speaking, and listening it allows the students to engage in contextually based opportunities to become better listeners, speakers, readers, spellers and writers.

You can find this kit for purchase on the SPELL-Links™ Learning By Design, Inc. Store HERE.

And now for the fun part. Want to win your own copy of SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists? Enter to win here: I want to win SPELL-Links Wordtivities Word Lists! | Learning By Design They’ll send one lucky person a copy of SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists. Entries are accepted until 3/1/24 at 5 pm CST. The winner will be notified by email.

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Upcoming Presentations: Narrative Assessments of Preschool and School Aged Children

On October 24th 2012, I will be presenting at the Morris County Speech Hearing Association in Whippany, NJ on the importance of Narrative Assessments of Preschool and School Aged Children.  See MCSHA’s August 2012 Newsletter regarding registration details.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to

•Explain the impact of narrative difficulties on language development and academic performance
•Discuss stages of narrative development in preschool and school aged children
•List formal and informal instruments that can be used to elicit narratives in children of various ages
•Identify specific elements of narrative assessment
•Formulate measurable goals and objectives targeting narrative skills for IEP reports
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Free Literacy Assessment Resources for SLPs

A few years ago I wrote a post, which offered a compilation of FREE literacy resources for parents and professionals. Today I would like to expand upon my previous article by providing professionals with a compilation of free literacy assessment tools.

Assessment tools tend to be expensive. Few professionals have unlimited budgets to purchase the myriad of tests needed to appropriately assess a host of skills associated with reading, spelling, and writing. Below is a list of helpful free materials to assist SLPs on tight budgets testing children with suspected reading, spelling, and writing deficits.

First, let us briefly review a few essential components involved in skilled reading, which are:

Continue reading Free Literacy Assessment Resources for SLPs
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Part II: Components of Comprehensive Dyslexia Testing – Phonological Awareness and Word Fluency Assessment

Lettere01gorgoA few days ago I posted my first installment in the comprehensive assessment of dyslexia series, discussing common dyslexia myths as well as general language testing as a starting point in the dyslexia testing battery. (You can find this post HERE).

Today I would like to discuss the next two steps in dyslexia assessment, which are phonological awareness and word fluency testing.

Let’s begin with phonological awareness (PA). Phonological awareness is a precursor to emergent reading. It allows children to understand and manipulate sounds in order to form or breakdown words. It’s one of those interesting types of knowledge, which is a prerequisite to everything and is definitive of nothing. I like to compare it to taking a statistics course in college. You need it as a prerequisite to entering a graduate speech pathology program but just because you successfully complete it does not mean that you will graduate the program.  Similarly, the children need to have phonological awareness mastery in order to move on and build upon existing skills to become emergent readers, however, simply having this mastery does not a good reader make (hence this is only one of the tests in dyslexia battery).

When a child has poor phonological awareness for his/her age it is a red flag for reading disabilities. Thus it is very important to assess the child’s ability to successfully manipulate sounds (e.g., by isolating, segmenting, blending, etc.,)  in order to produce real or nonsense words.

Why are nonsense words important?

According to Shaywitz (2003), “The ability to read nonsense words is the best measure of phonological decoding skill in children.” (p. 133-134) Being able to decode and manipulate (blend, segment, etc.) nonsense words is a good indication that the child is acquiring comprehension of the alphabetic principle (understands sound letter correspondence or what common sounds are made by specific letters). It is a very important part of a dyslexia battery since nonsense words cannot be memorized or guessed but need to be “truly decoded.”

While a number of standardized tests assess phonological awareness skills, my personal preference is the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-2 (CTOPP-2), which assesses the following areas:

  • Phonological Segmentation
  • Blending Words
  • Sound Matching
  • Initial, Medial and Final Phoneme Isolation
  • Blending Nonwords 
  • Segmenting Nonwords 
  • Memory for Digits
  • Nonword Repetition 
  • Rapid Digit Naming 
  • Rapid Letter Naming 
  • Rapid Color Naming 
  • Rapid Object Naming 

 As you can see from above description, it not only assesses the children’s ability to manipulate real words but also their ability to manipulate nonsense words. It also assesses word fluency skills via a host of rapid naming tasks, so it’s a very convenient tool to have as part of your dyslexia testing battery.

This brings us to another integral part of the dyslexia testing battery which is word fluency testing (WF).  During word fluency tasks a child is asked to rapidly generate words on a particular topic given timed constraints (e.g., name as many animals as you can in 1 minute, etc.). We test this rapid naming ability because we want to see how quickly and accurately the child can process information. This ability is very much needed to become a fluent reader.

Poor readers can name a number of items but they may not be able to efficiently categorize these words. Furthermore, they will produce the items with a significantly decreased processing speed as compared to good readers. Decreased word fluency is a significant indicator of reading deficits. It is  frequently observable in children with reading disabilities when they encounter a text with which they lack familiarity. That is why this ability is very important to test.

Several tests can be used for this purpose including  CTOPP-2 and Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Test (RAN/RAS) just to name a few. However, since CTOPP-2 already has a number of subtests which deal with testing this skill, I prefer to use it to test both phonological awareness and word fluency.

Read part III of this series which discusses components of Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension testing HERE.

Helpful Links

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Birthday Giveaway Day Twenty One: First Grade Common Core Daily Language Workout

Wrapping up third week of my Birthday Month Extravaganza is a giveaway from Speech Universe called First Grade Common Core Daily Language Workout.

This product was designed to track progress using an RTI approach. It spans about 10 weeks and include the following 18 First Grade Common Core State Standards :

Phonological Awareness

  •  RF.1.2b Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds, including consonant blends.
  •  RF.1.2c Isolate and produce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds in single syllable words.
  •  RF.1.2d Segment spoken single syllable words into their complete sequence of individual sounds.

Conventions of Standard English

  • L.1.1b Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
  • L.1.1c Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences.
  • L.1.1d Use personal possessive and indefinite pronouns.
  • L.1.1e Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future.
  • L.1.1i Use frequently occurring prepositions.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

  • L.1.4a Use sentence level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  • L.1.5a Sort words into categories to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
  • L.1.5b Define words by category and by one or more key attributes.
  • L.1.5c Identify real-life connections between words and their use.
  • L.1.5d Use synonyms of verbs and adjectives.

Speaking and Listening

  • SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about first grade topics and texts with peers and adults in small and large groups.
  • SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Key Ideas and Details

  • RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
  • RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Packet Contents:

  • State Standard Checklist
  • Pre/Post Test
  • Daily Workout Sheets
  • Note Sheet

You can find this product in Speech Universe’ TPT store by clicking HERE or you can enter my one day giveaway for a chance to win.
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