Cinco de Mayo Open-Ended Games

I love open-ended games.  With a caseload as varied as mine, I need materials to be versatile.  I saw the adorable graphics from Scrappin Doodles, and wanted to create something with them.  

The first game is Build a Burrito or Taco.  Each student gets a mat of their choice, and needs to collect all 12 ingredients in order to win the game.  

The second game is a board game.  You can use your own dice or spinner and game pieces to play.  Help the kids get to the fiesta! 

Both games include foil cards to make the game more interesting.  Mix in with your own cards to play.

You can find it here.

Product Review: Behavior Management Strategies for Speech Language Pathologists by Smart Speech Therapy LLC

I recently had the opportunity to exchange materials with Tatyana Ellesef from Smart Speech Therapy LLC.  She authors many presentations/handouts on different speech and language topics.  I am writing today about “Behavior Management Strategies for Speech Language Pathologists.” 

Most of us have high caseloads, and due to time constraints, pack our schedules full, and can’t always choose the optimal groups for our students/clients.  And sometimes, well, we all have kids on our caseload who are not exactly well-behaved.  What do you do when one student disrupts your sessions, and negatively impacts on the learning environment for everyone? 

Tatyana’s 62 page presentation is well thought out and gives clear strategies on behavior management techniques.  What I love about this packet:

·         She lists the possible functions of behaviors.  Why do our students/clients exhibit the behavior?  This is one of the most important steps in determining an appropriate intervention. 

·         She discusses ABCs and FBAs….  Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence and Functional Behavior Assessments.  She provides wonderful examples in each of these areas.

·         She discusses a behavior management hierarchy, from least to most intrusive.

·         There are 5 case examples, with questions to think about, then you can turn to the next page to find out the answers.  This is wonderful because it provides you with immediate feedback about what interventions were chosen.

·         6 useful appendices – I printed and laminated these for quick reference.

You can find this packet, along with many other fantastic presentations at her store, HERE.  And if you don’t follow her on Facebook, you can find her page HERE.  Right now she is having a sale,and you can pick the packet up for $14.99, quite a bargain, especially when most books on behavior management techniques are priced much higher.  And the best part, because it is written by an SLP, these strategies are ones you can use right away in your therapy room or office.  This is definitely a must-have presentation if your caseload is like mine!

Activity Swap :Just Wright Speech

One of the first speech page owners I met online was Natalie from Just Wright Speech. She is a talented Speech-Language Pathologist from Texas, whose friendly, energetic personality is displayed on her blog, page, and in the materials she creates. I enjoy having someone like her to bounce ideas off of, and I love using her materials. I wanted to highlight one of her activities here today, Category Sort -2nd edition. Here is the description of the packet: 

 Included in this packet: 
Nine category sorting mats for the following categories: toys, letters, numbers, furniture, desserts, clothing, school, sports, & tools -81 category cards (9 for each category) 
 Suggested use: -After laminating, add small magnets to the back of the small category cards. Place the larger category mats in baking sheets and the magnetic cards will “stick” to the mat. -Sort category cards onto respective mats. 
Depending on level/need of student(s), have them label the picture, use a sentence to determine the pictures category, and/or use a sentence to describe attribute(s) of picture. 
Print two copies of each category card set to use for a game of memory or go fish. 

 What I love: 
• The variety of categories: My students won’t get bored because there are so many different categories included. 
• Engaging graphics 
• The many uses for this product: Not only does Natalie list several suggested uses, but there are many other ways to use it. 

 One of the activities I did this week with a group was playing a hide-and-seek game with the cards. The mats were placed on the table, and students used flashlights to find the cards around the room. As each card was found, the student labeled the item and had to put it on the correct mat. After all of the cards were found, each student had to formulate sentences containing words from the activity. We also played Go Fish with the cards to improve questioning skills, as well as semantic skills. You can find her activity here. Her original Category Sort is also at her store here. And if you stop by her Facebook page, let her know I sent you. Enjoy!

FREEBIE: Category Word Wheels

We all know how important vocabulary development is for our students. There are so many resources out there to assist with retention of vocabulary, but my students still get bored, overwhelmed, or have difficulty retaining new words.  My students with word recall deficits always need new ideas that help with automatic recall.  I always use visual strategies, so we use many different types of graphic organizers in my sessions.  Two types of activities I have used, in addition to the traditional organizers, are using paint chips or colored word wheels. Later this week I will have a post showing how I use paint chips with my students. 

Tonight’s freebie is called Category Word Wheels.  Category names are in the center of each word wheel, and students need to fill in 6 nouns in each category.  You can use these to make a book, decorate your walls or bulletin boards, or any other way you would like.  Colored and black and white word wheels are included, as well as blanks to add your own.   If your students are able to name 6 nouns, have them turn over the wheel and write some more!  You can find the freebie HERE.

I hope you enjoy this activity.  Look later this week for my post about paint chips, as well as word wheels for synonyms, antonyms and more!  If you like this post, please follow my blog!

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