Tag Archives : Vocabulary Activities

Fall Snapshots in the Speech Language Therapy Room

Fall Snapshots in the Speech Language Therapy Room

This fall season, I created a game board to use with a multiple meanings (homographs) vocabulary lesson and it was an instant hit in my therapy room. My students have asked to play this game repeatedly over the past several weeks. I used the game board included in my multiple meanings unit and cut out the individual pictures to create a larger board. 

I used this with the multiple choice questions in my language unit as well as a variety of other speech-language questions to target the specific skills that my groups needed to practice. My students took turns answering questions and rolling the dice to move along the game board. Here is a snapshot of 18 out of 30 questions included in this part of the unit.  

Here is a snapshot of the multiple meanings mats that my students used to match vocabulary cards with the correct definitions. I modified this game by placing all the matching mats on the table and then my students took turns selecting a word and searched for the correct definition to place the card on. My students enjoyed playing this as a scavenger hunt activity as they had to take their time to skillfully read the definitions on various mats to find the correct match. I assisted them with orally decoding words that were
difficult for them. I was pleased to see my students improve their independence
with this activity after the initial time implemented in a language therapy
session. 

You can find this resource here in my TPT store available for purchase: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fall-Themed-Multiple-Meanings-Vocabulary-Homographs-919412

Thanks for visiting my blog today,

Tamara 

Wrapping Up October!! Fall SLP/Language Arts Lessons

Whoa! I have been extremely BUSY in the month of October so much so that this is my first post! Yikes! Not to worry because that will change after I finish my graduate degree program for my Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in Curriculum and Instruction. I have 3 more weeks of assignments and then graduation on December 14th! I cannot wait!!

In my speech language therapy sessions, several of my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have been working on multiple meaning words and attributes activities. Initially, they need visual and verbal cues to help them correctly answer the questions that I ask. It is easiest for them to demonstrate that they understand multiple meaning vocabulary when I ask them multiple choice questions and more difficult when I ask them to use the words in  two different sentences to convey the correct meanings. 

I created 2 additional fall themed products to improve my students vocabulary knowledge and expression. The first targets multiple meanings words. I decided to create three different activities with homographs vocabulary because my speech-language students tend to have the most difficulty with those terms. 

The 3 activities in this learning packet are perfect for differentiated instruction during speech-language therapy groups or language arts lessons. There is a multiple choice activity with 30 homograph questions that require students to identify the correct meaning of the underlined word.This is best used with the included fall themed board game. 

Students may also play a matching game to correctly identify 60 target multiple meaning words with the corresponding definitions. The students should be given “matching mats” that has the written meanings. Then, they take turns selecting words from the table and deciding if the word matches the definition on their mat. The student who finds all the matches for his or her mat wins the game.  

The third activity included are 30 homograph vocabulary cards. First, the SLP or teacher should guide students with verbally stating 2 sentences using the given words to convey the 2 meanings. After that, students may play a memory game to solidify their 
receptive/expressive vocabulary knowledge. 

Students with language disorders, language based learning disabilities, and general education students benefit greatly from direct instruction of multiple meanings vocabulary, especially homographs. Because these words have the same spelling (e.g. light, state, pass), students often have difficulty recalling the correct meaning in the appropriate language context. 

This resource is available in my TPT online store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fall-Themed-Multiple-Meanings-Vocabulary-Homographs-919412

The other resource is great for students with oral language difficulties because it gives them an opportunity to orally define fall themed vocabulary and curriculum vocabulary. Students are provided an attributes cue card to help them orally define the vocabulary. The SLP or teacher can also read the included definitions and have students receptively identify the terms as well.  This is available in my TPT online store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fall-Themed-Attributes-Academic-VocabularyIdentification-Oral-Definitions-938440

Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamara 

Fall Word Associations

Fall Word Associations

Last week, the weather here in Atlanta finally began to cool off a little bit. In the mornings, the temperature has been in the 50’s or 60’s and then warms up to 70’s and 80’s. I am sure for those of you that live more in the north the weather is much cooler than that. Anyhow, the leaves are already beginning to change around here and the colors are anticipated to be the most beautiful in late October to the beginning of November. 

My students and I look forward to the change of seasons because it also means a new theme in my speech language therapy classroom!! Yeah!! I have already displayed a few of my fall themed books such as:

Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish and Lynne Avril    Grades Pre K – 1

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro   Grades K-3

A is for Autumn by Robert Maas   Grades K-2

Home-Field Advantage by Justin Tuck (great football/family theme as well) Grades K-3

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson  Grades Pre K- 3

Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser       Grades K-3

I often like to start my seasonal themed units with a word associations activity to get my students thinking about related vocabulary words. I love this activity because it allows my students to freely think of words they associate with the season of Fall. I always let them know that it is okay that everyone does not have the same answers. In fact, I encourage them to think of different answers than those shared by their classmates. 

Here is a preview of my Fall Word Associations activity with photographs that I took. The pictures on the cover page are from my back yard about 2 years ago! I love photographs because they capture so many memories. I hope your students enjoy this activity to jump start the season!

This product is available for purchase in my TPT online store. Check out the link: 
Thanks for reading my blog today! 
~Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Linking Up to Share Vocabulary Resources

Linking Up to Share Vocabulary Resources

Jenna over at Speech Room News blog is hosting a “Love it and List it! Linky Party” for speech-language pathologists to share their frequently used vocabulary resources. 

Direct vocabulary instruction is a major part of my language therapy sessions with my elementary school aged students. I am not a fan of using worksheets to address language skills with my students. It is more effective to use quick learning games that maintain their attention during their 30 minute sessions. When I do use worksheets it is to collect baseline (pre-intervention) data, to monitor progress, or for homework. 

There are so many activities that I use to work on this skill. Here is a picture of some of my frequently used materials to target increasing the vocabulary skills of my students. 

I enjoy using these materials because I am able to readily differentiate the content of my group language therapy lessons by tailoring my students’ language practice to their individual learning needs. So basically, each student can work on different skills during a 30 minute group. 

Last year, I started using a series of photocards called Double Dice Deck. Students spread the cards on the table and roll the dice. It is called double dice because the outer dice has shapes and the inner dice has numbers that correspond with the questions on each card. I have my students select a card by the shape only and then verbally define the item.  I love using the Define and Describe Double Dice Deck to provide guided/independent practice opportunities for my students to define vocabulary by attributes. I pair this with a graphic organizer that lists the attributes they can use to explain their word.  

This series has a deck to target naming synonyms and antonyms. Students select what set they will work on based on their IEP objectives. I like these cards because it provides sentences with a highlighted word in red or blue that the student has to read and replace with the correct synonym or antonym. 

Here’s the Compare and Contrast Double Dice Deck:
I typically just have them name either 1 or 2 similarities or differences based on their IEP objectives. 

I also provide direct instruction of multiple meanings vocabulary: homophones and homographs on a regular basis. My students love the photos in my Beach Themed Multiple Meanings activity and enjoy verbally describing the definitions of the terms. We also play a memory game to help reinforce identifying the terms. 

In order to facilitate the use of more critical thinking skills, I frequently use Nicole Allison’s TPT  Context Clues product. I like this because there are questions targeted for Grades 1-3 and then 4-8. My students enjoy pretending to be word detectives as they look for clues to figure out the meanings of the underlined word. I am quite pleased at the progress that my students with learning disabilities and autism have made using this resource. 

Let’s not forget about the Common Core Standards. I use task cards I created for my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students that address a variety of skills from story elements vocabulary, parts of speech vocabulary, figurative language vocabulary, prefixes, suffixes, etc. 

Click here to check out my TPT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:tamara+anderson/Order:Best-Seller

Thanks for reading my blog! I’ll see you next time. 


Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Basic Concepts Baseline Data & Progress Check Activity

Basic Concepts Baseline Data & Progress Check Activity

Hey there everyone. Several of my students need direct vocabulary instruction and practice to master basic language concepts. This speech-language objective extends beyond the toddler and preschool age as many of my elementary school students with language disorders struggle with concepts. Their classroom teachers report that they are unable to follow basic directions in the classroom. This is often due to the fact that they do not comprehend the vocabulary in the verbal directions. 

This product may be used as an assessment or progress monitoring tool. It has 25 spatial/location vocabulary cards and 25 quality/adjectives vocabulary cards that may be used to elicit their comprehension of these specific concepts.  I have also included 2 forms to record your students’ understanding of the terms with ample space for additional progress monitoring administrations and recordings as well. 

Here is a preview:











This is available for purchase in my TPT store at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Basic-Concepts-Baseline-Data-Progress-Check-Activity-843349

I have 2 additional forms available to assess students’ knowledge
of quantity, sequential, temporal, and social-emotional/feelings language concepts as well. Check back for product availability for that time saving resource for student baseline data check and progress monitoring. 

****Product Update October 2015. I’ve added 3 additional levels of vocabulary elicitation cards. The spatial and qualitative concepts now include pictures that illustrate the concepts. When giving this informal assessment, you should give the student 1 step verbal direction paired with objects or pictures. These are the 4 levels of elicitation cards: 

1) receptive ID- school themed illustrations with text
    *pair with classroom object prompts

2) direct instruction- concept picture prompts with text

3) receptive ID- concept picture prompts only

4) expressive naming- concept picture prompts with cloze sentences


Thanks for visiting my blog today! Have a great day!

Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Common Core Standards Vocabulary Giveaway!!!

I am having a back to school giveaway over the next 7 days of my 4th grade English/Language Arts Common Core Standards Vocabulary Activity. This packet has 60 multiple choice questions that assess several English/Language Arts standards that are relevant to what speech-language pathologists instruct during language therapy. 

It is important that language therapists integrate these national standards in our weekly therapy sessions with our students. The students’ IEP goals and objectives should of course relate to their needs, but they should also relate to curriculum standards. 

These questions have been used in my language therapy sessions with my students last school year. I paired it with my basketball challenge game (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Basketball-Challenge-Speech-Language-and-Academic-Skills-717131) to maintain my students’ engagement. However, it may be paired with your students favorite turn taking game during therapy or used as a stand alone activity in a literacy center in a regular or special education classroom.

This school year, I plan to give my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade English/Language Arts Common Core Standards Vocabulary packet questions to my students in order to collect baseline data at the beginning of the year. I will note my students’ areas of mastery and needs so that I may effectively plan and implement future speech-language therapy lessons. These learning packets/task cards may also be used to review skills throughout the year and then as a reassessment prior to end of year state testing. 

In order to enter the contest for a chance to win, you are required to “like” my facebook page, follow my blog on Blog Lovin, or follow my Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) page. Best of luck to you!!

So, head on over to my Facebook Page and sign up if you are not currently following BSL Speech Language there. Once there, click on the blue giveaway box for further details on entering the contest. 

Best of luck to you!!

https://www.facebook.com/BSLSpeechLanguage

Thanks for stopping by! 

Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Back to School Word Associations Freebie!!!

Back to School Word Associations Freebie!!!

Hey everyone! This past week I returned from an awesome vacation in Cancun, Mexico. Here’s a picture of Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the world!!

Here’s a picture of me in front of one of the Mayan ruins, Tulum. 

Upon checking my mail when I got home, I noticed the usual “back to school” greeting letter from the principal at the elementary school where I work. You know the letter, the one saying how much we are missed at school and how the administrative staff are anxiously awaiting our return because they are eager to start the school year or perhaps it is just too quiet during the summer. Well, that’s when it hit me that my summer vacation is pretty much over. 

In my school district, I return to work this Wednesday, July 31st and have 5 preplanning days. Students return to school on Wednesday, August 7th. As my summer vacation is still a very present and pleasant memory, I allowed this information to abruptly sink in. In anticipation of this, I created a Back to School Word Association Freebie prior to leaving for my trip to gently ease myself into the reality of returning to work. Don’t get me wrong, I love love love my job as a SLP!!  However, the summer always goes by way too fast. Anyhow, I often enjoy teaching my students about word associations because it is a great way to address vocabulary, memory, and overall receptive/expressive language skills at the same time. 

The Back to School Word Associations learning packet is ideal for students in kindergarten-third grade and targets 20 school related vocabulary words. I suggest doing a brief mini-lesson to introduce the concept of word associations before using the activity materials. Explain to your students that word associations are words that go together or are related by category, function, part/whole, synonyms, antonyms, etc and that today they will practice words that are related because they are in the same category of  “Back to School.” The purpose of the activity is to allow each student in a speech-language group or language arts/literacy center to name 2-3 word associations for each target word. Here’s a preview of this packet. 

You can get this freebie in my Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) online store by clicking the link here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Word-Associations-775946

If you want more information about the importance of teaching word associations click the link here to read one of my previous blog entries: https://www.buildingsuccessfullives.com/?p=116   

As always, thanks for visiting my page today. Check back soon for some language therapy giveaways!! 



Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP   

SLP Back to Work This Week! 

Summer Freebie!!!

Summer Freebie!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I am having a great time. I have done some traveling and decided to create another beach themed language activity. One of the best parts of this activity is that it’s a freebie that is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) online store. I know that we all work so hard throughout the school year and also in private practice with our students and clients. I want to reward you all with an activity that will be useful and visually appealing.

One of my favorite places to visit during the summer is Ormond Beach, Florida that is located on the east coast, a little north of Daytona Beach and south of Flagler Beach. While there, I saw a caravan of “Monster Trucks” and decided to capture the moment. I thought, “wow, my boy students would love to see these photographs!!” Hence, I created Beach Themed Monster Trucks-Synonyms & Antonyms to target comprehension and verbal expression of the specific vocabulary listed.  As you other speech-language pathologists know, direct vocabulary instruction is essential for our students with language disorders who struggle with developing their vocabulary. They require a lot of drill and repetition as well as naturalistic ways to practice identifying and communicating key vocabulary words. Addressing vocabulary in speech-language therapy or language arts/literacy lessons is critical to increasing students’ communication, language, and overall academic development. 

You can check out more details about this product at: 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beach-Themed-Monster-Trucks-Synonyms-Antonyms-774872

Enjoy the remainder of the summer!! I have exactly 1 week left before I return to work full-time! I can not believe my summer break is coming to an end. 

Tamara Anderson
SLP on Summer Break!! 

Beach Themed Multiple Meanings Memory Activity

Beach Themed Multiple Meanings Memory Activity

One of my favorite places to go during the spring and summer is the BEACH!! I love the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore, the smell of the salt air, the feel of the sea breeze, and even the sand beneath my feet. I created a fun resource using photographs of some of my travels to Key Biscayne, Florida (Bill Braggs State Park); Ormond Beach, Florida; Dunnedin, Florida (Honeymoon Island State Park); Ocala, Florida. 

This is a fun activity for use by speech language pathologists who are working in private practice in the summer, teachers instructing students in summer school, or as a back to school activity for teachers/SLPs to help students practice multiple meanings vocabulary. The purpose of this learning game is to increase students’ short term memory, working memory, and receptive/expressive vocabulary knowledge. 

Students will take turns looking for matches of homophone and homograph pairs. If they get a match, they get another turn. There are a total of 40 matches. I recommend that you divide the cards into a homophone set that has 20 matches and a homograph set that has 20 matches. At the end of the game, have students use their vocabulary matches in sentences to correctly convey the multiple meanings. There are 2 ways to win the game. The player who has the most matches as well as the player that can correctly communicate the greatest amount of his or her homophone/homograph pairs in sentences. 

This is available for purchase at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beach-Themed-Multiple-Meanings-Memory-Activity-716732

Thanks for your support, 


Tamara Anderson, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist on Summer Break! 

Why Teach Multiple Meaning Words?

A student with a language disorder walks into a regular education classroom where he or she is bombarded with multi-step teacher directions in a fast paced classroom. The student struggles to get out all the materials for the first academic subject much less comprehend what the teacher is saying. “Students, get out your math book and journal. Turn to page 25 and write your name on the right hand side of the next blank page in your practice journal. Our class is going to spend the next hour learning about measurements and we are going to measure and record the size of  our hands, feet, and height. We will use a ruler, yard stick, and tape measure to record the inches and feet.” Student A says “awesome, I’m going to have a ball because I’m the tallest kid!!” Student B says”huh?” “I thought we were going to make and record a song!!” Teacher….blank stare!!

Now imagine that some of the students in the class are also bilingual and are learning English. However, they don’t have a solid foundation in their primary language and they are language disordered. They would be confused by the teacher’s lengthy instructions and most likely not understand several of the vocabulary words. These students struggle processing and understanding  a variety of language concepts including multiple meaning vocabulary.

Students who have language disorders often need direct vocabulary instruction with multiple meanings. The speech language pathologist is key to providing this instruction. Most elementary school students are familiar with the terms: homonyms, homophones, and homographs. However, they easily confuse the meanings and need plenty of receptive and expressive language practice with examples of these words.

In my speech language therapy sessions, I instruct my students on the 2 categories of homonyms or multiple meaning words. Then, I take baseline data to see what words they understand and can effectively use in a sentence. I suggest:
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Multiple-Meanings-Vocabulary-Baseline-Progress-Check-Data-Forms

Then I provide multiple opportunities to practice increasing their vocabulary skills with a variety of activities and learning games. I have my students practice verbally describing 2 meanings of the target terms and I provide verbal and visual prompts as needed. I also like using cloze sentence (fill in the blank) tasks or semantic absurdities activities in which students have to correctly identify/name the correct homonym.
Here is a list of some of the activities and resources I use to address developing
this skill:

1. Go for the Dough Board Game by Super Duper
My students love this activity and it addresses multiple meaning words , synonyms, antonyms, categories, and more.
2. Homophones Photo Fun Deck by Super Duper
3.Homographs Fun Deck by Super Duper
4. Multiple Meanings Deck and Homonyms Photo Fun Deck by Super Duper
5.Homophones I PAD application by AbiTalk
6.Bluster I PAD application by McGraw Hill Center for Digital Innovation
My students are always eager to participate in the homophones activities. There are also fun activities to target word roots, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, rhyming words, and adjectives.
7.No Glamour Vocabulary book by Linguisystems
This book has great worksheets for guided practice and homework review. I tend to use worksheets after the skill has been practiced orally in therapy a few times.
8.Numerous SLP created products available at : teacherspayteachers.com

What additional resources or methods do you find successful with teaching multiple meaning words?

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE:

Johnson, C., Ionson, M., and Torreiter, S. (1997) state that direct vocabulary instruction in the area of multiple meaning words is essential for successful comprehension of spoken and written language. In their study, the research results  indicated that children with language learning difficulties  are able to provide adequate verbal definitions when target meanings were presented in sentence context compared to tasks that did not provide a context. How should I use this knowledge in my classroom? SLPs and teachers should directly teach vocabulary and provide opportunities for students to practice their word knowledge using context clues in sentences. 

Reference

Johnson, C., Ionson, M., and Torreiter, S (1997). Assessing children’s knowledge of multiple meaning words. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology. (6) 77-86. 

Thanks for visiting the blog today! 🙂