Celebrate November with a Salute

This time of the year many teachers are teaching vocabulary for the big holiday in November. I'd like to take this time to remind you of a very important group that gets forgotten in the hustle and bustle of turkey season...the veterans. I've laid out my November plan in hopes to spread the love to our brave soldiers and of course express my gratitude!

I introduced the topic of Veterans Day with vocabulary: honor, respect, thankful, salute, celebrate, faithful, loyal, serve.


I work in a school for the Deaf and hard of hearing and targeted auditory skills by counting syllables for words from arlenesandberg.blogspot.com:

Words included 1-4 syllables: world, war, peace, wreath, sailor, parade, solider, salute, medal poppy, November, 11th, veterans, memorial, ceremony, military.

I explained what Veteran's Day was and we made flags out of hand prints. Some of the terminology used on the poster is from a pin I found on pinterest (http://www.mylifeasathirdgradeteacher.com/).

November 11th: a day to honor those who have served and are currently serving in the military

What is a Veteran?
-A person who has fought for our country
Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard

What do they do?
-Protect our country!
-Fight for our freedom!

I used "The Wall" by Eve Bunting and created my own reading comprehension questions based on the student's goals (i.e. main idea, recalling details, sequencing).





My older kids (5th-7th grade) get a kick out of my "Speechgram". We created usernames in the beginning of the year and I post a new picture every week. The kids can ask questions and write (grammatically correct) comments! It's fun to see what the kids come up with, and they are all super motivated to write! This is my friend Bridgett, she is a marine.

#who #what #when #where #why #how

(We are still working on the grammatically correct...and spelling)

Now for my favorite. Writing to Bridgett and her soldier friends. Operation Gratitude is always looking for letters to soldiers! Collaborate with your OT friends for a super fun writing a letter lesson! It was a fun process for the students and they were excited and motivated. I broke down the process into parts and really drilled ASKING and ANSWERING questions. I created statements (i.e. "My favorite movie is Frozen.") and had the students create their own questions; What's your favorite movie? Who is your favorite character? Again, since I'm in a school where Auditory Verbal is a big component of speech; I asked questions presented orally only and incorporated it into this part of the lesson.

It was an easy way to transition into Thanksgiving; as we were all feeling very thankful for the brave men and women in the military.

THANKS for reading.

What's in a Name?

People who like Star Trek are called "trekkies" , if they shop till they drop they're considered "shop-aholics", individuals who swoon over Edward, Bella and Jacob are "Twihards" and Hunger Game fans have requested "Tributes" while Harry Potter fans are "AWESOME".

So what about people who love PROMPT? I've brainstormed a few potentials:

1) PROMPTEES

2) PROMPTenadors

3) Your hands are cold! (I hear this enough...it's got potential in the running)

4) PROMPTing People

5) PROMPTing peeps

6) Face Ticklers (this is how I explain it to my preschoolers, "I'm gonna tickle your face, it might feel funny")

7) PROMPTettes

What do you think? Let me know!

For those who have taken the plunge into learning this intense and wonderful technique, please take a look at some lexicons I've shared:

Toca Boca Tea Party

Toca Boca Doctor

Monster at the end of this Book/Another Monster at the end of this Book

Miny Moe Car

Bamba Ice-Cream/Burger

Visit the PROMPTinstitute's site to find a course near you! 

What are you waiting for, you could be a "insert nickname here".

***These thoughts and ideas are my own.  I am not receiving compensation from the PROMPT institute, nor have any PROMPT officials agreed on a nickname.  I have completed the Introductory course/training as well as the self-study project and the Bridging Course.  You must be PROMPT trained to provided PROMPT intervention. If anyone at the PROMPT institute reads this and WANTS to pay me...I won't say no. I accept cash, coffee or donuts.***

SmartReview

I've made the jump from "PROMPT trained" to "Bridged".  It's been an exciting adventure and I'm anxious to continue to learn and hone all my PROMPT skills.

After the Bridging course, I purchased the SmarTools (Cards and CD).  The PROMPT institute offers a wonderful discount for those who buy them through the instructor after either Intro or Bridging.  I highly recommend these products.

CD:
The CD allows you to add clients, input client information and even take daily session notes! Every client folder also allows the user to complete the SAO/MSH and pick goals from a wide variety of pre-written goals!  This has been very helpful in making the transition from trained to bridged!

The CD also has components to look up specific words/phrases based on stages/goals as well as activities!

Cards:
The cards are a photo card set based on PROMPT systems and motor speech hierarchy.  They are divided into 5 stages (phonotory, mandibular, labial-facial, lingual and sequenced movements).  Each card deck has 26 word pairs. This is another wonderful transition tool, as I'm finding it easier to navigate stages.

Heads Up...I'm back!

After a long hiatus, I'm back. Hoping to connect with some parents to help them chose and use apps and activities for speech therapy!

So, this is one of my new FAVORITE games. Of all time. Ever! 

Ellen DeGeneres is a DeGenuis! A simple "Heads-bands" type game, keeps kids and adults entertained while working on various speech goals.

Players can pick various categories (I use "just for kids", cause there's a smattering of everything: people/places/things). Place the iPhone/iPad on your head and the other players describe the item! If you are able to guess correctly turn the iDevice down, if you are having trouble you may pass it by turning the iDevice up/over your head.

LANGUAGE:

Expressive: adjectives, describing, antonyms, synonyms, using word finding strategies

Receptive: (understanding all the above!), word finding strategies, follow directions

*Follow directions/understanding figurative language: I always use the phrase "It's over your head" (you don't get it) to explain the correct/pass rules. 

PRAGMATICS:

turn taking, controlling voice volume & remaining in your seat (things can get crazy!)

Just keep playing. Just keep playing.