My Picture Book Collection

I Love Picture Books!!!!!  My collection is out of control.

They are organized by AR level, but I needed a method for indexing, so I made an Excel document that works wonderfully well.  Plus, it's very easy to update.                    


The advantage to using Excel is that it allows you to sort by column.  I made columns for AR level, Book Title, and Author.  I also added columns to signify if I had a CD of the book, multiple copies of the book, and if I had a "Book Kit" (set of supplemental materials to teach the concepts in that particular book).  I then printed a sort by title and a sort by author, and put them in a folder that stays on the top of the bookcase. This system allows me (or others) to quickly find any book in my library. As I buy new books, I write them in and only update on the computer after I have several new books to add. 

I love to have audio recordings of my picture books.  Ever wonder how to store those CDs? 

Keeping the CD with the book used to be a problem for me until I purchased some CD sleeves and some double sided tape:

Now my CDs are always with the corresponding book.....as long as I remember to take them out of the CD player!

August SLP Link Up

All Y'all Need asked for SLPs to describe how we are getting ready for school this August. It's the last week of freedom and I'm learning to blog!  So here's my first Link Up....

Buying:  My daughter a new laptop.  She will begin college in two weeks : (
I'm a little bit sad about that.  The first day of school will begin with me heading off to school all by myself this year.  There are many perks to working at the same school your children attend.  This school year will have a very different feel, but I'm sure we will all adjust.  One thing about being a public school SLP....I will probably be too busy to notice!  At least for the first month or so anyway.

Trying:  At the end of last school year, a couple of my teacher friends and I decided to offer a technology workshop for fellow teachers over the summer.  My part included Google Drive, Sites, and Blogger.  The unusual thing about that is that I know very little about technology.  I've never followed a blog, much less had one of my own.  The last month has been a real learning experience for me!

Speeching:  Organizing!  I love to organize!  It's a passion of mine.  Since I am about to begin my 22nd year of teaching I have pretty much organized everything in sight. However, I have spent a large part of this summer cleaning out the old and creating some new materials.  I have less than a week to complete all those projects.  Yikes!

Word Families

Literacy has always been a love of mine.  Working with language based learning disabilities is very rewarding.  Many of these students have missed the rules that govern written language.  Explicit instruction in these areas is needed.  For more information on Language Based Learning Disabilities:  

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/LBLD.htm

When working with these students I typically use Orton-Gillingham based strategies: http://www.orton-gillingham.com/

My students use the raised letter cards, phonemic objects, and sand/bead trays to enhance learning.  One of the best strategies I've found to use with whole-to-part learners is word families.  My kindergarten students don't always understand the importance of learning those odd looking letters, and the sounds they create until they realize that all those crazy letters make words.  I used the following resources to create some word family kits:  We made word wheels with this book:

Turn–to–Learn Wheels in Color: Word Families

(Professional Book) | Grades K-2

List Price: $20.99Our Price: $15.74

                                                  This is one my son made in his 

                                   fraternity colors : )

and mini books with this one:

25 Read & Write Mini-Books That Teach Word Families

( Professional Book) | Grades PreK-1

List Price: $11.99

Our Price: $8.99

I also made some file folder word walls that I found in another Scholastic book.

Instead of writing words on the inside of the folder as shown in the example, I decided to use this space for a Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) task.
The students compete only against themselves to increase their time.  They love these tasks!

 

I placed a library pocket on the back of the folder to house the word family "marker" the students use to complete the RAN task.

Using a laser printer and blank business cards, I created flash cards for each word family.  The word is printed on one side, and a picture on the flip side.  Students can use these to rapidly name words as well.

Once I had the materials made, I had to organize them.....so I decided to die-cut the letters for the word family, glue them to a white mailing envelope, laminate the envelope, and tah dah!  Organized word family work!!

We have so little time with our students in public school, I like to make every minute count.  These are quick, organized activities that really improve student performance.

Organizing Articulation Worksheets

Working on articulation skills is my primary job as a public school speech therapist.  Over the years I have accumulated many books containing articulation worksheets.  Most of these books contain worksheets targeting a variety of  phonemes.  I used to take a stack of these books to the copy machine to create homework packets for my students.

 After lugging these books around for several years, I finally realized that I could make my life much easier by creating one central location for each individual phoneme.  I placed my original copy in a sheet protector, then made several copies of that original worksheet and placed those behind the corresponding sheet protector.  Now, when I have a student who needs a homework sheet, I have everything in my inventory (for that particular sound) in one place.

Hope this idea works for you!!

File Folder Games

At the end of my first year of teaching, I discovered that the last day of school is a great time to "dumpster dive".  Since many teachers are cleaning their rooms, and I love to re-purpose...this works out really well for me.  My great find that particular year was the old record storage rack you see below:

  I wasn't sure what I would use it for at first, but eventually found that my folder games worked great on this little jewel!

Most of my games are created with the following format:  The students in the group each receive an cut-out picture (A barn in this example), and then roll a die for the 6 items that belong with that cut-out.  The student who collects all 6 items first is the winner of the game.  This type of game works really well as a quick incentive to focus attention.

I typically use a mailing envelope or old CD covers as the storage space for the big object in the games, and then standard library pockets for the smaller objects.

An Attempt to Learn Something New

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem.  That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.  ~Thomas Szasz

This blog is an example of my willingness to suffer injury to my self-esteem.  I am brand new to blogging and fear that my lack of knowledge will reveal just how old I really am : )

Since I work as a public school Speech/Language Pathologist, many teachers (and parents) ask me questions about speech/language development when neither of us really have time to devote to the conversation.  I would like this blog to assist in answering some of their questions. I would also like to use this space to share materials that parents, other SLPs, teachers, and paraprofessionals might find beneficial when working with children.   
I hope you find the information helpful.  Please send me any questions you may have.