Free Space Friday-Bookshelf Curtains

                                               

Bookshelf Curtains!

                                               

I took this picture from here to show you all. This is a cheap and easy way to give your speech room a make-over! I know if my materials are easy to see then the students are more likely to drift off in to "I wish we were playing....." mode. All you have to do is take a glue gun and some heavy duty fabric with a fun print to your speech bookshelves and go! If you take the time to measure and make them even- they can really bring a lot of color to your speech room!

How do you like to bring color to your speech room? Or how do you decorate your speech room?

Thank Goodness for...Neds Head from Super Duper Inc.

                                           Thank Goodness for Ned's Head!

                                                           

Ned's Head from www.superduperinc.com is a great item to have in your speech room! Kids love to stick their hands in his ears and nose to find hidden items.

Here are some ways you could use it:

1. As an incentive! Each time the student completes a task- the student can reach in to get an incentive. I usually put in some small rubber dinosours. If the student gets a green dinosaur, then they get a piece of candy. If they get a red dinosaur, they do not. I only put in a few green dinosaurs.

2. As a sentence generation task! Have the student reach in the head and pick out a card or object. The student then has to create a sentence using the object/picture.

3. Description Task: I hid different cards or objects in Ned's Head and had the students describe the picture.

4. Articulation Task: Have each student draw a card from the head. The student would say the word/phrase/sentence.

5. Sorting Activity: Place items in the head that can belong to different categories. The students will reach in and grab a card/object and place it in the correct spot.

These are just some of the ways I utilize Ned's Head in my speech room! Have you used Ned's Head before?

Thanks for reading!

Wacky Wednesday

I am sure some of my students would think this is true =D

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Tangled Tuesday with Speechy Musings and Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor Girl

Today we have another fun Tangled Tuesday with my friend Shannon over at Speechy Musings  =) She has a wonderful blog and of course some amazing materials and I am here today to feature one of them for you! I happened to have her Receptive Language Packet already from one of her flash freebies SO I was SOOO excited to get this expressive version. Did I tell you there were a TON of activities into one in this packet??? Well there IS! I love the TV show Cash Cab. even though it is no longer on air. I even saw the host on the Racheal Ray show one time and he is SO interesting haha. This post is really long because there are SOO many activities to feature within this 1 packet---

So here it is Cash Cab Expressive Language! 

One of the first activities is a red light challenge card activity. It's a generative naming activity or divergent naming activity! It contains 54 cards of categories =D

Next up is  Naming Function Activity! The student is instructed to name the function of the item listed on the card

Next up is the What is activity. The students are required to name an item that fits the adjective. I had my students name more than one. 

Then we have Describe This Word activity. It comes with a very very useful visual and multiple word cards. I liked this activity best because I can use it for so many goals (describing, grammar, sentence building etc)

Then we have Compare and Contrast. There are 3 different cards in this activity. Name how items are similar, different then a combo card.

Then we have WH Questions Activity. This activity was neat because it had my students generate their OWN questions. I liked that. I had all my students in each group create a different sentence that ended in the same answer. This was neat to show them that language is very diverse. 

Next activity is a How activity. This was a great activity to work on sequencing and describing multiple steps of a process.

Then we have Multiple Meaning Activity. This activity was difficult because it only had the word included on the card. However, this was great for my older students that didn't require as many cues anymore. 

There are some REALLY fun shout out cards. My students loved the show cash cab and really liked to use their shout out  cards. It was fun to see my students be selective about when they were going to use these cards. My students were a lot more strategic than I thought =D

Then there were the Foil Cards. These were the cards that made the game more fun, but my students did not like to see them =D They just made me smile as my students would say "urghhhh"

Of course you need a game board for this totally awesome activity. 

There were many different game boards, but this is the one I chose to use. 

Then there are individual boards you could use also. 

Overall this activity had more than enough activities for all of my student goals. This is definitely worth the cash because it is SO inclusive. It is rare to find an activity that is so comprehensive that is so thorough as well. I used these activities together and as a stand alone activities. I have used the game board with other activities as well. I actually think that the individual game boards are a great visual for students with disabilities because it has the go and stop. I used these visuals with my younger students totally separate from this game. I had them move their token one space for each 4 cards that they named. After they got to the stop sign, the student was able to take a 2 min break and then we would start over! That is what I like about TPT products. I can use the activity as is AND use various parts of the activity for something completely different than what it was intended for! 

You can grab her activity HERE

GO to her blog and see a review of my activity today HERE (she just got her own website and its awesome)

Follow her on Facebook HERE

Thanks as always for reading =D  Amy @

Monday Muncher: Split Pea Soup

Yumm-o I LOVE Split Pea Soup and I just made it this past weelk for dinner! Always check ingredients to make sure it is ok with your diet restrictions (if any).

Here is what I use:

1 Bag Split Peas (~2-2.5 cups)


2 Quarts Water/Chicken Stock/Veggie Stock


1Ham Bone or broken up cooked ham (as much as desired)


Salt and Pepper
(optional) onions, herbs, celery, carrots- I tend to leave these out because I like the natural flavor, but some people choose to put them in =D

All you do is pour the package of split peas into the water/stock. Bring them to a bubble (boil). I leave it boil for 1 minute or so. I add the ham bone or ham pieces. Lower the temperature to medium on the stove so it simmers for 1.5 hours. I stir as I go every once in a while just to check on it. If your peas don't start to get smushy, then turn up the temperature a bit. I taste after a while and add spices to taste. I personally like to add steak seasoning--yummy conglomerate of flavors in 1. Some people prefer to use a immersion blender to make it really smooth. I like mine a bit chunky, so I do not blend mine once it is finished. You know its finished, when the soup looks smushy with ham pieces sticking out. If you use a ham bone, then remove the meat from the bone and place it back in the soup.

It's yummy and easy even though it does take a bit. BUT its a great soup for a cold day like today (at least here in Oklahoma).

I always make my soup the day before I am going to eat it for a meal- split pea soup is ALWAYS better the next day because the flavors mix together overnight in the fridge.

Free Space Friday: Organizing your students!

I know some of the students on my junior high caseload have MAJOR organization issues. What do you do to help keep your students organized?

At our school our students are only allowed to wear those string bags throughout the day. All backpacks and bag are required to stay in their locker all day. This has made it somewhat difficult for my students to stat organized. SO we came up with a solution. We designed a card that had 4 questions on it:

1) Do I have my homework to turn in?
2) Did I do my bell work and turn in my homework from last night?
3) DId I place my notes/work in the appropriate section of my binder?
4) Do I know what I need to put in my locker and what to get out for my next class?

These have been wonderful guides to help our students get organized on HOW to think ahead and plan.

All we did was go into Microsoft Word and type up the 5 questions. We printed them on card stock and laminated them. THEN we hole punched a couple holes at the time and used a rubber band to tie them onto the string bag.

So this post is how to organize your students instead of how to organize your room! I hope you found this useful.

Is there any particular way you have found that helps your disorganized students stay organized??

Amy @ Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor Girl

Wacky Wednesday

I wish my productivity self would have more of a humorous side =D 

So TRUE I LOVE being an SLP!

Happy Wednesday!

Animal Articulation Puzzle Activities

Today I have released an activity that I have put over 36 hours of time into! That's a lot of time, let me tell ya! However, it is an activity that I feel many of you will gain a lot of benefit from. I know I am pumped up about putting it to use in my speech room!

So here we go =D This is the fun title page for the activity! 

There are many sounds featured in this activity and you can read the puzzle names here on these two slides!

Here are some examples of the puzzle pictures

Another option for this activity is to cut out all the word cards and have the students place the word cards on the corresponding picture after they say them. I have thought about printing this activity twice to be able to play the activity both ways. But of course that is up to you. (that would be a lot of card stock, ink and lamination so I suggest picking one way or the other).

And now for your freebie =D The B Initial. Medial and Final version is FREE for you all to try out! I hope you and your students like it. All you have to do is print out the slides. Place the picture side back to back with the word cards, laminate and cut. 

Go get your freebie HERE

Grab the entire paid version HERE for 115 pages of articulation fun! 

My articulation activity will be on sale for today only for 7.00 =D

Follow me on Facebook here