Happy Thanksgiving!

from.......

The "I didn't go" ASHA Blog Hop!

This was a fun blog hop made up of some of the bloggers that couldn't make it to ASHA this year! We are all so jealous! I've always wanted to go to ASHA! Maybe next year! My sister lives in Denver, so it might be a good opportunity to visit her AND attend ASHA =)

If I were to present at ASHA, I would present on the topic of adapting materials to fit every student. It's amazing what I can do with any material and any student. Often the items I buy from big box companies or TPT, I adapt to fit all the students in a particular group even their particular goal isn't addressed in that particular activity. For example, take my emotions packet that just entered my TPT store. I used that all day with my junior high students. The packet obviously addresses primarily social skills/emotions, however, in the packet there are areas where questions are asked. I had all the students complete a section of the packet. We spoke about all the answers written. If a student was working on grammar, then I might collect data that session on  their grammatical accuracy when writing sentences. If a student is working on articulation, then when the student states the answer to one of the questions, I assess their intelligibility with whichever speech sound the student is working on. Of course, I do not do this every session, BUT it is nice when I am using a themed activity or an activity that all of my students can benefit from even though their particular IEP goals aren't specifically targeted. Another reason I feel this benefits my students is because I feel that this makes addressing their goals more "real life". Sometimes the biggest learning opportunities come from working on a goal indirectly ESPECIALLY with my junior high students.

I hope this little bit helps you in your speech room! I really do feel like flexibility is the easiest way to make your life as a speech pathologist 1000X easier =)

OK now for your letter =) 

The prizes will be

1st place-- a 10 TPT download bundle

2nd-- a 5 TPT download bundle

3rd place-- a 3 TPT download bundle

If you are starting here, you can go back to the first blog by pressing the icon OR you can hop on to the last blog by pressing the other icon!

Thanks for participating!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dear Parent.....

Dear Parent,

I am writing to you as your child's speech pathologist. I only get to sit and talk with you at length once a year during the annual IEP meeting because you are a very busy person. You have seen me a handful of times in your life. I don't really feel like you know me, know my heart and dedication although I try to show you each time I visit with you. I see your child every day. I try to show your child my heart, dedication and love everyday whether they come to speech or not that day. I show all of my students that same love.

I am the person you yelled at today. Me, Amy Minor. You kept calling me the speech teacher, but I am a person with a name. The words you say to me hurt sometimes. My job title is a speech pathologist, but my job is to help your child be as successful as possible inside and outside the speech room. I remind myself daily how important my job is before I walk into these school doors. You talk to me as if I am trying to decrease services "just because I want to". You told me I am not doing what is in the best interest for your child. Instead of yelling at me, I gladly would have listened to your input and concerns. I am very open to what you have to say. You brought your threats to the meeting about a lawyer and yes you scared me. Did you realize that? I may have continued to act professionally in that moment because thats the kind of person I am; but as a person who makes significantly less money than you, I was scared. You told me I don't care about your child and questioned my intentions all while I was sitting in a meeting after school hours (hours that I am not paid for) listening to you criticize my skills as a speech pathologist. Skills that I acquired after 6 years of college-a bachelors degree, a minor in psychology and a masters degree.  Skills that I continue to pay for through student loans and yearly continuing education hours. Skills that I have acquired through experience. This is what I want you to take away from this letter, parent.

I am a speech pathologist. I am a person, a wife and now have a child of my own. I LOVE my job. I love my job so much that I get to school early in the morning. Yes I am one of the first people through these doors every morning. Many times it is to prepare for the upcoming speech sessions that day. Your child was the most difficult child I have ever encountered in my speech career, but that made me want to work even harder. I have researched behavioral techniques. I have bought special materials to help your child accomplish the goals we have set this year and took time out of my day at home to even make materials specifically for your child.  I love my job so much that I will drop my child off at child care this next school year. Yes I will drop my child off at child care in order to come help children like yours here at school. Do you realize that I do that? Do you realize that I was so eager to help your child succeed that I used to lie awake at night trying to think of a new way to tackle a goal in order for your child to succeed? There are minutes on IEP paperwork and I saw your child for those minutes every single week. I am so dedicated to your child and all my students that I made up sessions even though I didn't have to. I spent countless more minutes talking to teachers, administrators, making activities, buying activities and setting up a successful environment for your child. I sent home homework and activities over break for you to work on with your child.  I spend a lot of my own money each year to provide the newest of materials for your child and the rest of the students on my caseload. I worked extra jobs so I could do that which was more time away from my family.

At the end of the school year, your child who was moving on to  a new school gave me a HUGE hug, a kiss on the cheek and said "bye minor". This brought me to tears because when I first met your child, there was no production of the sound /b/. Your child went from throwing tantrums because your child had no other way to communicate to three years later being able to tell me "bye minor" using words.  So, when you told me that i don't care about your child. It struck my heart. Please know this parent. I do know your child. Unlike you, your child knows my heart. I would only recommend for your child what I would recommend for my own. A lot of my recommendations came from hours of contemplation over your child's best interest for the remainder of this school year and the for the transition to a new school. I gave up a lot to be able to help your child every day and I make that choice everyday and will continue to make that choice when the new school year begins next year for my new students that I will receive. I love all my students. I love your child. Please keep these things in mind when you want to yell at someone who works with your child.

Love,
Mrs. Minor

Guest Post! Ways to Spice Up Any Word Therapy! by Allison's Speech Peeps!

Hi there! It's Nicole over at Allison's Speech Peeps today.

I am sooo excited to be guest-posting on Major Speech Pathology Fun with a Side of Gluten Free today! This has always been one of my favorite blogs so I'm honored that Amy's letting me spend a little bit of time with you today. 

Today I'm going to talk to you about some fun ways to spice up word therapy. In my mind, "word therapy" can mean anything from practicing articulation words to consonant-vowel-consonant words to synonyms/antonyms. All you need are some flashcards with words on them. My groups were working on learning sight words this week so that is what I used. 

1. Hide and Seek. 

What child doesn't love the fun game of hide and seek? Even if you have a tiny therapy room, it's nice for the kids to get up once in a while and move around. Simply "hide" target words around your room and ask students to find them. For specific words, I always clarify the word I want them to find. For example, when working on rhyming, my students must find the word that rhymes with "book." If they come across a different word, they must leave it there (shhhh....don't tell anyone!) and remember it for later. 

Can you find my sight words?

2. Light it up!

Grab a small flashlight and display cards with words on the table. Turn down the lights and have students say the words that are in the spotlight. My kiddos love this, especially when practicing articulation words!

3. Jump Around!

Use rings or even duct-tape and place words inside on the floor. Call out words and have each student jump into the ring with the word. This is a super easy way to assess whether they know the words. The kids also love it!

Therapy can become hard to make fun during this time of the year. I hope these ideas gave you some fresh inspiration! Thanks so much for letting me have some time with you!

Nicole

Allison Speech Peeps

Social Skill Products that I fell in LOVE with!

Hi friends!!! I recently got contacted by a sweet lady from Social Thinking® with the opportunity to review some of the products created by Michelle Garcia Winner. I was honored. I had recently heard so much about her and the advancements she has made within the social skills community, so I snatched this opportunity up in a heart beat. Since I was at the secondary level this year (junior high), I requested two items that could specifically target the age group that I provide services for. There are many products to choose from on the Social Thinking® website and they all seemed great!

The two products  I had the chance to use in my classroom and review are: 

Should I or Shouldn't I? 

and Social Fortune, Social Fate. 

Both products were very appealing to the eye when I first received them and the products appeared age appropriate. I often find it difficult to find age appropriate items for my junior high caseload. 

First I will talk about Should I or Shouldn't I?  It is a set of multiple card decks full of age appropriate scenarios for the middle school/high school population. You can see some examples from the pictures below that appear on the website. There are prompt and challenge cards with situation scenarios. There are also number cards. There are many ways you could use the stimulus cards. The way I found the game best utilized in my classroom was to have a student draw a card and answer the question. The other students in the group would then rate the students answer according to the rating scale that each of them were provided with (this comes with the game as well). I then had my students write down WHY they gave the rating that they did. It was really interesting to see WHY and it really ended up in some really beneficial discussion following each stimulus card. We found out that some people take certain words/answer differently and it increased my students social knowledge/awareness even after a few sessions using these cards. 

 

(Pictures from the Social Thinking® website)

Next, I will talk about Social Fortune, Social Fate. The concepts in this book were spot on and there was one child that has been a challenge for me this school year and when I introduced the concepts of this book, it truly was the "aha moment" he needed. This book is made up of various comics or anime stories that target various social scenarios that could occur for an older student.

 

(Pictures from the Social Thinking® website)

The anime alone was a hit with my students. There is a social fate and social fortune ending to each comic depending on which way you have the book facing. (See above) I first introduced the concept of social fortune, social fate by explaining how words can determine how someone else reacts. We have some control over how a situation plays out based on the words we choose and how we choose to proceed with the conversation. Many of my students needed to learn that "just because we think it and we think its good to be honest, doesn't mean its the RIGHT thing to say". I think it was another eye opening for my students to learn that social situations are everywhere! Everywhere! I had one student tell me "its like we live in a social world!!". I wanted to say "well DUH!!!!" I was SO very glad he picked up on that by himself though. With my students with social goals, it doesn't matter how many times YOU tell them, it matters when the student has THEIR aha moment and it makes sense in THEIR head. To be completely honest, some of my eighth graders thought the graphics were a little "young", but I still was able to incorporate the concepts of the book into social scenario discussions about situations that were occurring in their everyday lives. 

I highly, highly recommend these products. I don't just say that about all social products. I find it is rare to find products that target social skills that are appropriate and adaptable to fit each of my students and these two did just that! I hope you enjoyed this review as much as I enjoyed using the items in therapy. I think one of the cool things about these products too are the reasonable prices. These items are both under 25 dollars and the quality of the product for that price was impressive! 

I encourage each of you to go look at the Social Thinking® website and see if there is a product that would be beneficial for your caseload.

Four ways I use index cards in my speech classroom!

Today I am talking about how I use index cards in my speech room! I love index cards for so many reason and I am sure I use them in more than four ways, but I will only talk about four today.

1. The first way I use index cards is for stimuli. They are such an easy way to create stimulus cards specific for a student in ten minutes or less. For example, if I have a student working on subject verb agreement and I know we aren't going to have a lot of time, I will quickly jot down some verbs and some nouns on note cards. Then during the session, the student will choose a card from each pile and create a sentence using proper grammar structures. See! Quick!

2. The second way I use them is on the administrative side. Whenever I get a new referral or information about a student, I create a note card on the student. I use this as my "tracking system" for what I have completed during the process. If there is any important information on the student that I have received verbally, I write it down on my personal note card as well. I attach the note card to the file folder with all of the important paperwork I receive and I constantly have a running reminder of where I am in the referral process. So for example, I might have received only a goal sheet from the IEP holder for a move in student. I pull out a note card and put his name on it and put the paperwork in the attached folder. The teacher also states his grandma just died and so he is living with his uncle. I write that down on the note card so I remember this very important emotional situation for the student. This student "happens" to need new testing, so when I am done getting consent and done testing the student. I write on the note card: received consent, testing completed:qualified or did not qualify. When all of my referral process is completed (using many more steps than what I just vaguely listed) then all I do is shred the note card! 

3. I work with secondary students, so I have them write a lot of their answers down instead of say them verbally. I like this aspect because I can have the whole group create a sentence independently and then we review their sentences when everyone is finished or I can have them easily switch note cards and have the students critique each other's answers. I like this method of integrating written language into my session and it uses significantly less paper because we can fit 5-6 sentences per note card. 

4. The final way I use note cards in my session are to communicate to my speech students during a group. For example, if my fake student Jimmy is not paying attention and my other student is thinking about an answer to a question, I will quickly jot down on a note card "Jimmy, you need to pay attention to her answer please". This does 2 things. 1) it lets the student know I am observing a behavior that I don't necessarily like in my speech room. 2) It allows me to tell the student without disrupting the entire group. 

I hope you have learned some new techniques to using note cards in your speech room! I buy them in bulk at Staples at the beginning on the school year during their big teacher sale!

Thanks for listening! I am going to link up to Speech Time Fun's linky- so be sure to head over to her blog to learn how other's use index cards in their speech room!

Thank Goodness for.....The SLP Christmas Song

I joined the linky with Teach Speech 365! 

The SLP Christmas Song

by Amy Minor

Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor GIrl

On the first day of Christmas my students gave to me
A smile when they came in the room.

On the second day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Two Idioms
and a Smile When They Came in the Room!!!!!!!

On the third day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the fourth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the fifth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Five Minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the sixth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the seventh day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Seven Fluent Phrases

Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the eighth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Eight Listening Ears

Seven Fluent Phrases

Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the ninth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Nine Associations

Eight Listening Ears

Seven Fluent Phrases

Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the tenth day of Christmas my students gave to me:

Ten Multiple Meanings

Nine Associations

Eight Listening Ears

Seven Fluent Phrases

Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Eleven verbalizations

Ten Multiple Meanings

Nine Associations

Eight Listening Ears

Seven Fluent Phrases

Six Perfect R's

Five minutes of PEACE

Four Synonyms

Three Irregular Verbs

Two Idioms

and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my students gave to me:
Twelve Reasons I Love My Job
Eleven Verbalizations
Ten Multiple Meanings
Nine Associations
Eight Listening Ears
Seven Fluent Phrases
Six Perfect R's
Five minutes of PEACE
Four Synonyms
Three Irregular Verbs
Two Idioms
and a Smile When They Walk in the Room!!!!!!

Happy Holidays from.......

Thank Goodness for......Edublog 2013 Nominations!

This is my first year doing nominations! 

Best individual blog: Playing With Words 365. Katie always has some of the best informational blog posts that I have ever read! 

Best group blog: Speechie Freebies This blog is full of freebies by practicing SLPs and you can't beat that kind of background for posts!

Best student blog: Speechy Musings. Shannon has some awesome new resources with a student clinician background and I wish I was that ahead of the game in grad school!

Most influential blog post: If only I had Super Powers post! This post hit me so much. You can feel CC's love for her students in this post. We SLP's really do have a connection to our students and this blog post tells that story (very well). 

Best ed tech/resource sharing blog: PrAACtical AAC There is so much information on this blog

Best twitter hashtag #SLPeeps, the professional group of Speech-Language Pathologists shares such great information for professional issues.

Good Luck Bloggy Friends!

Thirty things I am thankful for!

The thirty things I am thankful for:

1. God, who provides for me at all times. Whatever religion you may follow, you are welcome here.

2. My husband. Who has been a great friend and companion for 10 years! He is a very hard worker as a oil rig technician and he is also a volunteer fire fighter in his spare time. He is one of the many heroes in my life.

3. My family. They have encouraged me to be the best I can be from a young age! My parents are two people that are my best friends and support me in every way.

4. My job(s). I am thankful I get to wake everyday and love what I do whether I am working in the schools, acute care or inpatient rehab! My job has been so much a part of my identity the last few years that when I had to start making decisions about leaving different places in order to prepare for the birth of my son, it was like I was loosing a piece of me.

5. My iPhone/iPad. A weird thing to be thankful for, but I keep everything in my phone/ipad and it helps to keep my life very organized!

6. Food. I am thankful there are so many recipes out there that I can still love to cook and eat despite a gluten intolerence.

7. Fall clothing accessories. I love scarves, sweaters, boots, leggings and beanies!

8. My co-workers/SLP friends. I am a much better SLP because they support me and increase my knowledge every single day.

9. Ugg boots. Yup I said it. I am very thankful for my Ugg Boots! I LOVE LOVE THEM!

10. My laminator. I am very thankful for my laminator because I am able to keep the wonderful things that people make and sell last a long time!

11. TPT. I am thankful there is an avenue that allows us to be creative and generate a small side income based on what we already make for our classrooms.

12. My blog/My blog facebook page. It has allowed me to reach out to people and share my insights into this wonderful field of speech pathology. I never would have dreamed that my blog would be as big as it is. I love meeting all of you and gaining new perspectives on the field.

13. Water. I drink so much water that I am really glad we have a well. You will never find me without water.

14. Marathons. A weird thing to be thankful for, but I am thankful I had the opportunity to run a marathon at least once in my life. It taught me work ethic and stamina in a way that nothing else in my life has. It was one of the ahrdest things athletically I have ever done and completed.

15. My animals. Jordan (my cat) and Ellie (my dog). They are the most precious beings and they keep me company when my husband is gone and truly love me unconditionally.
16. Clowns. I collect them and have over 200 of them. I think I am most thankful for the memories and thoughts behind each one.

17. My students. They have taught me so much about overcoming obstacles, goals and the ability to find success in the little things in life.

18. My SLP blogger friends. This blogging adventure started as an outlet to share ideas with my friends at school. It slowly grew to a close knit group of friends that I have never met that are encouraging, helpful and genuinely as passionate about their careers as I am. I love you all and I can't wait until we can all meet someday!

19. Cards. I love receiving cards in the mail. I love the hand written note that usually comes along with it. I lost my sister in law a couple years ago and she wrote cards for every occasion. Since I have kept pretty much every card I have ever received, I have her words safely in those cards for the rest of time.

20. Shark Tank. Have you guys ever seen that show? I LOVE IT! I have learned so much about being an entrprenuer, marketing and business strategy. My dad is very savvy in all these areas, so it has peaked my interest before, but this show has really highlighted my curiousity for this area.

21. Blankets. My husband's family joked that the first couple times they met me, I was wrapped in a blanket. Very true. If I am home, sitting on the couch, I am wrapped in a blanket (usually a giraffe print one that my best friend gave me for a wedding gift 4 years go =)).

22. The beach. Although I don't live anywhere near a beach anymore, I love to visit. I love the peacefullness and the repetitiveness of the waves. I love the sun and sand between my toes.

23. The rain. I am one of those weird people that get rejuvinated by the rain. I love cold fronts and movie days and dark rain clouds. (although I could do without the severe storms for a while).

24. My expedition. One month after I bought my expedition I got in a horrible car crash when somebody hit me on the interstate. It saved my life. It also safely brings me to everywhere I need to be. It will hold my husband and baby, when he arrives in February, and all our wonderful belongings.

25. The corny holiday songs and movies. I love Christmas songs and holiday movies. Hocus Pocus on Halloween. All of the Charlie Brown specials. Toy Story Story of Terror on Halloween. The Hallmark channel with all the thanksgiving and christmas movies. Yup me=addicted.

26. Quiznos Subs! Ok I know I have a gluten intolerence, but when I cheat it is at this restaurant. My favorite meal is the classic club with bacon, cheddar cheese and lettuce and that yummy seasoning they put on! I also like the raspberry lemonade and plain sun chips to go along with it! I don't cheat very often, but when I do it is here!

27. Tennis. Although I don't play much anymore at all, tennis taught me a lot. I started playing tennis when I was 10 years old. (a late start for tennis players). It taught me work ethic, success, leadership skills when I was team captain, passion, failure, how to overcome obstacles, teamwork, mental stamina, physical fitness and control. I played tennis on scholarship to a D1 university and prevented my parents/myself from paying college tuition for my undergrad degree and minor. Tennis has brought me all over the United States to tournaments and I have met so many people that have had an impact on my life through tennis.

28. This comes from #27. I am thankful for my minor in psychology. It has helped me be a better SLP. I have recalled various things I have learned in behavioral psychology, social psychology and abnormal psychology. I never knew how much the two intertwined until I started practicing speech pathology.

29. Cheese. Yes Cheese. I like string cheese, block cheese, different types of cheese, shredded cheese, velveeta cheese, cubed cheese, parmesian cheese, sliced cheese etc.

30. To be me! I am happy with myself. I am a positive person that loves to bring joy to others. I love to help people and do better for the people around me. I love to give compliments and smile. I am not the best speech pathologist in the world. I don't work at the biggest hospital in NYC. I am not the top seller on TPT. But I am good at what I do and I have helped a lot of people. I feel I have a good balance between work and my personal life. I know I am appreciated by people around me. On my annual review at one of my hospitals, I was ranked highest in the category "fullness for life" of all my co-workers. THAT is my kind of success. THAT is how I want people to know me as. THAT is how I make my impact everyday. I cannot wait to share my "fullness for life" with my son who I am already thankful for!

3 new products I've been waiting to premier!

I have been using these items this year to address my higher level students that are so very close to being dismissed. 

The first item I wanted to address articulation carryover since a lot of my students with articulation goals are on their way out of speech therapy at the junior high level. I am all about accountability in my speech room and this packet makes the student accountable for their progress with carryover and their ultimate goal of dismissal from speech.

Here are a few of the pictures from the Carryover Currency! My junior high students love earning "money". I have used the money included in this activity as well as the lakeshore money I bought from Lakeshore last year. Either way they love seeing a "financial gain" to their progress. I always tell them it is like the real world. The more you love what you do, the money will come. The harder you work, the money will come. 

This item is in mostly black and white for easy printing and use. You can download the preview and see the entire product prior to purchasing. You can purchase the item here!

The next item I am premiering tonight is a language activity that targets higher level vocabulary for secondary students. This was also designed for my higher level language students that are getting ready to be dismissed. I really wanted to do something extra challenging and they were stumped at first, but are getting quicker each time we complete the activity! See the pics before for examples of what this item entails. You can also download the preview on the TPT page to see the entire product prior to purchasing. 

You can download the preview and purchase the item here! 

The last item I am premiering tonight is a freebie that has already been downloaded by others today =) This item was featured to help some of my students with social goals realize that facial expressions are not the only way to communicate non-verbally. This activity was meant to show that a game of charades is communicating and it narrows it down to acting out emotions/feelings. I felt it was a good transition from something fun to something more serious and transitional into a real life scenario. 

You can grab the freebie here! 

Thanks for reading about my new activities!

Thank Goodness for.....5 strategies to keep my secondary students engaged!

I have found that over time I have become quite good at reading my students and finding what makes them tick. I like being able to have them enjoy speech when it isn't the "cool" thing to do in junior high.

1. The most important part that I have found is to find a way to keep them motivated. This can be hard with secondary students. I use my Speech and Student Information Packet to see what their interests are early on in the year. In this packet, I also try to see what THEY want to work on or what THEY feel they need from my their speech therapy sessions. This allows them to start establishing some accountability for their speech sessions. This is a biggie for me. I need them to invest themselves into what I am trying to do for them otherwise at this age, it just isn't going to do much good.

2. I don't go get my students the minute they don't show up to speech. I feel this gives them some independence. They are in charge of coming to speech on time, reminding their teacher and keeping up with homework when given. I am trying to help organize them and prepare them for real life. Yes I believe it starts in junior high. I also feel this gives them the freedom to choose whether staying in class or coming to speech is going to benefit them more. All they have to do is come to me and tell me "Mrs. Minor I have a study session for our test tomorrow I am going to stay in class". That will always be ok with me. If I feel like it is becoming an excuse, I follow up with the teacher. For the most part, my students respect that I let them choose about what is important to them and I feel they invest in my sessions when they do come because they are CHOOSING to be there.

3.  I incorporate technology into my sessions as much as possible with my secondary students. This is their future and any times this is what they utilize for fun, in class and what they will use in their work place. So why not start having them becoming familiar with the iPad and/or computer in therapy too. I have many interactive items this year in my TPT store. You can also read about how I incorporate my iPad into my speech sessions with this item. I gave a presentation to the SLP's in my district using this presentation. It is also available in my store to be purchased as a professional development presentation for your district.

4. I also keep my secondary students engaged by incorporating games into my session. You can read some of my previous posts on games to see how I use games in my speech room in a very different way then they are supposed to be used.

5.  Give the students choices. I am ALL about choices in my speech. You can choose to come or choose not to come on your own. If you don't come on your own after 1 session, i will come get you out of class. Students DO NOT like to be taken out of class at my junior high, so many of them CHOOSE to come on their own. I use this to keep them honest in my speech room. I'll say "hey you chose to come today you are going to work". I give them two choices of activities/tasks that we can do that day. Sometimes we have time for both, other times we don't. When they have the power to choose, they are more invested.

These are some tips for those that ask how I handle junior high students all the time. I love this population of students and I find that if you give them respect they will respect you. I really like how this population of students is starting to gain personalities and independence and I like to enhance that in my speech room as much as possible!!

Word Feast Figurative Language Middle School by Linguisystems

I purchased an awesome product from Linguisystems. FINALLY there is something out there that is higher level and made for secondary students. We NEED more items like this! If any large companies are out there--here our plea!

Here is what the product looks like:

Here are all the lessons that are available. There are 16 total and there is an answer key available.

When you open the first page to the lesson, you see the "new expressions" that are to be targeted during the lesson. there are questions to ask to check for prior knowledge and to get their brains thinking on the topic. Then the last portion states the materials that are included in the lesson.

Next there is a short passage that includes all of the "expressions" targeted during this lesson. I like that I was able to read the passage and emphasize the bolded phrases. It also gave them a chance to hear the phrase used in context where context clues could be used later to help them with the activities.

Up next is a functional exercise that is included in the lesson. In the functional steps it also continues to include the bolded phrases/expressions that are being targeted for the lesson, so students can begin to realize that these are not just phrases we need to learn just because someone said so. They are phrases that are utilized in the real world (and often!)

Up Next is a definitions page of all the phrases/expressions targeted during the lesson. This was nice to have. I made note cards out of these definitions and then had each student use each phrase in a sentence to check for knowledge acquisition.

The next part is making associations with the phrases. This is also a nice functional task to incorporate into the learning sequence. The students were required to associate the phrase with a real life situation.

 Next I made copies of this page to hand out to my students. This page required the students to finish the thought. It really was nice because this was their first chance to take a stab individually at using these phrases, but also still having some guidance and context clues.

 I think I liked this part best! This tested the students ability to be able to apply their knowledge. The questions made the students choose a word/phrase that had a similar meaning or an opposite meaning. Meta-linguistics at its best right here! 

The last portion of the lesson, I didn't happen to snap a picture of quite yet. It is called "in your own words". This activity had the student state verbally answers to questions and then asked them why or why not. I liked the verbal expression component and we had a lot of great discussions from this portion of the lesson!

Overall this product was well worth the money! It was a lesson that could just be implemented. I used it over the course of a week with my social groups. I basically went through the lesson step by step and it really helped them learn, utilize and discuss all the new expressions. This would also work well as homework! 

I hope you enjoyed this review and get your copy of this item here! There is also an elementary version here! I would like to purchase that version for my junior high students that aren't ready for this level of figurative language. 

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