Halloween Happenings

This week speech and language students enjoyed reading Halloween Mad Libs stories to practice oral reading while monitoring their speech production. Many of Mrs. DeYoung's students played holiday Bingo; forming sentences and definitions for Halloween words. Students in the self-contained class made potions and performed experiments to predict if various substances would sink or float and dissolve in water. They learned to form a hypothesis and collect data. Some students drew pictures of friendly monsters and then gave directions to their peers so that they would draw an identical creature. The children had to describe their illustrations and listen carefully to come up with drawings that looked alike. Students at the Jr. High used detailed descriptions and asked clarifying questions to produce similar drawings. Other seventh and eighth graders continued reading and writing activities that were begun last week. They have worked on inferential reasoning, practiced readers' theater, and written rough drafts of their book reviews.

Spotlight on Speech Groups

This week some of Mrs. DeYoung's third grade students have begun learning about methods of inquiry in Science. Mrs. DeYoung reviewed the five senses and had the children describe an apple using lots of descriptive adjectives. They were able to observe, describe, classify, and compare the apple with other foods, using their senses. The group completed a graphic organizer about the apple and a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast apples and apple juice. Students engaged in several language tasks while learning methods of inquiry! Next week they will write a paragraph about apples.
Other third grade students used computer games to identify categories and practice /r/ sounds, while fifth graders completed vocabulary activities that correspond to last week's reading passage. Jr. High students listened to a short story online and answered comprehension questions to develop auditory processing . A different group read a short narrative and used the "Think Aloud" strategy to improve inference skills. Eighth grade students are preparing a book review to be published online.
It has been an exciting and productive week.

Another great website for teachers and students

www.literacymatters.org is a website for students, teachers, and parents that provides information on adolescent literature, content literacy, and technology, as well as student activities and lesson plans. The following article on Listening describes one of several strategies that the site features. There are also several links to other online resources.

Listening
Improving students' ability to listen is a good first step for cultivating strong study strategies. The resources below help students tune in and reduce distractions while listening in class. These techniques encourage students to become active listeners by having them evaluate what they hear and interact with the speaker.

TQLR Listening ProcessTQLR (Tune in, Question, Listen, Review) can help students improve their listening skills—whether they are listening to a lecture, story, or conversation. The four steps of TQLR are:

1. Tune in: Have students prepare by tuning their mind to what they are about to hear.
2.Question: Ask students to formulate questions on what to listen for. "Who, what, when, and where" are good questions to start with.
3. Listen: Encourage students to think while they listen.
4.Review: Have students review what they heard, answer questions, and consider areas that were not clear.

Below we have provided recommended resources that describe listening strategies.

Sites That Matter
The TQLR Process This web site provides a summary of the TQLR process with a list of the characteristics of effective and ineffective listening. www.byu.edu/ccc/learning/listen.shtml
Reading Aloud to Students This is a guide for reading aloud to students, including a description of the TQLR process. literacyleaders.com/Early_Literacy/Reading_Aloud/body_reading_aloud.html
ListeningThis web site provides resources such as a listening guide, an assessment of listening skills, and sample notes taken while listening. www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela102030/teach3.html
Strategies for discussion in the classroom This web site provides interactive activities for students to practice their listening skills. members.aol.com/ReadShop/640discuss.html
Paying attention in the classroom Although developed for college students, this web site provides basic advice for strengthening concentration skills that can be applied at the middle school level. studygs.net/classr.htm

Happy Halloween

Find Halloween games, puzzles, word searches, story starters, and more at www.squiglysplayhouse.com/Games/Holidays/Halloween.html

We will be using some of these fun activities and scary stories to reinforce speech and language skills during the rest of October.

Speech/Language Therapy is More Than Just Talk

This week fifth and sixth grade language groups have focused on reading and explaining main ideas from a paragraph or selected passage. Sometimes the main idea may be stated right in the selection, or it may be implied. Students have practiced inferring the main idea, identifying supporting details, and then writing it in their own words. The Lakeview students were challenged to interpret the significance of the details and make further inferences. The children are using all of their language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking.

Other Lakeview students participated in cooperative activities to practice speech skills. Sharing a map of the Chicago lakefront, they gave and followed complex directions.

Third and fourth grade social communication groups watched a DVD featuring students who use good eye contact and body language to show others when they are interested and want to talk. Effective communication involves more than what we say. Mrs. Westra and Mrs. DeYoung co-teach some groups at Prairieview to help students improve social communication skills.

Students in articulation therapy reviewed how to formulate their target sounds and completed oral motor activities to strengthen the speech muscles. They continued to listen to each other and evaluate their articulation.

All of the students have shown good progress during the month of September.