Therapy Activities

Students with language processing goals at Prairieview and Lakeview continue to practice applying comprehension strategies that have been introduced this month during therapy sessions. Third grade learners began listening lab activities on the computer to practice visualizing and following directions. They listened to instructions and drew pictures of what was described. Other students are reviewing grammar concepts and forming appropriate sentences with target sentence structtures. Fourth and fifth graders continue to utilize vocabulary strategies to infer meanings of unfamiliar words in reading passages. They use context cues to think of synonyms, apply the cloze (fill in the blank) strategy, analyze root words, and define new vocabulary.

Seventh graders at Lakeview were introduced to "Fix It" strategies to use when they do not comprehend what they are reading. They read an allegory related to the American Revolution and discussed the underlying meaning of the poem. These students continue to work on written language skills as they answer essay questions about the reading selection.

Finally, Mrs. DeYoung's articulation groups have reviewed story-telling skills and have been reading aloud from picture books to practice reading with expression and clear speech.

Strategic Learning

This week Prairieview speech/language students tried some different strategies for listening, reading, and comprehending. Third graders were introduced to visualization thru "picture stories." They listened to a short narrative read aloud to them and then helped Mrs. DeYoung to construct illustrations of the story. Students had to focus on descriptive details such as spatial words and size concepts to form accurate pictures and be able to draw conclusions. (This required some of the children to learn new vocabulary concepts.) Students were able to summarize the narrative, make predictions, and answer comprehension questions using this strategy. Next week they will continue to use the "picture story" strategy more independently.

Fourth and fifth grade students are reviewing ways to infer meaning of unfamiliar words while reading. They used context clues to understand vocabulary with multiple definitions and identified root words, prefixes, and suffixes to decifer unknown words. Students were also able to use their background knowledge of the topic to infer meaning. While Mrs. DeYoung focused on vocabulary comprehension, the children also were given practice in writing definitions in their own words. For future sessions, students will be encoouraged to explain meanings and to use new words appropriately.

Enjoy Spring Break!

Spring break is a great time to have fun and review speech and language skills. For links to online speech and language activities, go to Mrs. DeYoung's webpage (accessed thru the Prairieview homepage) or try these websites:

Listening activities: www.elllo.org/english/Games.htm

Whacky Web Tales (similar to Madlibs): www.eduplace.com/tales/

Games for vocabulary and grammar skills: www.quia.com/pages/havefun.html

More Strategies

Now that most students have completed the ISAT tests, Mrs. DeYoung has returned to teaching comprehension strategies to improve reading, listening, and thinking. Third grade students are reviewing summarizing and questioning. The fourth grade language group practiced using context cues to comprehend unfamiliar words. Fifth graders are completing listening labs on the computer to develop the ability to recall information and answer comprehension questions. Many of these students have recognized their need to have information repeated and to ask for clarification. Finally, students at Lakeview have been introduced to the INSERT strategy.

The INSERT strategy helps students to monitor their thinking as they read. Students use the following symbols to code the text:

check mark Author confirms what you already knew- "I knew that!"

- Contradicts what you thought- " I thought differently."

? Confuses you- "I don't understand this!"

+ New Information- "I didn't know that!"

Students can write the symbols in the margin of the reading passage (in pencil if it is a text book) or use the symbols while taking notes. This strategy will also help to prepare for class discussions and to check their own understanding of curricular content.

March 3-6

Conferences:
Parent teacher conferences will be next week, March 9-12. Conference notes have been sent to parents of students whose annual reviews for speech are due this trimester. If you did not receive an invitation for a conference and would like to meet with Mrs. DeYoung, please contact her by telephone (630)783-5157, or email mdeyoung@ccsd66.org

ISAT Testing
This week students at Prairieview and Lakeview are taking the ISATs. Mrs. DeYoung will not meet with students if they are testing at their regularly scheduled time for therapy.

Thinking and Problem Solving

Solving online puzzles, riddles, and brainteasers are a great way to increase reasoning and problem solving. Discussing the problem and possible solutions boosts your brainpower and expressive language skills. Here are a few of Mrs. DeYoung's favorite brainteaser websites:

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters/

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/braint.htm

http://www.mindbreakers.com/

http://kids.mysterynet.com/

Reading Between the Lines/ Interpreting Text

In preparing for the ISAT assessments, this week language groups focused on interpreting what they read. The students read stories similar to passages on the ISAT and discussed how the author used details to convey meaning. (For example, when a writer describes the character's actions, the reader can interpret how the character is feeling. ) Group members were asked to summarize what the passages said and then explain the significance of the story events or tell why certain facts in a nonfiction article are important. Students with comprehension deficits often have difficulty making inferences in order to understand the writer's intent. Other children may be able to understand implied meaning, but struggle to put their thoughts into words. This activity provided an opportunity for pupils to develop critical thinking and then to express their conclusions.

Parents can help their children improve these skills by discussing reading selections with them and focusing on the inferences. Encourage your child to "read between the lines" to discover what the author is trying to communicate. Discussion questions may include:

• What does the author mean?
• What does this section tell you about the character?
• Why is this fact important?
• What is the purpose of this story? and most importantly...
• What can you learn from this passage?

At the recent American Speech and Hearing Association convention, one speaker told the audience of school speech-language pathologists, " Make the implicit explicit!" It was good advice- not only for those of us who teach students with language disorders, but also for parents who want to help their students comprehend and produce meaningful language.