Super Bowl Sunday Sale!

I'm joining in the huge "Super Sunday Sale" being held by Teacher pay Teachers!  Check out my store on February 3, 2013 for 20% off selected items.

Visit, follow and leave feedback!  Happy Shopping!     :)

Beverly

Building Original Interactive Books

Disclaimer:  These ideas do not take the place of therapeutic or educational services in any manner. These are only my opinions and serve as a resource to parents, teachers or clinicians looking for activities that may support their student or child's treatment. This is my personal blog and this blog or my opinions set in my personal blog do not in any way represent my employer, university or colleges I have attended.  Thank you.

Creating your very own interactive books online has never been easier!  I found a wonderful resource that will help you to do this.  By creating an interactive online book, you will increase  your young learners' comprehension and vocabulary skills.  You can add images, text, audio and clues to your stories.  Register for free!  It's fun, efficient and useful.

You can find this amazing resource at:

http://bookbuilder.cast.org

Have fun learning!

Beverly

Graphic Organizers, Just a Good Idea

Disclaimer:  These ideas do not take the place of therapeutic or educational services in any manner. These are only my opinions and serve as a resource to parents, teachers or clinicians looking for activities that may support their student or child's treatment. This is my personal blog and this blog or my opinions set in my personal blog do not in any way represent my employer, university or colleges I have attended.  Thank you.

Hi Again,

  I thought that I would discuss the topic of using graphic organizers today.  Graphic Organizers supports  students' comprehension of concepts and vocabulary skills.   It is an incredibly useful tool for increasing knowledge base.  Children as well as adults may experience 'leaps with learning' by using this effective, evidence based learning device. 

What is a Graphic Organizer?

Firstly, graphic organizers are visual.  If you think about how you learn, this tool can help you to map out your learning process.  When you are teaching students, graphic organizers helps you to look at the relationships between facts, knowledge and concepts.  It is mostly used with reading instruction, but can be very handy with other core subjects and very effective with teaching vocabulary. There are various types of graphic organizers, and if you like to get creative-you can make your own based on your students' abilities.

How I use Graphic Organizers

Mostly, I use this resource to compare-contrast objects and concepts, and to introduce new vocabulary. I also use it to help a learner with comprehension of a reading passage and to identify cause/effect relationships.  Of course, sometimes I have to modify this material; so what I have done is to present it with less steps, make it colorful or personalize it.  For example, I took pictures of two students and placed their pictures on a Venn Diagram.  A Venn Diagram is used to show similarities and differences between characters or concepts in a story.  To reinforce their learning, I used their picture and made it a little more concrete.  A Venn Diagram is one of many types of graphic/visual organizers or concept maps, as it is also referred to.  Below is an image of a Venn Diagram and other forms of graphic/visual organizers

Venn Diagram:  Differences on each side of a circle, and similarities in the middle


Differences                                      Differences

Similarities

Here is another type of graphic organizer or concept map as it is also referred to, I created this one:




















Graphic Organizer also increase  understanding and use of new vocabulary, take a look at this one:
























Is this tool effective?

There have been ranges of studies that have supported the use of graphic organizers in the classroom.  Research suggests that the most gains are made in the area of vocabulary acquisition/ knowledge.

To sum it all up, I use and create these as part of my plan to increase learning outcomes for my students.  My hope is that you can do your own investigating, use this helpful learning tool and begin to reflect on individualizing it based on each of your student's needs.

For my parents that read this blog, use this website to help your child learn!
www.freeology.com

Teachers and SLP's this website can be very helpful as you plan for your students and clients.

I hope this entry was useful for you all!

Blessings and have fun learning,

Beverly

Hands-on-Activity to Increase Language

Disclaimer:  These ideas do not take the place of therapeutic or educational services in any manner. These are only my opinions and serve as a resource to parents, teachers or clinicians looking for activities that may support their student or child's treatment. This is my personal blog and this blog or my opinions set in my personal blog do not in any way represent my employer, university or colleges I have attended.  Thank you.

Hello Parents,

     Here is an idea that can help your child increase his language skills.  Make a diorama with your child.
   
    Creating a diorama can be a fun, easy learning and bonding experience.  First, think about what your child finds interesting.  For example, I work with a child who loves sea creatures and is very interested in learning about the ocean.  He looks for books that have pictures of starfish and loves to listen to stories that focus on real facts about sea life.  As a result, much of the activities center around expanding his verbal skills using materials, pictures and activities about the ocean because it is what motivates him.  Motivation is very important in the learning process.  Using what motivates him has increased his verbal expression from 1-2 word phrases to 3-4 word sentences.  It has been really great to see him progress.

    One of the tools I've used to increase his language skills is to recreate ocean life in form of a diorama.  I kept it very simple.

All I used was:
a shoebox,
construction paper,
glue sticks,
markers and
pictures of sea creatures and ocean life from the internet.

    It was exciting and so much effort  was made  by the child to communicate his ideas and his genuine love for the ocean.   Also, many concepts other than verbal expression were addressed; such as following directions, comparing/contrasting pictures, and cause/effect relationships.

Here is what was created:

Under the Sea Diorama

Compare and Contrast Dioramas

     If you choose to make a diorama, I hope you have an enriching language, learning and bonding experience with your child.  Please let me know how it works out for you.

Beverly

  

Introductions, Introductions

  Hi there,

My name is Beverly Gonzalez and well, I've decided to enter the virtual world of blogging. This certainly is not as easy as it looks, I have a new found respect for  all"bloggers" out there.  How do you get inspired to write?  Hopefully as my journey begins, I will be able to draw my inspiration from family, friends,  and colleagues. In fact, what has prompted me to blog has been my passion to teach children and adults with varying learning levels and abilities.  I guide and assist people with special needs reach their learning potential and improve their language/communication skills.

I hope to inspire you as well, with some creative ideas you can use in your classroom, during small group sessions or with your own child!  Wish me luck!

Beverly