Express Yourself!

Increasing Conversational Skills

Hi,

I just finished working on a project which I am offering at my TpT store.  I've been thinking about various ways to improve my students' conversational skills, so I developed this activity/game, that will help them to do just that.

With this activity you can incorporate a few of the speaking and listening common core standards.

Common Core Standards Addressed:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1b
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1c
Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, 

• and link their comments to the remarks of others.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1d
Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

How to use this activity:

Recommended for a small group, 2-4 students.

Establish rules for having a conversation (included in packet)

Cut out and laminate cards.  Sort cards into categories (personal/school questions, entertainment questions, food questions, random questions)

Teacher/SLP chooses a category and chooses a student who will answer a question from that specific pile.(personal/school questions, entertainment questions...)  Other student(s) should write questions or comments and ask the question or make the comment written.  Students may use terms provided in this packet that is included  (on iPods).  It can be taped on the working table or wall as a visual cue.

Another student answers a question from one of the categories and the same procedure is followed.  

There are ten questions for each category.

Student Self-Evaluation (My Conversation Inventory) and a Teacher/SLP rubric are included.

Students are provided with phrases to generate comments

CLICK HERE for product

I hope you find it useful!

Beverly

You Don't Want To Miss This...

A Giveaway!  Win Up To 100 Products

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Get on over to, Teaching and Tapas, to enter to win some amazing teacher made products.  The giveaway is broken down by grade level, so enter to win.

 

 

Click Here to enter

Good Luck!

Beverly



Celebrating the Weekend

Celebrating the Weekend!

Hi!

I wanted to celebrate this weekend by offering you a freebie until Sunday.  Click on the link for this activity. 

This activity is perfect for small group or literacy centers.  Improve your students' comprehension and understanding of literary terms.  Make predictions, describe characters, setting, and plot with the fun games in this packet.  Practice by having fun!

Click here for the link.

Enjoy!

Beverly

Fun, interaction, connection and conversation during Family Game Night!  Family game night is such a fun way to positively interact with your children at any age.  Lately, I've been designating Friday or Saturday night to have a little fun with my kiddos, a special day to play games, laugh and relax.  Since my children are getting older and not younger, I want to continue creating a bond and learn more about them and consequently family game night has helped me with this particular mission.

In fact, research indicates that family interaction promotes better grades in school and healthier relationships.  Creating a bond with your children is very important for their development, academically and socially.

 There are such benefits to playing games:

*Games encourage conversation
*Games encourage turn-taking skills
*Games encourage learn to be a good sport
*Games encourage following instructions
*Games encourage sharing
*Games encourage practicing skills already taught
*Games encourage questioning, organization and logical skills

Obviously, the perks of playing a game are many, but the best advantage of all is the quality time you get to spend with your children.  Moreover, for teachers, the benefits  of playing games in the classroom are the skills  and confidence your students gain.  Imagine all the concepts you can review during this time.

There is a game in particular which I love and want to share with you, since I'm all about sharing.  It was introduced to me by one of the counselors where I work.  I used it with my students and I was really happy with how they responded.  Particularly the upper middle school students and high school students.  Using the game below, my students were able to answer questions, discuss their goals and have a very enlightening conversation with me.  I was elated since my goals for each of them was to improve conversational skills.

This game helped my students by encouraging conversation.
I'll be using it soon with my own children during Family Game Night!

Make sure to 'game' with your children or students.  It's interactive, fun, and an engaging way to get to know your kiddos better.

Have fun learning!

All the best to you,

Beverly       :)

Sharing is Caring

Spin and Predict Freebie

Hi!

I added this as a freebie to my TpT store!  Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  I hope that your day is truly filled with love and care.  Download this as my Valentine's day gift to all of you.  

Here is the link:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spin-and-Predict

TpT Freebie!  Happy Valentine's Day

Enjoy!

Beverly

Love at First Website!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to share some fun websites that I've 'fallen in love' with and frequently use.  What I'll do is break it up into a few categories and provide you with a link to the internet resource!  :)

Animals/Pets

http://animal.discovery.com/pets

Careers/Jobs

http://kids.usa.gov/jobs/index.shtml

(kid friendly website featuring videos and vignettes or descriptions of various jobs)

Listening and Environmental Sounds

http://www.findsounds.com/types.html (hear and download common/familiar sounds, all sounds are categorized)

http://www.manythings.org/ac/ (audio concentration games)

http://www2.cambridge.org/interchangearcade/sortbytype.do?level=0&type=Cup_word_up  

(activities to practice either vocabulary or grammar in a unit)

http://pbskids.org/lions/games/ears.html (listening for beginning sounds in words)

This is my ultimate favorite!  

I collect data as a service provider and since I like to learn visually, looking at my stats in charts and graphs makes it easier to write reports and explain progress to parents.  I use this website frequently and it is one that I've truly 'fallen in love' with, plus it's free-even better!

http://www.onlinecharttool.com 

Here is one of the graphs I've created with the online chart tool:

Tracking mean length of utterance was efficient and professional

It was 'love at firs sight or website' for me.  I hope you can also begin falling in love with these tools.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Regards,

Graphics by: My Cute Graphics

Beverly        

First Step to Learning New Vocabulary in Chapter Books

I enjoy using chapter books with my older students.   Before we read a chapter,  I look for vocabulary and assess whether the students recognize the meaning of the word.  What is even better, is that the students do most of the work by evaluating whether they recognize the terms for themselves.  I offer the students what I call a Vocab-O-Meter. The students make a judgement on whether they know the meaning of a word, have a basic understanding of a word, or do not have a sense of the meaning of the word.  A rating scale from 0-4 is used.   

Students evaluate their own understanding

Once I collect the Vocab-O-Meter, I use it as a first step to create my lessons on specific terms and teach the words before reading the chapters.  I like to take 1-3 chapters at most and then pull out words from those chapters that may be unfamiliar to my students.  Once the students determine the understanding of the words, I analyze their responses and then choose a model/approach to teach the words in context and/or isolation.  I have really enjoyed using this tool and if you will like to use it, I have it available for free at my TpT store.  

Here is the link if you will like to grab it:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Vocab-O-Meter

Hope it is useful for you and your students!

Beverly

Hi Everyone,

Go to  this link and enter for your chance to win this awesome give away!  There is only 1 day left, so hurry!

http://thetravelingclassroom.blogspot.com/2013/01/77-amazing-teachers-1-big-giveaway-alot.html

Don't miss out on this opportunity!     :)

Beverly