Month: November 2012

Thoughts and Inspirations

Sweet Treat! Candy Cane WH Questions

Lisa Geary

How about another SWEET TREAT for your therapy room or classroom? Your wish is my command…Candy Cane WH Questions!

This activity addresses auditory processing and comprehension using a fun holiday theme. This
set targets comprehension of simple wh questions, and the formulation of responses. Use these materials to create a matching/memory game where players match the WH questions to the picture responses. Or, use the question cards alone and pair with any game board, scavenger hunt, or learning center activity. Use the picture cards as needed to provide visual prompts for differentiated instruction. Great for peer partner work and small groups; also works perfectly
during whole group activities!

What you get:
PDF file – 8 pages – 27 WH Questions with picture responses for each
*What Question Cards – 9 total
*What Picture Response Cards – 9 total
*Who Question Cards – 9 total
*Who Picture Response Cards – 9 total
*Where Question Cards – 9 total
*Where Picture Response Cards – 9 total

Find this activity and LOTS MORE at my TPT Store.

Thank you for all the wonderful feedback and support!

~Lisa

Articulation, Holiday Theme, Language, Resources, Therapy Tools

Pacing Boards – Festive Freebie!!

Lisa Geary

Do you know about PACING BOARDS? Pacing Boards are a MUST for any therapy room. I usually keep a stash of pacing boards, with varying shapes and colors in different length sets–stored in a pocket chart or hung from a magnetic clip so I can grab them quickly when I need them. They are easily accessed during a therapy session and are useful in almost any therapy activity. My gift to you on this Giving Tuesday is a holiday themed printable containing two pacing boards.  Use these festive pacing boards to give students visual/tactile/kinesthetic input for reducing rate of speech, increasing fluency, sequencing sounds/syllables in multisyllabic words, increasing mean length of utterance, formulating sentences, marking grammatical structures in a sentence, increasing conversational reciprocity and more!! These pacing boards  can be essential tools to increase student independence as they practice skills — perfect for students to use at home, too — just print onto cardstock or durable paper and/or laminate. You can print multiple sets and then cut the boards to include only two or three shapes — perfect for targeting formulation of two and three word utterances. These boards can also be used as game score cards, schedule cards, token reinforcement cards, pattern sets or sorting cards!! Hope you enjoy this freebie, and put it to good use…I’d love to hear how you use this resource, so leave a comment to let me know! Thanks for visiting LiveSpeakLove!

~Lisa

 Holiday Pacing Board Freebie

 

Articulation, Free Downloads, Holiday Theme, Resources

Santa Speech FREEBIE!!

Lisa Geary

Here is a resource I have for you to help put you in the LiveSpeakLove holiday spirit!  Target /s/ in all positions of words with this cute printable activity I created. Santa’s hat contains practice words with /s/ in the initial position of CV and CVCV words. His beard contains /s/ in the initial, medial and final positions of one and two syllable words. This worksheet is perfect for speech therapy homework, practice folders, data collection probes, RTI and more.

Enjoy this freebie from LiveSpeakLove!

~Lisa

Articulation, Holiday Theme, Language, Resources, Therapy Tools

Seasons Greetings and Activities for All!

Lisa Geary

Very excited to be moving into the festive holiday season…ready to decorate the LiveSpeakLove headquarters with my little (and not so little) ones! I love how memories flow as we unpack beloved ornaments, and blend them with new traditions. Wishing you all a wonderful start to your holiday season, and hope that you will enjoy some activities I have for you:

Target word class skills using this colorful holiday theme.  Students will be delighted with this activity  as they label categories, list items in a given category, sort picture vocabulary into categories, highlight critical attributes of given items, explore similarities and differences of related items, describe given picture vocabulary and more! Santa Claus Categories is a defnite must for your therapy room…great for literacy centers, too!
What you get:
18 pages total with text AND visuals for each category and item
Direction Page 12 Category Cards 36 Categorical Objects
Use “Santa Claus Categories” to support students in a variety of receptive and expressive language skills. This set can be used a stand-alone activity, or can be used as a “launchpad” for higher level skills. Simply remove visual choices or require students to provide additional examples to extend or differentiate the tasks.
Help students get in the holiday spirit as they practice later developing sounds in the initial, medial and final positions of words. The colorful
theme-based stimuli cards can be used with limitless activities…many suggestions are included in this resource set.

What you get:
17 pages total (6 target sounds stimulus card sets, duplicated for easy printing to created card pairs)
– Stimulus cards for consonant clusters, /s/, /s/ blends, /r/, /l/, “sh”, “ch” and “j”
– Instruction and idea page
-Cover Page – perfect for student notebooks or RTI packet covers

This activity is the perfect way to target Pragmatic/Social Communication Skills in small, large or whole classroom groups! The holiday “present” theme highlights the unique challenges associated with gift-giving, holiday shopping, seasonal celebrations and more. Discuss social commnunication strategies, themes of friendship, diversity and general safety in public situations with thought-provoking questions that will get students TALKING! Highlights general holiday giving, Christmas, Chanukah (Hannukah) and Kwanzaa.
What you get:
11 Pages Total
Cover Page (perfect for RTI packets, File Folder Covers, etc.)
Direction Page
32 orginal Pragmatic Presents questions
If you want to create your own resources to use, share or sell, my original Holiday clipart set is just what you need! You get 35 PNG files containing various images and colors (see above preview for a look at what is included.) Perfect for creating holiday activities using ActivInspire or other Smartboard program; or for creating interactive bulletin boards, file folder activities, literacy center activites, worksheets and more. This clipart is acceptable for educational, personal or commercial use (this last statement is VERY important if you want to create activities without any copyright violations! Trust me, you want to comply with copyright laws. To do so, you must use clipart and/or graphics that are ok to use —especially if you want to sell.)
Have you been thinking about creating your own activities, and possibly posting them in your own TeachersPayTeachers store? (If you haven’t ventured over to TeachersPayTeachers, I highly recommend it — an INCREDBLE resource for you…entire unit plans, lesson plans, literacy center activity sets, thematic units and MORE…all created by the people who KNOW about teaching children. I cannot express to you what a goldmine of credible, effective and affordable resources this site is! Want to find out more about sharing your own resources? GO HERE.
Interested in finding out who is selling on TeachersPayTeachers? Check out this Resource List from Jenna Rayburn of Speech Room News!
She compiled a list of over 50 SLPs who are now sharing resources on TpT. I love how Jenna comments that most of the reosurces “cost less than a cup 0f coffee!” Take a look at her list, complete with links to each SLP’s TpT store:
Finally, to spread some holiday cheer, I will be participating in TpT’s CYBER MONDAY and BONUS TUESDAY sale!! ALL LiveSpeakLove Resources will be 20% off! You can also enjoy an additional 10%  TpT discount using the following code, for a total savings of up to 28%!! Take advantage of this holiday kick-off event:
THANK YOU for your support, and for visiting LiveSpeakLove!
~Lisa
Announcements, Language, Resources

New Resource Series: Speech-Language Therapy in the Kitchen

Lisa Geary

Introducing a new series that I would like to share…Speech-Language Therapy in the Kitchen! Over the years, I have developed a real appreciation for the power of real-life activities to support speech-language and academic skills. As I continually seek ways to incorporate technology into my speech-therapy sessions, I am also seeking ways to motivate clients with engaging real-world application of the skills we are targeting. The winner, by FAR, is any activity that is cooking or recipe related. I have posted a few of my recipes in the past, but I decided to devote a blog feature to the wonderful cross-curricular activity that is all things cooking. The inspiration for this feature transpired over the weekend, as I made a batch of cookies with my six-year old daughter. We had great fun highlighting all the “fun facts” that were part of our recipe. We labeled, counted, measured, estimated, followed directions and socialized during our cookie creation, and our fun ended with the delicious reward of our “Best Ever Cookie” Tasting Party! I was reminded of other cooking activities I have used in therapy, and how I always recommend that parents cook with their children when possible to practice speech-language skills in the home environment. So, the Speech-Language Therapy in the Kitchen series was born…in my very own kitchen amidst a bit of mess and fun. Here is a pic of what we made; a truly Best-Ever Cookie, adapted from a couple of different cookie recipes with a surprise “twist” of an ingredient:

I decided to create a Recipe and Activity set using this very Best Ever cookie recipe (I didn’t want to forget this delicious creation, and I thought I would share a little “cookie love” with those who might use this engaging, edible activity in their own kitchens. By the way, this activity could also be completed in a classroom — just use a closely monitored toaster oven if you do not have access to a full-size oven.

Here is the full activity set, including what I feel is an award-winning recipe!

Target a variety of speech-language skills in this functional activity that students will love! This cooking activity offers a practical, motivating way to address receptive and expressive language skills, social communication skills, occupational therapy skills, academic skills and more! This tried and true recipe from the LiveSpeakLove kitchen will engage learners as they participate in this cross-curricular, multi-modal learning activity. Potential targets include:

  • receptive and expressive vocabulary (labeling, object identification, compare and contrast)
  • cooking/kitchen safety
  • formulation of verbal requests
  • quantitative vocabulary
  • measurement and estimation
  • descriptive vocabulary
  • following sequential directions
  • ordinal and sequential vocabulary
  • answering WH questions
  • recall and retell of sequential events
  • summarizing
  • cooperative group work
  • use of core vocabulary

What you get:

Nine (9) pages total including:

  • Cover page with real color photograph of Best Ever Cookies
  • Cooking Safety page to review safe practices, visual supports for each “rule” provided
  • Ingredients Page with full-color visual depictions detailing type and quantity of each ingredient
  • Directions Pages– Part One and Part Two – detailed visual directions in sequence to provide detailed instructions to create the Best Ever Cookies
  • WH Question Stimuli Page – to target WH questions, formulation of responses, recall and vocabulary (for use as you make the cookies, or after you finish to revisit concepts and target recall/memory skills)
  • Sequential Event Page – For formulation of recipe summary and retell of events; uses graphic organizer with sequential terms as visual support. Pair with visual direction pages as needed for differentiated supports
  • Taste Test page – visual support for use of core vocabulary to express preference/like/dislike. Can also be used to tally survey data of group or as a conversational support when students offer other people a cookie to try.

Look for more Speech Language Therapy in the Kitchen resources from LiveSpeakLove, coming soon!

Thank you,

~Lisa, LiveSpeakLove

Assistive Technology, Free Downloads, Holiday Theme, Language, Resources

Holiday Cheer – FREE Visual Support for Functional Communication

Lisa Geary

The holidays are very quickly approaching! Who am I kidding, they are already here. Before busy moms and dads had even finished their school supply shopping, stores were convincing us that holiday preparations must immediately begin. Even though I am still creating my back-to-school organization system (a nevr-ending process, apparently,) I am clearly in full holiday mode and planning for the hustle and bustle that will carry us all into 2013. How about a FREE DOWNLOAD to spread some holiday cheer!?

Image

With family dinners, parties and get-togethers planned, the holidays can be a
hectic time–possible overwhelmingly so to an individual needing pragmatic or
communication support. These pragmatic communication cards containing core
vocabulary/functional phrases provide visual support for expressing wants and
needs in a variety of social situations. The cards can be left as-is and used as
a communication/choice board, or cut apart and placed on a ring for easy access.
The cards can also be used in conjunction with an AAC/AT device or low-tech
communication board for communication support that is portable and
functional.The cards are applicable year-round, but may be especially useful
during holidays, family get-togethers or parties.

Enjoy!!

Announcements, Holiday Theme, Language, Resources

Time for a Giveaway!!

Lisa Geary

In addition to my big Thanksgiving Sale over at my TPT store, I am now offering a Giveaway! Want to win my most popular Thanksgiving resource? This 18 page download offers many different ways to target descriptive vocabulary with a Thanksgiving twist:

Interested in winning this LiveSpeakLove favorite?? Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Head on over to the LiveSpeakLove page on Facebook
  2. SHARE (with public view) the Giveaway post
  3. Comment underneath the post so I can include your name in the random drawing

That’s it! One lucky winner will be selected by tomorrow (Friday, November 16, 2012) at 8:00 PM. Can’t wait to see who wins my very first giveaway!!

Thoughts and Inspirations

Deck the Halls! Holiday Speech-Language Therapy

Lisa Geary

Well, I did not make it all the way to Thanksgiving before I just had to start sharing some of my holiday speech-language therapy activities. The first of my Holiday series is now available on Teachers Pay Teachers! I am thrilled that so many of you are enjoying my previously posted activities. THANK YOU for your support and appreciation. I feel truly blessed that I can share the things my students have loved for so many years, and that other students across the world are enjoying them as well. SO…..here is the first of my series, a comprehensive speech-language activity set that targets seasonal vocabulary featuring Christmas, Hanukkah (Chanukah) and Kwanzaa:

This is the product you have been waiting for…a comprehensive activity set
targeting language skills in a variety of ways through seasonal vocabulary that
can be adjusted to meet the needs of any student in your classroom or therapy
room. This activity set incorporates seasonal vocabulary from Christmas,
Hanukkah (Chanukah) and Kwanzaa using a variety of open-ended games. These games
can be tailored to meet individual academic or speech-language therapy goals,
and is perfect for small or large groups – even learning centers and push-in
therapy sessions in the classroom. Skills addressed in this packet include:
seasonal vocabulary use and comprehension, use and comprehension of descriptive
words, comprehension of wh questions, word classes/attributes…and
more!

What you get: 16 pages total including
Cover Page (perfect for
student notebook, RTI packet or file folder covers); 6 unique Bingo game boards
in full color; also 6 boards with no-color backgrounds for easier printing (12
boards total); Full color and no-color background stimulus cards to use for
Bingo game (you can also print double sets of these cards for an instant
memory/matching game!); Stimulus Pages for Following Directions, WH Questions
and Mystery Clue Games. This activity set will be put to good use all season
long!

Thoughts and Inspirations

Give Thanks

Lisa Geary

Have you been participating in the 30 Days of Thanks that many people are doing on Facebook? Each day, people are posting something for which they are thankful. This is the first year I have decided to give it a try on my personal Facebook page — I’m actually enjoying it! I rather like highlighting the positive things in my life. So far, here are a few things for which I am thankful, in no particular order:

  • My job! Doing what I love and loving what I do
  • Coffee…need I say more?
  • My husband
  • My children
  • My country
  • Freedom
  • The right to vote
  • A weekend afternoon nap — ahhhh, luxury!!
  • A family breakfast
  • The chance to LIVE SPEAK LOVE and make a small bit of difference in the world

How about you?? I’d love to hear what Live Speak Love readers are thankful for this month.I am thankful for YOU and for your support.

~Lisa

Thoughts and Inspirations

Turkey Talk! Thanksgiving Articulation Activity Set

Lisa Geary

Thank you for all the wonderful feedback I have received about the Thanksgiving Speech and Language activities that I have posted so far. I just LOVE how everyone is getting in the holiday spirit with Thanksgiving! NOOOO jumping straight from Halloween into the winter holidays, please! Let’s savor the season with a little more Thanksgiving fun. To add to your motivation, I have just posted my Thanksgiving Articulation set at my TPT Store.

Turkey Talk, anyone??? Here you go:

The resources included in this download include seasonal articulation stimuli
cards for the phonemes /k/, /g/, /f/, /p/, /s/, /l/ and /r/. Your students will
love completing a variety of activities using the Thanksgiving pictures that
incorporate their target sounds in the initial, medial and final positions of
words. The pictures can be used in a variety of ways, detailed in to the
enclosed instructions.

What you get:
25 pages total, including color
and black and white cover pages, instructions/suggestions, single phoneme turkey
pages to use as cover pages, token incentive sheets, RTI Packet cover pages,
homework pages or coloring pages (color versions and black and white pages
included for each targeted phoneme); also includes Thanksgiving-themed stimuli
cards for the phonemes /k/, /g/, /f/, /p/, /r/, /s/ and /l/, with words
targeting sounds in the initial, medial and final positions. Hope you like this set!

As always, THANK YOU for visiting LiveSpeakLove!

Thoughts and Inspirations

Thanksgiving Season is Here! Seasonal Activities Galore

Lisa Geary

Goodbye Halloween, Hello Thanksgiving! Even though the stores barely acknowledge you and people tend to only think of you as they plan their menus and make their Christmas lists, I, for one, adore you!! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. My memories of yesteryear’s Thanksgivings are forever treasured, filling my mind with pictures that are bittersweet to reflect on and remember. Memories that are fleeting, yet vivid– family gathered by the fire, road trips on chilly days to see loved ones, and bountiful blessings that colored my world.  I loved Thanksgiving as a child, and perhaps love it even more as an adult. I love celebrating Thanksgiving with children, knowing that I am giving them pictures for their own minds–images they will perhaps conjure up year after year in reflection and gratitude. You may have already seen my Thanksgiving activites previously posted…if not, take a look! I am very pleased to see so many of you enjoying the activities. Here are a couple more in my series, with more to come!

Target auditory processing, location word vocabulary, spatial relationshipsand
more using this fun activity package.Use these games to incorporate multiple learning styles and target a variety of
skills. Students will love the Thanksgiving-themed games as you they complete the activities incoprorating visual, auditory, kinsethetic and tactile learning styles.

This multi-skill lesson is the perfect way to target a variety of speech-language and academic skills using the Thanksgiving theme. This visual-rich activity targets multiple intelligences and learning styles through and activity that incorporates following verbal and visual directions, sequencing, ordinal, sequential and prepositional vocabulary, written language, fine motor skills and even social skills and relationship building. This activity is perfect for small or large group lessons, and lends itself well to co-treatment with the SLP and OT, guidance counselor and/or social worker. Students love creating a card that they can then give away to a friend or special family member to show gratitude and appreciation. This comprehensive activity has been a hit in my speech-language room and in classrooms during push in lessons for many years!!
I would love to hear other activities people are using, and even hear some of your favorite memories of this delicious holiday.  Thanks for visiting! ~Lisa