Now is your time to stock up on SLP and Classroom Resources — one last time before the New Year. From now until the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, ALL LiveSpeakLove resources are 15% off! Check out the goodies and get ready to ring in the New Year!
Today I gave my last final exam of my first semester at Towson University! Now to grade the stack of ~ 80 exams. 🙂 I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVED teaching the two sections of Phonetics class I was given in addition to my other clinical responsibilities. The Phonetics of American English class is one of the very first classes TU students take after they are admitted into the Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology and Deaf Studies major (following pre-major status and a competitive application process that allows only the top 70 students officially into the major.) The students I taught this semester were inspired, fresh, enthusiastic and very bright. They asked lots of great questions, and seemed to even welcome the many quizzes I’d built in to the course (perhaps too many; that was a lot of grading!!) There was one assignment in particular they seemed to embrace — the final phonetics project. Students were given the basic instruction to apply knowledge from the course in a way that appealed to them (paper, presentation, creative endeavor, etc.) I purposely left the type of project up to them, wanting to include different styles of learning and multiple means of responses (stop right now and Google Universal Design for Learning standards if you are unfamiliar with the concepts of learning styles and multiple means of responses.) I also wanted the students to fuel their inspiration and apply what they’d learned in a way that THEY found meaningful. I have to say that I was completely blown away by their ingenuity, creativity and hard work. Nearly all students took this project to a level I hadn’t anticipated, and their excitement about the project was contagious. I wish that I could showcase all of the talent and inspiration that poured into my classroom during the first couple weeks of December. I have instead selected a few projects to share with you here. Each project is posted with permission from the student(s). I hope you enjoy their work…I know I did!
First, I give you this video presentation showcasing transcription of the connected speech (song) by students Dana Rzewnicki, Lauren Ross and Kelley Finck:
Next, here is the group project from Rachel Bensley, Victoria Andre, Elena Mitoulis and Michael DiSanti. They created a CD insert for Taylor Swift’s album, RED. Their CD insert included transcriptions of every song on the album. Here is a picture highlighting some of their creative work:
The following project is from Samantha Cunzo and Katrina Mull. They put together a comical video skit highlighting some of their “study experiences” as they learned material throughout the semester:
The following project is from Emma Voss — she decided to incorporate her love for baking and create “Phonetics Cookies.” She baked and iced cookies featuring all of the phonetic symbols from the IPA alphabet, using different colors and outlines to represent distinctive features of the sounds. She also impressed the class by passing out the cookies for all to eat, along with a signature batch of chocolate chip cookies as an added treat! Here are some pictures of her cookies:
Natalie Hill and Sarah Morrison created this cute and comical “commercial” for the “Phonetics School of Phonetics.” They showcased parts of our very own Towson University in their commercial as they incorporated knowledge from various units we covered in our class.
Christine Feinour, Grace Baker and Anna Hild created The College Girl’s Guide to Phonetics. Their book detailed all the American English Phonemes of the International Phonetic Alphabet, with key words and graphics to illustrate the pronunciation of each phoneme. Their book was artfully crafted and highlighted distinctive features of each phoneme in a scrapbook-style memento:
And last but not least, I give you Rachel Urban in her witty, debut performance as she demonstrates her knowledge of dialectal variation. Her unique presentation had me chuckling for a long while, impressed at the way she stepped a bit outside of her comfort zone.
Time and space do not allow me to share all of the wonderful projects with you — the board games, the presentations, the transcription of speech from various movies, and more. Suffice it to say that 1) I love my job; and 2) The future of Speech-Language Pathology is looking pretty darn good!
Now, back to grading those final exams…. 🙂
Time for a celebration! In honor of the once in a lifetime date anomaly 12-12-12, I am offering a FREE GIVEAWAY of my most popular Holiday/Seasonal Activity! How about a FREE Holiday Bingo & Activity Set for your classroom or therapy room (or just to have at home for fun???) This MUST-HAVE comprehensive activity set targets language skills through seasonal vocabulary that can be adjusted to meet the needs of any student. Seasonal vocabulary from Christmas, Hanukkah (Chanukah) and Kwanzaa are used in these open-ended games, perfect for differentiation and inclusive education. Work on Common Core standards using these games can be tailored to meet individual academic or speech-language therapy goals–perfect for small or large groups, learning centers and push-in therapy sessions! Skills addressed in this packet include: seasonal vocabulary use and comprehension, use and comprehension of descriptive words, comprehension of wh questions, oral communication, knowledge of word classes/attributes…and more! Check out how to win this FREE RESOURCE below.
To win this free resource, HURRY and visit the LiveSpeakLove Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/livespeaklove and follow the directions in the Giveaway post. You will need to 1) SHARE the facebook post; and 2)Comment on the post on the livespeaklove page. That’s it!! A random winner will be picked at 12:00 midnight, so hurry and share!! Thank you for visiting LiveSpeakLove and have a happy 12-12-12!!
Here is another freebie activity for you to enjoy in this season of giving…Holiday Speech Language: Consonant Clusters! This quick, easy printable is perfect for RTI, group or individual practice or homework! Target consonant clusters in all positions of holiday words using a fun, seasonal activity your students will love. Hope you enjoy!!
I have been getting messages recently that the LiveSpeakLove site has been featured in continuing education workshops, on radio shows and on other websites. Feeling amazed and overwhelmed at the support I continually receive for this labor of love, I recently came across this website featuring LiveSpeakLove as on of the Top 100 Websites:
Just click on the “Teaching Tips” header at the top to find the section where LiveSpeakLove is featured. The entire list is a wonderful compilation of sites written by passionate SLPs like me that want to make a difference in the world by sharing information and resources. I am humbled and thankful to be included on this list…thank you everyone for your support!
The season has really just begun…despite what retailers have been telling us since before Halloween! While there are more fun activities yet to come, I know many of you are planning out your entire month as we speak. To help with your planning and to add some holiday fun, I have compiled my Holiday Speech-Language Activities into one Roundup Post! I am thrilled with all the support and feedback I have received so far, and am so feeling the love over at my TPT store. THANK YOU, and keep it coming! Here is my HOLIDAY ROUNDUP for you..enjoy!!
Activities for you include the following Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa theme activities:
Holiday Receptive/Expressive Language Bingo & Activty Set
Holiday Decoration Articulation
Best Ever Cookie Recipe & Activity Set
Holiday Clipart – for educational & commercial use!
And the following FREEBIES for your classroom or therapy room:
Functional/Pragmatic Communication Visual
If there is anything else you would like to see, please let me know. I have lots of resources that I will continually post throughout the season, but I also take requests! Please leave a comment and let me know what would help you in your classrooms and therapy rooms this month. Thank you for visiting LiveSpeakLove!
Do you “Elf on the Shelf?” We recently began this tradition at the LiveSpeakLove Headquarters. I’ve really enjoyed welcoming the endearing albeit slightly creepy looking elf into our family. I’ve accepted the challenge of creating mischief for the elf to portray each night, a challenge that after even a cursory perusal of Pinterest you will discover should NOT be taken lightly. My six-year-old has opened her heart to the little creature, which she named “Emily” (ours is a girl, it said so on the box.) She writes notes each night to Emily, thanking her and asking questions about what it’s like to be an Elf. Each morning she wakes up and races downstairs to see what Emily has been doing overnight and to check if there is a note from Emily to read. The whole experience has been very positive, despite the bleary-eyed brainstorm I face each night at approximately 1:00 am as I work to fashion a new, creative Elf Scene. Are you looking for some Elf on the Shelf ideas? I am more than happy to share. My gift to you…hopefully a little more sleep than I have been getting each night!
Here are the Elf on the Shelf ideas I have used so far:
There you have it…a quick look at the Elf on the Shelf fun we are having here in Baltimore. I only need to come up with 23 more ideas this season!! I’d love to see what other people are doing with this tradition, so please post links to your pictures in the comments section. If you are interested in adding this tradition to your holiday celebration, check out these Elf on the Shelf products: Elf on the Shelf
