In honor of February, I had a little fun tonight and created a book perfect for the month!
Books like this are perfect for pre-k and for those youngsters who are more linguistically challenged. This can also be used during your reading instruction (patterned sentence, great pictures, clear font).
Pictures in this book are either public domain (Pixabay.com) or from Photos for Class.
Icons are from SmartySymbols (I have a commercial license).
I guess all of you can see that I took the plunge and listed a few things on Teachers Pay Teachers. It's all for a modest price, and designed to encompass several skills perfect for our more language challenged children and is great for speech/OT or speech/EC collaboration. This bundle is perfect for Valentine's Day. Take a look!
·An interactive book---Valentine, Valentine, What do you see? With icons, pictures and sentence strip at the end
to use for making the book interactive
·A recipe book---Valentine Toast. This has
detailed, pictured step-by-step directions
·Comprehension questions (yes/no and simple
wh-questions) for the Valentine Toast
·Communication board to go with making the
Valentine Toast
·Sequence picture worksheet after making the Valentine Toast
·Valentines Preposition
Bingo Game---Three boards and calling cards designed for small group
instruction. This is in a separate file,
but all are bundled all together.
I resisted Teachers Pay Teachers for a long time, but economic realities call. I'm exploring options for supplementing my income when I do retire. A quite a bit of work goes into making materials, and I admire those who list such nice affordable products.
There are lots of valentine's materials out there, but this book might work for older kids in EC classrooms. I posted it two years ago, but have since changed out some of the photos from a terrific site of images to use for classroom materials. (Photos for class) I love that site because the photos you use are available legally, and the site also automatically attributes the photo to its original post on Flickr.
I also changed out the Boardmaker icons to SmartySymbols after purchasing a commercial license. It's a great symbol set, and works for what I do. Enjoy the book!
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post from 1/11/13 below
There are so many bloggers out there now it's sometimes hard to come up with things that aren't repetitive. I just taught a little unit on 'The Mitten', but really don't have anything new to give you, so why post? A Pinterest search yielded plenty, so for this unit, I abstained from wasting cyberspace. 'The Mitten' is a great book on many levels, though, so you should look at it if you haven't already!
I am beginning to work on Valentine's Day materials, though. I found a gem on Tarheel Reader named "I Love You". I did not create this book, but I did download it, and change a few things. I also addded a page with a few Smarty Symbol icons for kids who need it. Personally this book could fit many age groups--perhaps it's better for kids older than early elementary. Words that kids have to find on the page are "I love you"--the catch is that the words are in different formats---cursive, print, and everything in between. It's a very cute book, and I'm so glad I'm able to share this with you.
You could have your students write their own books! Take pictures of 'I Love You' notes around your school or setting! This seems like a book that would be of high interest, and get a few giggles from your students for Valentine's Day! Have fun!
Happy long weekend for many of you! I'm taking a mini-vacation in Brevard NC, and the weather is pleasant so far! Maybe David and I will take in a hike tomorrow!
I worked all last week on developing an activity/companion pack for There was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow. This is a nice book with a repetitive line, and familiar pattern. It's simple but funny, and the kids love it.
This pack is meant for the more linguistically challenged students
and is perfect for speech/OT or speech/special ed collaboration. This is
nice for integrating literacy and hand-on activities.This packet is
great for those kids on Extended Content Standards or whatever your
state designates for your students who would have a great deal of
difficulty with Common Core.
I typically read “Cold Lady" with the kids and have them practice
answering questions, state/sing the repeatable line, and name objects
using the manipulative icons. I then take another day to read “Who is in
the Snow" (book is included with this packet) which reinforces the main
concept (snow) and introduces animal names. With the teacher or OT, we
work on a craft (in this case it's a snowman). With reading, re-reading,
and questions/activities, I spend two weeks on this book if I work with
the kids twice a week. The actual book ("Cold Lady who Swallowed some
Snow") is not included with this packet but readily available in
libraries, Amazon, or book stores.
Enclosed is:
-10 page interactive book entitled ‘Who is in the Snow?’ with simple text and icons for matching. (Photos are public domain images from Pixabay.com)
- 9 page step by step booklet for making a Snowman
-Yes/No and Wh-questions to go with the Snowman craft
-Sequence worksheet for Snowman craft
-Cold Lady book manipulatives (3 pages including a sequencing activity)
-Who, What, and Where question comprehension worksheets for the Cold Lady book (3 pages)
-S is for Snow handwriting worksheet
I realize there are lots of Cold Lady companion packs listed. Mine is specifically for kids who are more challenged. I use these materials during EC/OT collaboration times.
A while back, I posted "Verbs of Winter" (I made it free on Tarheel Reader). The same book is now available in Spanish. I have a child on my caseload who needs to take this home and have his parents read this with him in his primary language.
There's a lot of information now out there in the speech world that building skills in the primary language helps the language at school.
Personally, I hope to build a take-home library of Spanish interactive books. I usually have a kid in the EC classrooms where this would be a huge benefit.
I love Bear Snores On!!!! (and encourage you to purchase on Amazon or check it out from the library!)
This is a great book complete with characters, repeatable line, surprise ending, and fun! I use it with my more linguistically challenged children, and I found a lot of the materials out there were for kids who were higher. I also do a lot of speech/OT groups, and so I've created a nice packet that incorporates literacy, extension activities, fine motor, and visuals. The kids have responded nicely, and so I thought I would offer it on Teachers Pay Teachers for all of you! This packet does not include the actual book "Bear Snores On"---you'll have to get that yourself.
I typically read "Bear Snores On" with the kids and have them practice
answering questions, state the repeatable line, and name characters
using the manipulatives. I then take another day to read "Who Snores"
(book is included with this packet) which reinforces the main concept
(snoring) and introduces other animal names. With the teacher or OT, we
work on a craft (in this case it's a bear puppet) and answer yes/no and wh-questions after the craft. With reading,
re-reading, and questions/activities, I spend two weeks on this book if I
work with the kids twice a week.
This packet includes:
-11 page interactive book entitled ‘Who Snores’ with simple text and icons for matching.
-10 page step by step booklet for making a Bear Puppet
-Yes/No and Wh-questions (3 pages with visual multiple choice answers to go with Puppet making project
-Sequence worksheet for Puppet making project
-“Bear Snores On” character manipulatives (2 pages)
-Who, What, and Where question comprehension worksheets (3 pages)
-B is for Bear handwriting worksheet
In honor of February, I had a little fun tonight and created a book perfect for the month! 
