"Like, Not Like"---Core Vocabulary Book to Print

Happy Summer everyone!  High temperature in NC today is predicted to be 100, so it's time to head to Canada, which I'll be doing in 5 days.  Are any of you readers from the Maritime Provinces? You'll see my husband and I cruising by, enjoying the cool weather.  

Two weeks ago, I attended a DPI institute taught by some folks at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies.  It was awesome, and if you have the time, please peruse their website. There is tons of information there and invaluable links---perfect if you teach children with complex communication needs.

I'm a fan of Tarheel Reader, and learned about one author (Reed A. Booke) who has put up some books which emphasize core vocabulary and simple repetitive vocabulary.  One in particular, "Like, Not Like", was all about core, so I downloaded it and changed out some of the pictures, (more for copyright purposes), and changed one word,"this", to "it" so that all of the words in the book were on the core 36 board. You can download the original book from Tarheel Reader, or download my version (link is at the bottom of this post.)  Here are other useful links:

• Tarheel Reader--'Reed a. Booke' authored
• Project Core---lots of core vocabulary boards to print depending on what your student needs--I usually go with the 36 core board.
• Aided Language Stimulation---you may need to do this as you read and comment about the book

No need for velcro with this book.  I would just model the words on the core boards and teach the word location on the student's devices or overlays.  Here are a few screen shots:

 It's easy to figure out the plot of this book, and it centers around the familiar topic of food likes and dislikes. Once you finish it, you and your students should make a classroom book of foods specific kids like and dislike.  Then you could work on choice making and rejecting.

Click here to download my version of this book.
It's free,

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Small moments

I've been relishing my time off!  Nothing beats retirement! Except looking forward to a wonderful part time job working with some exceptional kids (see previous blog post).

Anyway, this past week, I've done some serious walking, and have come across a few delightful friends from the animal kingdom.

Two doors from our house is a beautiful piece of property where James Taylor grew up. These guys were hanging out in the James Taylor front field when I strolled by. (That property has 20 acres, mine has about 1--in case you were wondering.)

Also near our house is a beautiful set of trails owned by the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. This guy and I had a stare-down going.

My husband and I have been going back and forth to Brevard from Chapel Hill a lot lately for family reasons.  We often take a break during driving.  This day was in a park in Morganton, NC where we encountered a newborn fawn parked on a trail by her mama.


We left quickly. I'm sure mama and fawn were fine.





I have so enjoyed these moments, and look forward to many more.



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The Fork in the Road

Retirement didn't last long for me.  Those of you who read my blog may remember that I retired last January after 24 years in the same elementary school.

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    What you may not know is that in addition to being a speech-language pathologist, I'm also a certified teacher of the hearing impaired.  When a half-time position as a resource teacher for hearing impaired children popped up in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District, I decided to try for it, altering my plans from hanging out at home, to possibly re-entering the world of IEPs, paychecks, and adorable children.


This change in course meant writing a resume, filling out an application, lining up references, and interviewing for the first time in 25 years.

Nice interview outfit

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To make a long story short, I got the job.  As a retiree, working half-time gives me the best of both worlds.  The big perk for you is that I will now have more blog posts and new materials coming!  Working with kids fuels my ideas.

Stay tuned!!!!!  First teacher workday is August 21st!





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