Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day is rather strange, when you think of it.  Nevertheless, there's a lot of language involved: the who/what/where/when/why of it, concepts around weeks and seasons, conditional if/then regarding if the groundhog sees his shadow, groundhogs themselves and what category they belong to, comparing and contrasting with other animals and their psychic abilities, etc.

It's a good time to point out a resource like Pete's Powerpoint Station, which has a bunch of presentations you can download and review with students.  Powerpoint files like these combine text and images and are a nice way to review a topic with students and develop comprehension.

As with any topic related to geography, I was also able to able to find something in Google Earth you could use to discuss the holiday: a model of the stage where Punxatawney Phil will make his appearance.  Click this link and you can load the file into Google Earth (which you must have installed first).  Use the navigation controls to zoom in (and out, to give a context about where this event takes place) to see the 3D model.  It doesn't do anything, really, but is a cool visual anyway.

Here's hoping for fewer than six weeks of winter to go!

Superbowl Commercials and Language Therapy

The Superbowl approaches this weekend- what a great topic to engage your students as you sneak in some language strategy teaching! The game itself is often, well, boring, and besides the food, the other thing about Superbowl Sunday that people love is the commercials, often expensive productions that cost even more to air. Commercials are short pieces of discourse that use specific structures and strategies to convey their messages; these correspond to text structures that our students need to master to access curriculum text: (story/narrative, list, sequence, compare-contrast, description, persuasion, etc- thanks to my pal Maryellen Rooney Moreau for making this connection some years ago). For example, last year's entry from Doritos is a funny context to focus on sequence or, on a more complex level, problem and solution (basically a story structure):



Or, probably the most famous Superbowl commercial ever- a perfect comparison of IBM's monopoly on personal computing to a totalitarian state (try making a comparison web on this, or simply a sequence again to provide the background knowledge, along with a little sequence of Apple's history):



I first started using commercials to review text structures some years ago on VHS tape- what a pain compared to accessing the video resources on the web today! Here are some ideas and strategies for using some commercials in your teaching:

• Obviously, we never want to show anything that we haven't previewed ourselves!
• Start with YouTube- anything you might want to use will be there! If you search for "superbowl commercials 2010," you'll find a whole bunch from last year, and you can search for other years as well. See my post on YouTube if you are concerned about distracting links or if it is blocked at your school- also, avoid showing comments below videos to students.
• Check out a bunch of food or soft drink-related ads- they are usually pretty family-friendly (don't even bother with any GoDaddy ads)- with an eye to what structures they can be used to teach. Do you see a list? A sequence? A description? A story?
• If you don't have time to pre-watch a bunch of ads, consider a post-bowl lesson. While you are enjoying your 7-layer dip, watch the commercials with an eye toward text structure. They are sure to be on YouTube within 24 hours, if they aren't already.
• Check out Yummy Math's lesson plan on Superbowl Commercials for a different take on the topic!
• Lessons on Superbowl ads can be a great precursor to having kids script and create their own ads for a product for language practice.

Enjoy the game, and let's hope for no "wardrobe malfunctions" this year!

The SLP Apps List

I've been receiving a lot of requests lately about lists of apps for various purposes, and a recent discussion on Twitter centered around a need for a list.

The SLP Apps List is a new resource for anyone interested in apps for mobile devices (iOS- iPad/iPhone/iPod, Android or BlackBerry) that have clinical applications. This is a collaborative document housed in Google Docs, and all can access or edit it, with the idea being that it will grow with everyone's contributions (so I am not really in charge of populating it, WE are). Need ideas for new apps? Check it out periodically and watch as it grows! Got an app you like? Sharing is caring, so go to the doc and you can type the description right in. Feel free to edit but please not delete others' contributions. There are some guidelines at the top of the document about how to contribute.

There's not much there yet, but I am looking forward to seeing it grow! It's embedded below, and here, again, is the direct link (click through to edit the list).

Design a Panda Habitat

The Smithsonian's Design a Panda Habitat activity is a rich interactive that would help students use strategies to process information.  Their task is to listen to the curator's instructions, consult experts, and construct a habitat that will result in the Pandas coming out to visit the exhibit.  In the process, they will be thinking about abstract categories within habitats (in this case, artificial habitats) and strengthening their knowledge of curriculum areas around biology. This activity would be a great context to use graphic organizers to gather information and make decisions about the elements of the habitat.

Thanks to InTec Insights for featuring this resource.

The Social Network

I am a little late to this party, having just seen this film on disc, but The Social Network is still relevant not only because it is sure to be nominated for Best Picture this week, but also as an interesting study in communication that would interest SLPs. The Social Network is, of course, the story of the founding of Facebook, detailing Mark Zuckerberg's creation (theft?) of this culturally defining website, and the fallout from friends and classmates who claim he stole it from them.

Let's start with the importance of Facebook itself. I recommend SLPs checking out Facebook at least to get to know the interface and culture, because so many of our students will be increasingly using communication tools and social networks. The skills that we teach are relevant to Facebook not only for writing and communicating clearly with "friends," but also for the realm of social pragmatics and how our kids should be interacting online. I don't think we need to "teach Facebooking," per se, but it should be in our minds as a current context for communication for many many kids and adults. In some cases, lessons on using online social networks will indeed be totally on point for our students.

I have to say that Facebook has really helped me get the word out about this blog. When I got started, I instantly made a Facebook page (not profile) which would be used to alert "fans" (now people who "Like" the page) of new posts and information. From my small network of SLPs I know personally, the page has grown virally to 500 "Likes." That's a great growth in readership that I couldn't have accomplished without Facebook, and it really speaks to the site's utility as part of our Personal Learning Network (PLN). So thanks for that, Mark Zuckerberg.

Image from blog.moviefone.com

Now to Zuckerberg, who may himself be of interest to SLPs. I am definitely not the first person to say it, but watching and listening to Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Facebook's founder reminded me acutely of so many of my teen clients who struggle with social-cognitive issues. The character's overall demeanor, prosody, affect, and nonverbals, inability to read and respond to others (after pushing his girlfriend quite a bit too far with his lack of a verbal filter, and hearing she was breaking up with him, he asks "Wait- is this real??"), and rigidity (not being able to deal with a projection of Niagara Falls during a Carribean-themed social)-- it all reads as someone who is sky-high-functioning, obviously, but sets off our radar nonetheless. It was interesting to see that two separate reviews- The Boston Globe's and Entertainment Weekly's- actually went as far as to use the word Asperger's, while Peter Travers of Rolling Stone talked about it without talking about it, in reference to the breakup I mention above: "...he is driving his girlfriend nuts by avoiding eye contact, juggling a dozen topics at once and ignoring her reaction to virtually everything." The real Zuckerberg is notoriously socially awkward, as you can see for yourself. My point is not that Zuckerberg, in The Social Network or in real life, struggled so much that he could have used some help from an SLP. I'm definitely not saying that people with social-cognitive deficits are prone to the kind of backstabbing that the Zuckerberg character exhibits in the movie. It's just that it's hard to look at his story, his communication style and decisions as portrayed in the film- which I realize is to some degree fictional- and not view it all through the lens of language, in all its domains.

It's an excellent film, so check it out.

Saturday Screencast: Dunkin Donuts (Part 2) and Sketchup for previewing a trip!

In Thursday's post, I talked about how a community trip to Dunkin' Donuts was enhanced by following the kids' interest in a simple and free calendar offered at the store. In today's Saturday Screencast, I'll show how Google Sketchup was used as a visual tool to preview the trip with the kids and construct the model above. We traditionally always take some time to preview a community trip- it's essential to talk about the agenda and the expected and unexpected behaviors (see Michelle Garcia Winner's work) of the place and role play where possible. Sarah Ward's excellent presentation on executive function strategies at ASHA 2010 introduced a terrific strategy- teaching situational awareness through the acronym STOP: Space, Time, Objects, People. By modeling the "Space" aspect of the DD we were visiting, we were able to use a more visual (not just a verbal discussion) map of the place to preview where we would stand until we were ready to order (a key point as the kids, left to their own devices, often just go up to the counter and say "ummmmmmmmm..."), how we would wait in line, where we would sit, etc. In that way, we also were previewing the Time aspect of the trip, because we talked about the sequence of events. The kids really enjoyed making suggestions and watching the scene be built in front of them, and the 2D picture you can save (in Sketchup, that's File-Export-2D Image) was great to share with parents. I also found that kids' managed the trip better after this visual preview than I had seen in the past (and kids who were absent for the preview, not as much).

If you're interested, check out Google's great tutorials that will get you more comfy with Sketchup. To blow your mind a little, there have been quite a few developments in what is called Augmented Reality (AR)- basically laying computerized data or imagery over what we see with our eyes. There is an AR plugin for Sketchup that allows you to use your webcam and a marker (a piece of paper with a graphic trigger) to actually appear to be holding and manipulating the Sketchup model. I can't say the steps to installing the plugin are easy, but if you want a challenge, here's where to start. And here I am holding a whole Dunkin' Donuts, so to speak, in my hands!

Edublogs' 30 Days to Kick Start Your Blogging-Avatars!

For this Edublogs Teacher Challenge (Kick Start Your Blogging), I'm writing about avatars. Avatars, in case you didn't know, are digital representations of yourself online- a cartoon or photo (of yourself or someone/thing else) makes a great avatar. It's really up to you.

I've actually written about avatars before because I think they are a great way to get kids talking and possibly writing about themselves. An avatar resource I have been interested in using for sometime is Voki. Voki is a free resource that allows you to create an animated avatar from a wide variety of choices, customize it, and record or type a spoken message. Voki has great potential for use in language activities, as it can be an end product for any kind of narrative or expository composition. For example, you can pick one of the "VIP" characters and have students deliver a short biographical sketch, focusing on the text structure of sequence or biography schema. There are also animals (as you can see below), and kids could compose a descriptive or creative narrative oral presentation. Whether you type or record it, it would be a valuable project!

Here's my Voki welcoming you to SpeechTechie! Click play to hear the koala talk...

Get a Voki now!

Dunkin Donuts (Part 1) and Dynamic Detours

Here in the Northeast, we do love us some Dunkin' Donuts. I am saying this post is Part 1 of 2 about some community trips I recently made with some social skills groups to Dunkin's, but that's a little deceptive because I have written about Dunkin' Donuts before. Let's call it DD for the rest of the post so I don't have to keep typing that, and this post is not really about that wonderful pink and orange place anyway.

In our semesters at my private practice, we try as much as possible to schedule a few community trips with our clients, young or old, for a few reasons: 1) they are fun, 2) they allow skills to be transferred to another setting and 3) they provide a lot of teachable moments about social behaviors in the setting itself. Unfortunately we are located in an industrialish block, which limits choices, but there is a Star Market, Brugger's Bagel's, Dunkin's, and an ice cream and sub shop all within walking distance (walking and talking is a whole different story than sitting around a table, no?). So mid-December found my groups and I trekking to the little Dunkin' Donuts- more on the whole agenda of each session tomorrow, but suffice it to say it involves walking, ordering, eating, talking, a game on iPad (for backup) and walking back.

With one particular group of three 2nd-3rd graders, after coaching them through their order and getting them settled, I casually picked up one of the free DD calendars on the counter. We always have one of these at home as the coupons can be handy. Instead of just being something I carried home for that reason only, to my surprise the calendar turned out to be a great context for a 15-minute group activity. One of the kids said, "What's that?" and we started all looking through the calendar together. Now I have to say that 2011's more thematic and visual calendar provided a much better language stimulus than last year's, where every page was just hash browns or something. Here's some of the things we talked about as a group while looking through the calendar:

• Our winter break and when groups would start again (the passage of time is never easy for these kids)!
• The seasons, what months they encompass and when each officially starts.
• The graphics accompanying each month and why they might have been chosen (association/schema/background knowledge).

Why are there weights on this page? What are adults thinking and planning in January?

• When everyone's birthday falls.
• Holidays and School vacation times and what each person pictured themselves doing at those times.
• How to look at the calendar together: Please wait until people are done talking about the month before turning the page- you'll know that the topic of that month is done when there's a pause (and what exactly is a pause).
• Why DD might insert some "fake" holidays in there like National Donut Day- What's DD's plan?
• Which coupons the kids were interested in and which their parents would like better (perspective-taking).
• The plays on words and figurative language in the calendar (In February: Donut-cha know you're my one and only? In June: Splash into Summer!)

I was pleasantly amazed that one of the kiddos knew that the birds' conversation had to do with Twitter!

At the end of the session, the kids each picked up a calendar and delivered it to their parents, showing that they were "thinking about" them! It was a great ending to our community trip.

I share all of this not because a DD calendar is all that important in the scheme of things, but because it advances one of my main points of this blog. That point is that oftentimes, materials not designed specifically for speech and language can provide the best contextual, engaging, and goal-related activities for our kids. Language is EVERYWHERE, and we can use so many contexts to apply the strategies and skills we teach. Another point is that we should always be flexible in the way our sessions run, especially in these naturalistic social groups. Sometimes, following the kids' interests and allowing a Dynamic Detour, like the one that this session took, can make things turn out so much better than your original plan!

What are your favorite community trips? What surprising Dynamic Detours have you enjoyed in your therapy?

On Saturday: how we prepped for our community sessions using technology.

Disclosure: The author was NOT compensated by Dunkin' Donuts for the content of this post. Sadly.

Posts Elsewhere!

Hi Folks,

I have a couple of posts that published elsewhere on the Interwebs this past week:

On the Mindwing Blog, click on over to move past character and setting and talk about something actually happening on "a ho-hum day."  This post outlines some resources for working with kids about initiating events/Kick-Offs (closely aligned with problems in real life and curriculum-based stories).

On the ADVANCE blog, the continuing series on Google tools for SLPs touches on Google Maps, which is not just a social studies tool! Do you know the story The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller? Read this post and contribute to a collaborative Google Map about the story!

Tackling the Communicative Function of (Blog) Comments, over at the ASHAsphere blog.  Please Comment!

Noddy Fun Time

Noddy Fun Time is a nicely-designed and fun site from the UK that would be great for early learners.

The five activities on the site can be used to target basic concepts and categories:
Pop Pop Balloons- choose a balloon color and shape and hold down the mouse to blow it up.  The longer you hold, the larger the balloon will be.
Tessie's Garden- Plant seeds of various kinds and create patterns in a garden.  Water them to watch them grow.
Magic Mazes- Drive a car up/down/left/right in a path to collect "parcels"
Rainbow Maker- Mix colors together to make your own customized rainbow.