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The speech and language department wishes you and your family a very happy summer. School may be out for summer, but we encourage you to continue to work on your child's speech and language skills. Language skills can be worked on in a variety of ways in a fun and natural setting. Board games are a fun way to develop language skills. Reading favorite childhood chapter books out loud together as a family are another way to continue to develop speech, reading and language skills. Did someone say movie night? Movie nights are another way to teach and learn social skills. Please also see our language and fluency pages which have new calendars with activities that can be practiced with your child over the summer.
Dear Parents, School may be out for summer, but we encourage you to continue to help your child with their speech and language skills. Board games are an excellent way to develop language skills. Here are some of our favorite games for developing language skills, generalizing articulation sounds and working on smooth speech for stuttering. You can encourage your child to use their good speech sounds when they participate in the game. Students can also practice their smooth speech techniques when playing the game. Please encourage your child to speak in a complete sentence when participating in the board games.
Guess Who: Encourages students to ask yes/no questions, use descriptive words and adjectives, answer yes/no questions, develop critical thinking and memory skills.
Headbanz: Encourages students to use expressive language to ask yes/no questions, use expressive vocabulary, use function words (i.e. Am I something that you can draw with?), use descriptive language/adjectives (i.e. Am I something sweet?), work on categories (i.e. Am I an animal?)
Heads up: Encourages students to use their listening skills and word retrieval skills/vocabulary to guess what they are.
Scattergories: Encourages students to think of vocabulary words to come up with a vocabulary word in a particular category.
Taboo: Encourages students to use descriptive language and use critical thinking skills.
Candy land: Encourages students to learn their colors, numbers, follow directions, and learn turn taking skills.
Hi-Ho Cherry Oh!: Encourages students to learn turn taking skills, count, simple math, fine motor skills.
Gestures or Charades: Encourages students to act out body movements, gestures, facial expressions for social skills and reading body language.
Battleship: Encourages students to use their listening skills, following directions, memory skills, and fine motor skills.
Summer reading is a great way to continue to develop reading and language skills. Reading these chapter books to your children allows them to develop their listening comprehension skills. Remember to read slowly, clearly and with expression so that children are able to imagine the story in their minds. Read the chapter book free from distractions (i.e. t.v., ipad, radio) in a quiet and comfortable place. A favorite strategy we like to use with our students is "make a picture in your brain about what is happening in the story." Imagine what the character looks like in your brain. Stop after every few paragraphs to talk about what happened in the story. Look up vocabulary words that your child is not familiar with and talk about the words. Ask your child what their favorite part of the story was after reading a section. When you read aloud to your child, it allows them to hear the way reading fluency and expression should sound like and introduces them to new vocabulary words. Here is a list of some of our favorite family friendly chapter books to read out loud.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Clearly
The World According to Humphrey by Betty g. Birney
Becauase of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater
The Tulare Public library is a great resource to help support summer reading. Check out their link.
Movie nights are a great way to teach children about social skills, empathy, gestures, sarcasm, peer relationships, perseverance, courage, and emotions. Here is a list of movies to consider to help teach social skills. Please review these movies first to see if they are appropriate for your child's age and maturity level.
Meet the Robinsons (2007) Rated G: Teaches that even if you fail, you can learn from your mistakes and keep going.
Inside Out (2015) Rated PG: Parents can help children learn how to deal with their emotions.
Finding Nemo (2003) Rated G: Teaches that we may need to step out of our comfort zone to try new things, even if it is scary.
Rock Dog (2017) Rated PG: Teaches the importance of teamwork and following your dreams.
Ferdinand (2017) Rated PG: Helps teach courage and empathy.
Cool Runnings (1993) Rated PG: Teaches that winning isn't everything. There is a lesson in losing.
Pay it Forward (2000) Rated PG-13: Teaches about empathy and random acts of kindness.
Wonder (2017) Rated PG: Teaches about empathy, choosing kindness, and appreciating others for their character rather than what they look like.
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