You all know I love using books in therapy! I've put in a lot of leg work on my latest book companion and I know it will benefit all of us - Less prep time for my busy SLP buddies and a host of benefits for the kids. Not only are books like this one rich with opportunities to hit speech and language goals, but they also offer students an extra opportunity for exposure to literature and text. I'm all about having fun in therapy, but why play one more round of Jenga or Candyland when you could get so much more for your time?! Keep reading about literacy-based therapy here if I haven't convinced you yet.
Crazy Hair Day is a cute story about an overly excited
little guy who goes all out for crazy hair day at school. The only problem is
that he mistakenly does his outrageous 'do on the wrong day! To make matters
worse, today is picture day! The laughs of his classmates are enough to make
him want to hide his wacky hair all day. Fortunately, when he has the courage
to return to class for the photo, he discovers that his classmates are all
wearing silly hats in solidarity for the picture. It is left a mystery who is
behind the compassionate move, which opens up great opportunities for
discussion about teasing, embarrassment, friendship, and making amends.
My companion pack for Crazy Hair
Day is available for purchase on TeachersPayTeachers. Please note that this product does NOT include the
story and you will need to purchase or borrow a copy in order to use it fully.
If it isn't already a part of your collection, borrow a copy from the library
or consider purchasing an affordable copy on Amazon.
Oftentimes you can also find a reading of the story on YouTube or similar
sites, but this is not guaranteed.
This companion pack is entirely grayscale for easy print and
go therapy. The story itself is short but contains abundant opportunities to
hone in on articulation and language targets. This makes it a perfect selection
for mixed articulation/language therapy groups. Although some activities do not
require reading, most are designed for readers, grades 1-4.
The packet begins with an SLP guide, which serves as quick
reference sheet highlighting possible articulation and language targets. It
also doubles as a data sheet for a few language targets you can hit on the fly:
prediction/inference making, vocabulary, and irregular past tense. Thoughtfully
designed student sheets at the end of the packet extend the possibilities.
Page 1: Over 50
potential articulation targets from the text are listed on the SLP guide: /k/
(25), /s/-blends (15), and vocalic /r/ (15).
Pages 2-4: Student BINGO boards feature words from the text
containing each of the targeted sounds. These pages provide an engaging way to
get the artic-only students in your group tuned in to the story while also
maximizing repetitions in meaningful articulation drill. As you read the story,
the students listen for the target words, cover them on the BINGO sheet, and
then whisper practice.
Page 1: 14 irregular past verbs from the text are listed on
the SLP guide with room for quick data tracking on up to 4 students. Cover the
irregular past tense form as you read for an easy fill-in-the-blank task to
target correct formation of irregular past verbs. Alternatively, use the
irregular past tense BINGO sheet.
Page 5: Like the articulation BINGO boards, the irregular
past tense board lists words from the text that students will listen for as you
read. The present tense and past tense forms are provided in each box. After
the student hears the target verb, they cover, then practice using the forms
correctly: “Today I _____,” “Yesterday I _____.”
Page 1: 13 story specific questions to tap prediction and
inference making skills are listed sequentially on the SLP guide. Students
respond orally to these questions as you read the book together. Pause at the
listed page number to ask the question, then record correct/incorrect responses
of up to 4 students.
Page 1: 11 thoughtfully selected vocab words from the text
are listed on the SLP guide, with room to record data for up to 4 students at
pre-reading, in context, and post-reading intervals. Use your data to guide the
selection of six targets for your students to log on their vocabulary pages.
Page 6: The vocab page lists nine activities to choose from
in order to continue practicing the selected vocabulary at home (e.g.,
example/non-example, write in a sentence, act it out, etc.). Repeated exposures
to vocabulary is essential for students to demonstrate ownership of new words.
***** Check out the vocabulary page by downloading the FREE preview on TPT! *****
Page 7: A graphic organizer is also provided in the student
pages. The organizer jumpstarts summaries by including transitional words and
phrases above the boxes provided for story events. For students needing more
scaffolding, try a sequencing task before summarizing. The SLP pre-fills the
boxes, cuts apart, and assists students with ordering the sequence of events.
Page 8: The character connection worksheet aligns nicely
with the curriculum (making connections to the text) as well as common language
goals (using rich vocabulary to describe character feelings, using complete
sentences to explain reasoning). For an easy carryover activity, complete the
top in group and send the bottom home for homework.
Page 9: Finally, a worksheet designed to explore of theme of
the story is provided in the student pages. The prompts walk students through
the process of identifying the theme of a story (reflection on problem/solution
and lesson learned by the character). Again, this activity aligns nicely with
the curriculum as well as common language goals.
Find more great resources at my TPT store. Thanks for your readership and your support!
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