Fluently

I found Fluently, which is a great app for easy onsets, when it was a free app featured on Smart Apps for Kids.  It is an app that is designed to monitor easy onsets in students speech.  It's regularly a $10 app so I feel very fortunate to have downloaded it in time.

I've been using it in therapy with 4 students who stutter for the past few weeks.   I also have been sick and have had a very hoarse voice, so my kids have been amused to see the app "alert" almost every time I open my mouth.

The app is designed to monitor easy onsets. When you are using smooth speech the button is blue and pluses slightly as you speak.  You can adjust the sensitivity with the slider bar at the bottom.

If you speak to harshly (ie ME!) or use a hard onset the button will turn read and you will have to tap the button to reset it.

I've had varying success with my students using this app.  I have a student who is about ready to move on from easy onsets and try other things, and while he was interested in the app, he didn't use it to monitor his speech.  Another one of my students who is just starting easy onsets was VERY interested in the app, and would practice and practice until he was able to keep the button blue through single words.  It should be noted that I also see him for articulation, and he doesn't do much to monitor his speech.  Both of my girls have been doing easy onsets for a few sessions, but struggle to self-monitor.  They used the app to monitor, but not as closely as my other student.

In my opinion, Fluently is a very simple app that I'm happy to add to my fluency toolbox.  My students who have less experience self monitoring their speech while producing easy onsets found the app more useful, but my student who has had to self monitor didn't use it.  I like it better for my students who aren't as far along in therapy and struggle to self monitor.  If I had bought it I would consider it well worth the price for the one student's self monitoring skills alone.

I still love Dropbox!

I did a post about how much I love dropbox last spring.  I am still loving everything about using Dropbox for working between my home and work computer.  Life without the jump drive is going well.  I regularly back up my computers, but that isn't a daily activity.  Dropbox allows me to keep my working files in a "crash-free" zone so I won't ever lose part of an evaluation report because of a computer issue.

Dropbox will also upload pictures on the I-pad into a folder you can use on your computer!  I originally planning to blog about this, but when the ASD teacher in my building mentioned that she Googled a classroom teacher for a picture for a picture schedule, I thought that this handy trick isn't as common knowledge as I once thought, and needs to be shared.

I frequently take individualized pictures for a few specific students as well as to upload here.  By being able to use the I-pad I don't have to worry about remembering to take my camera back and forth.  It's also great to take individualized pictures for picture schedules, or for communication boards for Boardmaker. 

All my photos are currently uploaded.  You will get a message while it is uploading telling you how much is left.  You can even see screen shots for an upcoming post!

You can select to automatically upload pictures (it will do video too!) when you download and open the dropbox app.  When you are ready to upload a bunch of pictures, open Dropbox on the I-pad and it will get started!  Once you upload a video, and move it out of your dropbox folder, you will also open up a lot of space on the I-pad too.

Signing up for here will give me more free space.  Otherwise you can sign up at Dropbox.com.  You get so much free space to start with, and then can invite others or choose to pay for more free space depending on your needs.

Comprehension Paragraphs

Another blog post today - really? Well, I was going to save this one, but with my sale coming up tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I got this up on TPT so you all can get the discount.  I was home sick most of last week, and was able to finish up on some partially complete materials.  I've been needing some sorting activities for telling the difference with main-ideas, details and inferences for some time so I'm really excited to finally have finished the activity!

Fiction and Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension Paragraphs
12 Fiction and 12 Non-Fiction paragraphs included.

Check out this activity in my TPT store!


Very little color is used in this document.  Options are included to be able to print all therapy materials in black and white only to limit visual distractions and save on color ink!  (sorting page is included in color and black and white)

Sorting page for Main Ideas, Details and Inferences for the paragraphs.  This page is also included in simple black and white.

Objectives:
1: Have students identify Main Ideas, Details and Inferences from the Paragraphs.  6 sentences cards are included for each paragraph (1 main idea, 1 inferences and 4 details). Students sort the parts of the paragraph to identify the main idea and details from the paragraph and identify which sentence was an inference.  Sorting pages are included.  Some paragraphs have more than 4 details to allow for students to find their own detail.

Sample of the paragraphs with the main idea, inference and details included.  12 non-fiction and 12 fiction paragraphs are included.

2: Have students answer comprehension questions.  The same 24 paragraphs (12 fiction and 12 non-fiction) are included on additional cards with 3 comprehension questions underneath the paragraph.  

Sample of the comprehension questions with fiction paragraphs.

Grab this activity in my TPT store!

President's Day Sale!

I've uploaded a few new materials to my TPT store in the past week - so make sure you take advantage of my running a 20% off sale for President's Day tomorrow!

Make sure you follow me on Facebook to get information on all future sales too!

Fact and Opinion Cards

 My new TPT activity is an activity to identify facts and opinions.  The therapy objective is to help students understand the difference between facts and opinions.  Some of my sixth graders have started working on facts and opinions in their classrooms, and our conversations have really shown that that have a lot of difficulty identifying the difference between the two.  I'm excited for this one, the more we've talked aobut it the easier it is getting.  Check it out on TPT!

24 Fact cards and 24 opinion cards as well as fact and opinion posters are included. Blank cards to add your own facts and opinions are included at the end of the unit.

An opinion poster is also included, but not pictured.

Students work to identify facts and opinions.

Facts Cards

Students can discuss if they share the opinion on the card, or who might have that opinion.
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Opinion Cards

Additional Game cards are included. Students try to get as many monster cards as possible. If they get eyes they see a monster and take an extra turn. If they get slimed they lose a turn, card or all their cards, depending on how your students like to play.

Grab this activity on TPT!

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Thanks!

Liz

Asking Situational Questions

I have been working with some of my students on asking questions on and off all year.  Many of my students are able to formulate questions, but then can't ask questions when they are in the classroom, home or social environments.  They don't know how to ask questions when they are out of my room!  So I got to thinking, and make an asking situational questions activity.  These cards require students to think of a specific situation with a peer, teacher or parent and what they want or need to know.  The students then have to formulate a question to ask in that situation.  The idea behind this activity is to bridge my students question formulation skills, and reduce some of the anxiety about actually asking a question.

Check out Asking Situational Questions in my TPT store!

A total of 80 therapy cards addressing Yes/No, Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions are included.  8 additional game cards are also included!

An example of Yes/No Questions!

An example of Where questions.

 

Game cards are included.  Students try to collect as many owls as possible.  A sleeping owl causes the student to lose one turn.   If the owls are caught in the student, they must put all of their owls back.  Cards with two owls are worth two points.

Grab this in my TPT store!