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Using Literacy in Speech and Language Services
Books are a great way to address a number of goals in a speech and language session. Parents can easily get involved by modeling positive literacy practices and using some of the great techniques outlined below!
Importance of Literacy: Oral and written language are closely related and work together to reinforce each other. In fact, the four language modalities—speaking, listening, reading and writing—are all interrelated (Peregoy & Boyle, 2017). Up until third grade, academic focus is primarily on learning to read, but by third grade, students begin to read to learn. And there’s a lot to learn! It’s important to remember that positive literacy practices should begin as early as possible to promote success in school and later in life (Zakariya, 2015).
Why Books: Books are great therapy tools because they support both language and literacy simultaneously. Positive reading experiences help to encourage a “foundation to support academic achievement, oral and written language skills, social development and…vocational success” (Robertson, 2017). Books are more affordable than an iPad or other electronic alternatives, so while you save money, you can also skip the negative effects such as delayed speech and language and disrupted sleep patterns resulting from too much screen time (Robertson, 2017).
Language Skills Books Support:
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Vocabulary learning: Books allow children and readers of all ages to learn vocabulary within a natural and meaningful context. Books also tap into figurative language and once again, do so in a natural context!
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Grammar: Books serve as a great model for appropriate grammar. Choose a book that delves into the past or future to focus on verb tense. Discuss punctuation (periods, commas, etc) in any book! The possibilities are endless.
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Inferencing: Use books to give students an opportunity to make predictions about what will happen next. Many books have predictable patterns and allow children to catch on, anticipate and participate!
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Answering WH questions: Instead of reading a book cover to cover, a great technique to use is checking for comprehension while reading. This can be easily done via WH questions. WH questions center around time, location, characters, reasoning and more! You can also ask for opinions to get your reader more engaged!
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Sequencing: After a story, work with your little one to use sequencing words such as ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘then’ and ‘last’ to discuss parts of the story. You can also ask your child to put important events of the story in order.
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Identifying Story Grammar Elements: Most fiction stories share common components such as character, setting, kickoff and resolution. Identifying these commonalities are important and will help aid in retelling a story!
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Story Retell: When finishing a book, always end by asking what the story was about. This is a great opportunity to gauge how much was understood and how cohesively the story can be retold. Can your child separate main idea from supporting details? Can your child re-tell the story from start to finish without going off on tangents? There are many resources to help your child if needed (see above)!
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Reading Fluency: The more a child reads, the better that child will get at reading fluently! Make this skill second nature by incorporating literacy into your everyday routine.
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Phonemic Awareness: Sounds make up words and words make up books. Work on breaking down words (segmenting) or putting sounds together (blending) for some good practice in phonemic awareness.
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Articulation: There are some great books that target articulation by using a given sound repetitively throughout a book. This can substitute drills into something more interactive and fun!
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Creating narratives: Grab some wordless picture books to have kids create their own stories! Illustrations provide opportunity for labeling, too!
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Cultural Awareness: Books offer a great opportunity to learn about other cultures, whether you choose to do so via fiction or non-fiction books. Use this as a platform to talk about current issues, values and beliefs.
Book Suggestions (Some in English and Spanish)
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Dora the Explorer Books
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The Bear series from Karme Wilson and Jane Chapman
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The Old Lady series by Lucille Colandro
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Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar/ La oruga muy hambrienta by Eric Carle
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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie/ Si le das una galletita a un ratón by Laura Numeroff
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Froggy Gets Dressed/ Froggy se viste by Jonathan London
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The Mitten/ El mitón by Jan Brett
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A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
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The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
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Chalk by Bill Thomson (Wordless Picture Book)
Whatever book you choose to read is already a great choice! Books provide so many learning opportunities to readers, which is why they’re a top choice in the speech and language room!
References
Peregoy, S. F. & Boyle, O. (2017). Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL: A Resource Book for K-12 Teachers 7th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Robertson, S. (2017). There’s a book for that!. The ASHA Leader, 22(12), 34-35. doi: 10.1044/leader.SCM.22122017.34.
Zakariya, S. B. (2015). Learning to read, reading to learn: Why third-grade is a pivotal year for mastering literacy. Center for Public Education, 1-15.
-Nicole A
