Page 51 - Literacy Based Speech Language Therapy Activities Digital Version

How to Use Storybooks in Speech Language Intervention

arts. Non-fiction is often boring to students. Read the homework and then recast the story with
vivid imagery.

“I don’t know what you see but in my brain, I see an older man sitting on a dock, sweating,
and trying to hall in the biggest fish with the news camera right behind him on the grass.”

The movie that you help create in your students’ minds (this is describing skills, SLPs!) will give them

the backdrop to refer to when answering questions. Imagery gives students a powerful way to
retrieve information. And do you know how popular you will be with your students and teachers if
their homework improves?

Step 2: Obtain Better Wrong Answers
The receptive language concern that we hear most often from teachers is: “My student can’t answer

questions.” If we rely on this RIGHT/WRONG model we are ignoring crucial data that will be our
students’ bridge to correct responses. We need to take data on whether their “wrong” answer is in
the right ballpark. For example, if you ask a student a where question, their answer should be a place.
If you ask a student a who question, their answer should be a person or character.

My first group each Tuesday is two boys. When asked: “What month is it?” One said his birthday
month and the other said “blue.” Obviously, there are better wrong answers. Getting them in the
right answer group moves them closer to the correct answers.

Step 3: Teach Answers to Questions in Groups
Answers to questions can be categorized just like vocabulary. Build an entire wall or book of

possible answers to the four main questions (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE). You can provide
random answers that a student matches to the group without even asking the question! “When”
questions are particularly difficult because they come in specific sets (e.g. 7 days of the week, 4

seasons, 12 months), are not easy to visualize (What does Tuesday look like?), and rely on verb tense
(When will he…, When did he…, When is he going to…?).

Step 4: Use Visuals
What is the biggest difference between fiction and non-fiction literature? No pictures. When
children initially gain their comprehension abilities they are taking in visual, auditory, and often tactile

cues. In middle school, we abandon this for plain text and maybe one grainy black-and-white image
at the top. Reintroduce visual stimuli from the groups of answers you created in Step 3.

Here is an example: I was working with a middle school student on his story retelling skills. I used
Flying Lessons and Other Stories, a compilation of short stories written for 8-12 year-olds by diverse

40
www.bilinguistics.com