The Literacy-Based Speech Podcast

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year…to read amazing Christmas books! The holidays, especially Christmas, can be a happy and magical time for kids, so it’s nice to create those same feelings during your speech therapy sessions. With so many fantastic Christmas-themed books to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to just our top 10. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing our favorite Christmas books and how to use them with your students.

Resources Mentioned:

• Favorite Christmas Books Free Notes
• Book Companions - Christmas
• Key Teaching Points
• Book Search - Christmas
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

For the full book list and resources, head to the show notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/favorite-christmas-books

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In many of our episodes, you hear us mention our Key Teaching Points when we recommend or discuss books on a deeper level. This is our method for taking inventory on books and all their relevant speech and language concepts. When using these for selecting books, it ultimately saves you time and increases the productivity time with your students. Whether you’ve used these in the past or are brand new to them, we’re taking a deeper look into our key teaching points and examining the specific language concepts that are critical to language and literacy development.

Resources Mentioned:

• Key Teaching Points Book Inventory: Seasonal
• Key Teaching Points Book Inventory: Themed
• All Key Teaching Points
• Book Search
• Blog Posts - Book Lists
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/key-teaching-points

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With most of our this or that episodes, we highlight two books then eventually share which book we’d use in our therapy sessions between the two. And with holiday or thematic books, there’s so many to choose from. However, in this episode, we’re not choosing between the two because we think they both have a spot in your session and provide different academic benefits for your students. In our this or that turkey edition episode, we’re highlighting 10 Turkeys in the Road and Turkey Trouble.

Resources Mentioned:

• This or That Comparison Notes
• 10 Turkeys in the Road by Brenda Reeves Sturgis
• Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
• Turkey Book Companions
• Key Teaching Points - Seasonal
• Book Search - Thanksgiving
• Thanksgiving Turkey Craft
• Speech Therapy Craft Templates - Room Decor
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/this-or-that-turkey-edition

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We know that if we can find books that kids relate to or go along with a holiday or occasion that’s happening, they’re more likely to be engaged in your lesson. So with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we wanted to give you a list of our favorite Thanksgiving-themed books to use during your literacy-based speech therapy sessions. The meaning and purpose of Thanksgiving is portrayed in these books, which make for special discussions amongst your students. In this episode, we also share the skills highlighted in each of our favorite Thanksgiving books and reasons why you should add them to your library.

Resources Mentioned:

• Favorite Thanksgiving Books Free Notes
• Book Search – Thanksgiving
• Thanksgiving Book Companion 
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

For the full book list and resources, head to the show notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/thanksgiving-themed-books

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As SLPs, we’re responsible for assessing language and sounds. Back in Episode 20, we discussed narrative assessment, which is the language side of literacy. But in today’s episode, we’re going to focus on decoding, which has to do with sounds. More specifically, we’re going to discuss how to assess phonological awareness, why it needs to be assessed, and the benchmarks to look for.

Resources Mentioned:

• Episode 20, How to Assess Narrative Language
• “A Comparison of Early Literacy Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment and Their Typically Developing Peers” Article
• “Prevention and Remediation of Severe Reading Disabilities: Keeping the End in Mind” Article
• Foundations of Reading Acquisition and Dyslexia: Implications for Early Intervention Book
• Speech Therapy Book Companions Bundle - with phonological analysis
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/assess-phonological-awareness

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If you’ve been searching for a book that serves older students in upper elementary or even middle school, this book is what you need! Bone Soup by Cambria Evans is a fantastic book to use during this Halloween season while also hitting on key concepts and speech and language goals for your students. In this episode, we’re doing a deep dive into Bone Soup and sharing all the reasons why we love this book and how we’d use it in our literacy-based speech therapy sessions.
 
Resources Mentioned:

• Free Deep Dive Notes 
• Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
• Narrative Key Teaching Points - Seasonal/Halloween
• Book Search - Halloween
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/deep-dive-into-bone-soup

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There’s still time to incorporate some Halloween-themed books in your speech therapy sessions. It’s a fun way to engage your students where they don’t realize they’re actually working on their speech language goals. But with so many Halloween books, it’s hard to know which ones can serve a variety of your students while also touching on a multitude of concepts. So to help you find the best book, we’re doing another episode of "this or that" with Halloween books.

Resources Mentioned:

• This or That: Halloween Free Note Taking Document
• Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Schertle 
• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
• Book Search - Halloween
• Narrative Key Teaching Points - Halloween
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/this-or-that-with-halloween-books

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Even though many kids love Halloween and everything related to it, we need to remember it’s not for everyone. But what do you do when you still want to incorporate that theme in your literacy-based speech therapy sessions? You use alternatives to Halloween picture books. Yes, there is such a thing and we’ve got you covered! We’re sharing eight of our favorite alternatives to Halloween books to use with your students.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Alternative Halloween Book Notes
• 1 Page Book Cheat Sheets - Fall and Halloween
• Halloween Book Companions
• Seasonal Narrative Key Teaching Points
• Book Search - Halloween Alternatives

See the full book list in the show notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/alternatives-to-halloween-books

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With Halloween just around the corner, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight our favorite Halloween themed books to use in your speech therapy sessions. We review our process for selecting books and then discuss each of our favorite Halloween themed books in depth to give you the best idea on which ones to read with your students.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Halloween Book Notes
• 1 Page Book Cheat Sheets - Fall and Halloween
• Halloween Book Companions
• Speech Therapy Book Companions
• Seasonal Narrative Key Teaching Points
• Halloween Book Search

See the full book list in the show notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/halloween-themed-books

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We’ve focused a lot of this podcast on the best books to read with your students that help develop their speech language skills. By now you know we whole-heartedly believe in a literacy-based speech approach for your sessions which also means that we believe in narrative language assessments. When you assess narrative language with your students, it helps you identify academic successes and communication deficits, which we’re going to dive into during this episode.

There’s an abundance of research that supports being able to assess narrative language in students. Not only does it clarify possible weaknesses in social pragmatic language, but it also bridges the gap between oral and written language. But more than just the research, we discuss the various aspects and components you’re looking for when you give this assessment, and then ultimately ways you would assess narrative language with your students. No matter if your assessments are provided by your district or yourself, make sure that narrative assessments are on your list! 

Resources Mentioned:

• Read and Review Picture Book Companions - Seasonal Bundle
• Book Search - Wordless Books
• Episode 13, Our Favorite Books with Repetitive Texts for CAS
• Follow us on Instagram @literacybasedspeechtherapy.
• Write your review on Apple Podcasts!

Show Notes: https://sweetsouthernspeech.com/podcast/assess-narrative-language