{Review} Vocabulary Development and Narrative Assessments by Smart Speech Therapy and a Giveaway!!!

I was so excited when Tatyana at Smart Speech Therapy LLC asked me to review a few of her products!  She provides comprehensive resources with extensively researched and easy to read information.

First up, is "Vocabulary Development: Working with Disadvantaged Populations".

This 18-page packet includes: 

- reasons why vocabulary should be considered as a therapy goal, 

- limitations of poor readers, 

- components of a strong vocab program, 

- groups of children that are at risk, 

- ways to explicitly teach vocabulary, 

- a structural routine for vocabulary, 

- word learning strategies, 

- tips for older non-readers.  

What I loved most about this pack are:

* the simple tips that it offers to educators to improve vocabulary development, 

* specifically refraining from "dumbing down" our own vocabulary.  

* the step by step "explicit vocabulary instruction" portion of this powerpoint.

If you'd like to check out this great product, you can do so HERE!

Next up, is "Narrative Assessments of Preschool and School Aged Children".

This 73-page packet includes:
- reasons to assess narrative abilities,
- a list of story telling features, types of narratives,
- explanations for a series of standardized/normed tests that assess narratives (Renfrew Bus Story, The Strong Narrative Assessment Procedure, Test of Narrative Language, Narrative Assessment Protocol, and Narrative Language Measures),
- advantages for informal narrative assessment,
- ways to elicit fictional narratives,
- narrative assessment procedures,
- an in depth discussion of narrative microstructure (content and form),
- an in depth discussion of narrative macrostructure (use),
- word finding related to story retelling,
- perspective taking as it relates to narratives,
- narrative ages and stages,
- writing measurable narrative goals,
- 8 easy to read appendices,
- FREE resources!

What I love most about this pack are:
* the exhaustive list of areas that story telling encompasses (I have to admit, I hadn't really thought of all of the areas that this packet mentions!),
* specific definitions of the types of narratives,
* the extensive list of narrative assessments,
* the microstructure vs. macrostructure explanations,
* a discussion of word finding as it relates to story retelling,
* the explanation of perspective taking, and the narrative ages and stages (for real - this graph/explanation alone is worth getting the packet for!)

If you'd like to check out this fantastic product, you can do so HERE!

Tatyana also reviewed my "Robot Phonological Awareness" pack and "Common Core Based Language Assessment". You can find her review HERE. If you'd like a chance to win "Robot Phonological Awareness", enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below! Tatyana will also be doing a giveaway of her Vocabulary Development resource, so check out her blog to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway