Thursday, May 23, 2013

{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

9 comments:

  1. My favorite iPad app is Articulation station. The kids love it and its very versatile for different levels of need.
    Kim Marie

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  2. I have to say that I love my iPad! I use so many different apps, it would be difficulty to choose a favorite!

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  3. i would be dead without my iPad. Between the games and apps i use it everyday.

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  4. My Ipad...it can be a million things...some therapy tools, a reinforcer, a mindless form of entertainment...a resource....

    I like Articulation Station Pro: Great instant artic work and I love the sentence and story levels.

    My students would vote for any Angry Birds app, Rat on a Skateboard... Well it gets them to do their homework, so a minute or two of that is ok with me!

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  5. Just got an Ipad...I've been hoarding free apps for quite a long time. Can't wait to put them to use! I actually began using computers for tx over 20 years ago...Apple IIGS...not too many will remember what that is!!!

    twmorlan@gmail.com

    :)

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  6. I really like Training Faces app to help students who need the extra practice in identifying facial expressions.

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