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Picture Book Vocabulary -Strategy: Integration From Prior Knowledge

Back to school picture books are a wonderful start to any school year. Reading them helps prepare kids and offers the opportunity to talk about

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Back to School Picture Books to Build Vocabulary: 2nd edition

I’m back with the second round of back-to-school picture books as a powerful strategy for increasing vocabulary. I hope you enjoyed the first of the

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What Cinderella Taught Me This Summer

The Frenzied SLPs are excited to announce new discussions, twice a month, designed to help you share your ideas and become #SLPStrong! This week, we are

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Oh me gee! I started a blog!

Hi Y’all! Welcome to my new blog. I’m so excited, but if I’m being honest…a little nervous too. I’ve been writing a blog in my

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Language-based literacy intervention for SLPs.
Turn picture books into targeted therapy sessions.
Evidence-based strategies you can use tomorrow.

When a student’s retell is weak, the problem is no When a student’s retell is weak, the problem is not always story grammar. Sometimes the student understands the story but lacks the vocabulary needed to talk about it.

Mental state verbs help students explain characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Examples:
• thought
• wondered
• realized

Without these words, character understanding stays hidden.

Causal language helps students connect events and explain relationships between them.

Examples:
• because
• so
• therefore

These words help move retells beyond a simple sequence of events.

Precise vocabulary makes retells more detailed and easier to understand.

Examples:
• enormous (instead of big)
• sprinted (instead of ran)
• exhausted (instead of tired)

Specific words create stronger narratives.

Before targeting retell structure alone, look at the language underneath it.

Do your students have the vocabulary to explain thoughts, connect events, and describe what happened with precision?

Sometimes improving vocabulary is what improves the retell.
Comment “inference” for my favorite books to targe Comment “inference” for my favorite books to target inferential comprehension. Move beyond retelling a story in perfect order. 👏
A child who says /r/ incorrectly is not automatica A child who says /r/ incorrectly is not automatically at risk for reading difficulties.

A child with weak underlying phonological skills might be.

Research has shown for decades that children with persistent speech sound disorders are at greater risk for reading and spelling difficulties, particularly when phonological awareness or language weaknesses are present.

This is why SLPs should be thinking beyond articulation accuracy alone.

The goal is not simply correct production.

The goal is helping children develop the sound based foundation that supports literacy.
We spend a lot of time planning activities, creati We spend a lot of time planning activities, creating extensions, and writing goals, but research has consistently shown that the quality of the text matters.

High quality books expose students to richer vocabulary, more complex sentence structures, stronger story grammar, and deeper ideas worth discussing.

When a book contains meaningful problems, character motivations, and opportunities for prediction and explanation, language intervention becomes more powerful.

A strong book gives you something to work with.

Before choosing your next read aloud, ask yourself:

• Does this book introduce vocabulary students are unlikely to hear in conversation?• Does it give students opportunities to explain why and how?• Does it encourage prediction, perspective taking, or inferencing?• Does it contain a meaningful problem worth discussing?

The right book can do more for language development than the most creative activity paired with the wrong text.
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