fbpx
speech and language teaching concepts for A Very Brave Witch in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/ch/ medial and final (witches)
/w/ initial
/h/ initial
/m/ medial

Themes:

Halloween
acceptance

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Early Childhood

A Very Brave Witch

By Alison McGhee

On the far side of town, in a big, dark, house, lives a brave little witch. She has heard lots and lots about those scary humans and a holiday they call Halloween, but she has never even seen Halloween for herself. Until one very special Halloween comes along. Perfect for trick-or-treaters of all ages, A Very Brave Witchmakes for a playful read-aloud that takes the scariness out of the holiday.

This sweet Halloween-themed book can be used in speech therapy to address point-of-view, as this book is from the young witch’s point-of-view and she is speaking to the reader. It is also great for comparing and contrasting humans and witches and noticing facial expressions. Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using A Very Brave Witch in speech therapy below: 

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

descriptive sequence

Narrative Concepts:

point-of-view
theme/message
character analysis
illustration study
figurative language
predicting
text features
compare and contrast

Character Analysis:

The young witch loves Halloween. She explains why witches are afraid of humans. She takes time to research humans in order to understand them better, and then bravely goes to take a closer look at humans. The little witch then seems fearful as some human kids come close to her; however, she bravely invites one of them to fly with her when the kid expresses a desire to fly.

Figurative Language:

onomatopoeias

Grammar:

point-of-view

Text Features:

speech bubbles
thought bubbles
colorful, large text
ellipsis
ALL CAPS
animated text

Inferencing:

Do you think the humans are actually saying, “trick a tree?” What are they really saying?
Notice the facial expressions of the witches throughout the book and discuss.

Predicting:

What is the dinosaur going to tell us?
What do you think the witch’s favorite holiday is?
Why do you think the witch loves Halloween?
Why do you think witches are afraid of humans?
How do you think the witch is going to trick a tree?
What do you think will happen when she tries?
What do you think the humans will do when they see her fall?
What do you think the witch and the human will do together?

If you are interested in seeing other Halloween-themed books to use in therapy, then check out the Seasonal Narrative Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.