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using Float in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

​/fl/ (float)
/b/ initial (boat)
/r/ initial (rain)
/t/ final (boat, float)

Themes:

spring
weather
imagination
creativity

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

Float

By Daniel Miyares

A little boy takes a boat made of newspaper out for a rainy-day adventure. The boy and his boat dance in the downpour and play in the puddles, but when the boy sends his boat floating down a gutter stream, it quickly gets away from him. So of course the little boy goes on the hunt for his beloved boat—and when the rain lets up, he finds himself on a new adventure altogether.

This imaginative spring and weather themed book can be used in speech therapy to address social/emotional issues like accepting unfortunate events. It is also great for noticing character expressions and for targeting predicting, sequencing and /b/, /t/ and /fl/ sounds! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Float in speech therapy below: 

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

wordless 

Narrative Concepts:

sequencing
inferencing
social/emotional
illustration study
predicting

Sequencing:

order of making the boat and being it’s captain and then making a new toy

Vocabulary:

puddle, gutter stream, drain grate, float

Social/Emotional:

The boy works hard to make a paper boat. He acts as it’s captain and enjoys the rain, while no one else is outside. When he loses his boat he comes to grip with it being ruined and then channels his emotion into making a new toy.

Inferencing:

How do you think he felt when he finally made his boat?
How does he feel when it starts raining harder?
How does he feel when his boat goes down the stream?
What do you think he is thinking or pretending to be?
How do you think he feels when it goes down the sewer?
What does he think when he finds it?
How is he feeling as he walks back home?
How does he feel at the end?

Predicting:

What do you think the newspaper is for?
Where do you think he will go?
What do you think he wants to do?
What else do you think he might do?
What do you think will happen to the boat as it starts going faster?
Where do you think he will go to look for the boat?
What do you think his dad might do to make him feel better?
What else do you think he can make with paper?

Problem Solving:

The boy has to come to terms with losing his boat in the sewer. When he gets home his dad comes up with an idea to make a paper airplane to cheer him up.

If you are interested in using Float and other weather- themed books in speech therapy, then check out these print-&-go cheat sheets. Perfect for when you don’t need a full book companion. 

If you are interested in seeing other weather-themed books to use in therapy, then check out the Themed Key Teaching Points for a printable copy.