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using Grumpy Groundhog in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/gr/
/g/ final

Themes:

Groundhog’s Day

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Elementary, Late Elementary

Grumpy Groundhog

By Maureen Wright

It’s Groundhog Day, and everyone is gathered to find out if it’s time for spring. But Groundhog does NOT want to leave his cozy bed in his cozy den. Will the townspeople be able to coax him outside to do his job?

This funny rhyming Groundhog’s Day book can be used in speech therapy to address sequencing and predicting. It is also great for illustration study, noticing character expressions and for targeting character analysis as well as for a variety of verbs! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Grumpy Groundhog in speech therapy below: 

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode

Narrative Concepts:

sequencing
vocabulary
character analysis
verbs (action)
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
text features
phonological awareness
inferencing
predicting
illustration study

Sequencing:

order of events that leads to Groundhog coming out on Groundhog’s Day

Vocabulary:

mayor, hibernate, pleaded, surprise, begged, fancy, bouquet, tootsies, bare, jig, glare

Character Analysis:

Groundhog is grumpy until he is given a present and turns his mood around.

Grammar:

verbs (action)
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)

Text Features:

capitals
change in font
large text
exclamation marks
ellipses

Phonological Awareness:

rhyming

Inferencing:

Why does the Mayor want Groundhog to come out?
What is Groundhog thinking when the mayor wakes him up?
Why do you think Groundhog is taking his time in bed?
How are the townspeople starting to feel when Groundhog doesn’t come out?
How does the Groundhog feel when the mayor is begging him?
How does Groundhog feel drinking his coffee?
How does Groundhog feel when the townspeople are yelling outside his window?
How did Groundhog feel when he got slippers?
How did everyone feel at the end?
What does Groundhog think about the townspeople at the end?

Predicting:

How do you think they will wake him up?
What do you think the paper will say?
What do you think the townspeople will bring him to eat?
Do you think Groundhog will come out after he eats and drinks his coffee?
What do you think will make him come out?
What do you think he will do next year?