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speech and language teaching concepts for My Fourth of July in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/f/ initial
/or/ medial
/th/ final
/j/ initial
/l/ medial
/v/ final

Themes:

patriotic/America
tradition
family

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Elementary

My Fourth of July

By Jerry Spinelli

Picnics! Singing! Fireworks! It’s time to celebrate the best day of all–the Fourth of July! Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli and award-winning illustrator Larry Day join forces to celebrate America’s birthday, the Fourth of July. A responsible little boy who’s eager to do his part wakes up joyful and ready to celebrate his favorite day of all. But there’s a lot of work to do–pies to be baked, deviled eggs to be filled–and the boy has lots of jobs to complete before he can enjoy the fun . . . the world’s best picnic! Face painting! A band concert! And then, after what seems like the longest wait ever . . . he can kick back and enjoy the fireworks with the rest of the country. This delicious and spirited book celebrates small town America and is full of nostalgia for times gone by, yet absolutely of the moment.

This festive, fun patriotic/America themed book can be used in speech therapy to address predicting and sequencing. It is also great for targeting describing using various adjectives and verbs. Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using My Fourth of July in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

action sequence

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary
character analysis
sequencing
figurative language
predicting
adjectives
verbs (action)
verbs (present tense)
verbs (linguistic)
text features

Sequencing:

order of events that occurred on the Fourth of July

Vocabulary:

parade, cymbal, Fourth of July, pajamas, picnic, excited, engineer, beg, gobble, gazebo, Star Spangled Banner, “in charge”, fireworks

Character Analysis:

The young boy experiences joy and nostalgia during the Fourth of July festivities. He also is responsible for helping make it the best celebration.

Figurative Language:

sensory language

Grammar:

adjectives
verbs (action)
verbs (present tense)
verbs (linguistic)

Text Features:

ellipses
parenthesis
exclamation marks
dialogue

Predicting:

Do you think the boy will go outside when he hears the parade?
Where do you think the parade is going?
Will he wear his pajamas outside?
What do you think the mom is cooking?
Will the boy make it to the park with the food in the wagon?
Will it rain?
What’s in the white box?
Will the boy stay awake for the fireworks?

If you are interested in seeing other patriotic/America books to use in therapy, then check out the Narrative Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.