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speech and language teaching concepts for Officer Buckle and Gloria in speech therapy​ ​
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/gl/ initial
/r/ medial
/f/ initial and medial
/s/ initial
/er/ final
/k/ medial
/l/ final

Themes:

back to school
community helpers
teamwork
friendship
safety

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

Officer Buckle and Gloria

By Peggy Rathmann

Officer Buckle’s safety presentation at Napville Elementary School is always ignored. It’s so dull, in fact, that it puts audiences to sleep. Z Z Z z z z z… But soon, children are paying attention…to Officer Buckle’s new police dog, Gloria, who stands behind him, impishly miming the dire consequences and accidents involved in not using one’s head. Buckle is surprised to see the children suddenly so attentive, even applauding and laughing, and each time he checks on Gloria, she is sitting at attention. Humorous illustrations let readers know what Buckle does not realize: that Gloria is performing the children’s socks off. That is until a news team videotapes Gloria’s comedy routine. This sends Officer Buckle into a slump, deflated to learn that Gloria has been stealing the show. Gloria soon goes solo, and not only does she flop without him, but Napville Elementary has its biggest accident ever. It’s apparent how much Officer Buckle and Gloria need each other, and before long, they are again a winning team.

This funny community helpers and back to school book can be used in speech therapy to address social/emotional issues like sense of purpose, teamwork and friendship. It is also great for noticing character expressions and for targeting character analysis as well as for /gl/, /r/, /f/,/s/, /er/, /k/ and /l/ sounds! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Officer Buckle and Gloria in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode​

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary​
theme/message
character analysis​
illustration study​
inferencing​
social/emotional​

text features​

Vocabulary:

safety, tips, swivel, obey, commands, roared, grin, accident, enormous, imagination, applauded

Character Analysis:

Officer Buckle wants all the students to be safe but none of the students listen to him. He goes from feeling upset to finding a friend in Gloria when he realizes the impact she has made on him and the community.

Social/Emotional:

Officer Buckle finds friendship and a sense of worth with Gloria.

Grammar:

verbs (action)
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (mental state)
complex sentence structure

Text Features:

capitals
moving text
exclamation marks

Inferencing:

Why do you think no one ever listened to Officer Buckle’s safety tips?
What did Officer Buckle think about his safety tips?
What did the students think about Gloria?
What did Officer Buckle think when he turned around to see if Gloria was sitting at attention?
Why did their eyes pop when they saw Gloria?
What did Officer Buckle think about his presentation?
How did he feel about it?
What did he think about the letters?
Why is Gloria looking at Officer Buckle like that on the couch?
How did he feel the next day? What about Gloria?
How did they feel at the end?
Why is it important to always stick with your buddy?

If you are interested in seeing other community helper books to use in therapy, then check out the Themed Key Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.