Speech with Lisa

We discovered two great games this year that will help improve your speech and language skills: 1 Catch Phrase 2 Apples to Apples Catch Phrase will draw out your ability to deftly describe... during pressure! Apples to Apples will propel you to use your powers of persuasion. And even if you think you are the perfect persuader, you can never predict how things might progress! Other commercially available games we love for speech and language development: TriBond, Three for Me, Scrabble, Boggle, Scattergories, Password, and the game whose name I cannot remember where you have to describe word WITHOUT using certain words that are listed (if you know it, please remind me). Have a blast!

At PS 115, we love to read!!! Last week a fourth grader (code name: Vocabulary Girl) and I read some of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. We laughed and cried as we talked about the scene where Beth died-- it reminded us of people that we missed in our own families. The way Louisa May Alcott dealt with her feelings about loss was to write, so we did the same! Some of our other favorite books this year have included: High School Musical (the junior novelization), Safe at Home (by Jackie Robinson's daughter! She is a midwife and a teacher as well as an author) Who Moved My Cheese (for kids), Who Was that Masked Man Anyway. This list is only beginning. Will update you soon on other great titles.

This is wonderful, I just found out from my friend and comedienne extraordinaire Elna Baker about a theater company in New York City specifically for people who stutter. The company is called Our Time, and they are AMAZING!!! You have to check them out: http://www.ourtimetheatre.org/teenCo.htm PS Stuttering awareness week is coming up on May 10! If you know someone who stutters, make sure to be a great listener-- listening to the message and giving plenty of time to talk helps people who stutter to say what's on their mind. For more ideas, check out www.stutteringhelp.org

This is a fabulous website and has links to some amazing pieces of children's literature. You can sample many books here and see which ones are interesting to you and at your level. Thanks to Ken Campbell of Great Leaps. http://members.cox.net/gholman3/Reading6-12/index.html

Okay, so some of my 6th graders (their code names for this blog are Super Smart Kid and Brainy Basketball Boy) picked out a few of their favorite vocabulary words in conjunction with our writing about Ms. Rice, a very remarkable woman: Advisor-- someone who gives advice Cabinet-- a group of people who help the president Experience-- things that you've done National Security Advisor-- advises the president on U.S. security (safety) issues Remarkable-- worthy of talking about Research Extensively-- to really study something, like Lemony Snicket did with the Baudelaire Orphan's story Secretary of State--the member of the cabinet who helps the president with foreign affairs And while we're talking about the office of Secretary of State, did you know that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is the son of Jamaican immigrants and was raised in the South Bronx? Thanks for your service, Mr. Powell!!

Stuttering Have you every wondered about stuttering-- what it is, and why it occurs? You can find all kinds of great information at this amazing website: www.stutteringhelp.org If your child hesitates in speaking or has repetitions of certain sounds, syllables, words or phrases, he or she may be exhibiting characteristics of stuttering. There are many things you can do to help! Try to slow your own speech around the child, using lots of pauses and a relaxed way of talking. This will help your child feel comfortable with speaking, and is better than telling the child to slow his/her speech or start over again. For more ideas, check out the website or come chat!

What better way to improve expressive language skills than with writing!!! Students are encouraged to keep a daily journal of experiences. We have also borrowed from the Basic Writing Skills Program (Hochman, c. 2005, www.basicwritingskills.net) to improve our writing abilities. This month our topic of interest for improving writing is none other than the distinguished Dr. Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State. Did you know that in addition to being the first African-American woman to be Secretary of State, she is also a great piano player, an ice skater, and an avid football fan? You can read more about her at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice.

Yes, it's poetry month in April!! Take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy some great poetry with your children. Some of my favorite poets include Eloise Greenfield, Langston Hughes, Jack Prelutsky, and Mary Ann Hoberman. This year I've been highlighting poems from the books 'Love that Dog' (Sharon Creech) and 'Honey I Love'(Eloise Greenfield) with the kids. Ask them, and they might be able to quote their favorite poem! Here is a poem I wrote that was inspired by a poem by Mary Ann Hoberman: Sometimes I like to be alone, Just me, myself, and I, And listen to a lovely song Or stare up at the sky.

Parents, You may want to consider attending this seminar if your child needs technology such as an Alphasmart for writing. Word processors are great tools to improve expressive language! Tuesday April 24, 2007 Time: 10 am- 12 pm Place: Sinergia 134 West 29th Street New York, NY, 10001 (Between 6th & 7th Avenue) Travel: The #1 subway; R or W subway stop at 28th Street Walk north one block to 29th Street Spanish Simultaneous Translation is available but you must call to request it Refreshments will be served Workshop that will offer you information about these topics: v What Assistive Technology is v Common types of Assistive Technology Devices (for example, wheelchairs & computers) v Evaluating the technology needs of your child v What types of students may benefit from Assistive Technology v How to get Assistive Technology Devices written into your child’s IEP If you wish to register or if you have any questions please call: Mr. Godfrey Rivera, Sinergia a

Yesterday some of my 6th grade students and I were reminiscing about the month of March... St. Patrick's Day was scrumptious as we celebrated by eating baked potatoes dipped in green sour cream! They were even better than green eggs and ham. We learned about the St. Patrick's Day parade (did you know that more than 150,000 people march?), the Blarney Stone (now we have the gift of gab!) and the potato blight in the 1840's that initiated the exodus of at least 1 1/4 milion Irish people from their homeland. We hope to visit the Emerald Isle someday and to use our gift of gab to speak eloquently! some vocabulary that we practiced: blarney blight clad coast discover eloquently emerald famine originate participate scrumptious traditional

Favorite moment of the day-- talking to some of my lower-grade kids about the book 'Raising Dragons.' We were discussing what it means to have something "in your blood," the way raising dragons was in the girl's blood. The kids came up with better definitions than I! A boy told me it means you love something, a girl said it means something you dream about ... if love it and dream about it, it will certainly become part of you, and remain in your blood. Other words we talked about in 'Raising Dragons:' daughter opinion critter snout

Welcome to my blog! Its purpose is to create a community of students, parents, teachers, administrators,and speech-language pathologists (SLP's) to celebrate the work we all do together improving communication skills! Whether it's improving language/literacy, articulation/phonology, voice/resonance, or fluency/stuttering, communication thrives when we work together as a team. I hope you will enjoy reading about some of my activities in Washington Heights and maybe learn something that will help you to be a better communicator!