In Class Speech Work

One of the most fulfilling changes to my therapy format this year has been creating an in-class speech program for most of my students as a supplement to our direct therapy. While my unique school environment made it easier for me to begin this program, I think it could be introduced in a more traditional school environment.

What is an in-class speech program?

• An opportunity for the student to practice their speech daily in school. Almost every school program has some flexible, independent working time for the students. My students practice  for 5 or 10 minutes during this time. Some of them work on their speech independently and some have gotten their friends involved. Some have even organized daily speech buddies.

What I LOVE about in-class speech works...

• more opporuntities for the students to review the concepts gone over that week
• practice in different contexts with different people
• gets peers and teachers involved
• work stays at the school (less chance of getting lost in transit)

Okay, Okay, I know what you are all saying...."When am I going to have time to make in-class speech tasks?" But it could be something as simple as reading a book out loud and finding their goal sounds. I like to encourage a lot of creativity and fun. Here are some examples of in-class speech programs we've done this year.

this is a cute R song that a student and her speech buddy wrote

a collection of speech works. I usually make them with the kids during our speech sessions and then send it with them in plastic baggies or envelopes.

this is an awesome rhyming R game

My students keep track of their in-class speech work with a chart like this

here is one that we've been working on for a while

My New School

In my new career ventures I have the opportunity of owning and operating my own business, but I still get the pleasure of working with students in their school environments. It's a perfect combination for me. Seriously, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Fortunately, because I was offered positions at a number of locations, I was able to hand pick the environment that I wanted to work in. The school that I work in has a completely different teaching philosophy and environment than the traditional schools that I have worked in.

What is my new school like and why did I choose it?
What really drew me in was this school's focus on the individual child. The philosophy lets students learn at their own pace. They teach in small groups instead of whole class lectures. They give their students a number of responsibilities that they must get done in a day, but allow them flexibility to choose when and in what order they are going to get them done, within the structure of the school day.


At our school the student's are required to get a number of "works" done in "work cycle". The "works" are set up in categories like "language" and "math" and "science". The student knows which level they most recently passed off and move on to the next work in progression. They are allowed flexibility and independence in how they approach getting work done. They keep track of their work with "work charts". If you walk into a classroom you expect to see kids spread all around the room working on different projects. There are desks but the students aren't required to sit at them, and they are free to move them around the room. Students often work on projects on the floor so they can spread out pieces of their "works" as needed. From what I have observed, the students can work independently or in groups. There are 2 teachers per classroom who monitor the works and give support to the children when needed. When teachers present lessons, it is in small groups of 6-10 children who are around the same level. There is always a constant hum of activity. The students are free to talk quietly but can't be too loud or crazy because it would disturb the other students who are working on their different projects. There's never a teacher standing at the front attempting to teach 30 kids at 30 different levels a one-size fits all lecture. It's a whole new fascinating world that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. It's dramatically different than any public school I've ever worked in but it is brilliant when executed correctly. The students have so much opportunity to become independent thinkers and problem solvers. It's that thinking outside of the box ideology that made me excited to work here.

Bringing Speech Therapy to the Classroom:
Another key reason I was excited to work at my school is the opportunity to easily work my therapy sessions into the classroom environment without disrupting the classroom dynamic. I have my schedule set up to do 2 sessions per week with my students. I do group sessions with 2 or 3 students on Tuesdays. And then I get to do individual sessions in the classroom with the students on Wednesdays. It's amazing! It gives me the ability to work with the students in multiple contexts.

Lower Prices on TPT store

Hi Friends,
I am lowering the prices at my TPT store. I have finally made back the money I had to pay to be part of the TPT store. So in celebration, I'll be lowering all my prices. Almost everything is $1.00 or less. Happy Thursday!
Annie

Here's the LINK!

Now Available: Handout for Teachers Explaining the Role of SLPs in the Schools

Friends. I wrote this post a few months ago about an inservice I provided at my school explaining the role of SLPs in the schools. I have had many requests for this handout to be made available. I made some improvements on it and have now made it available in my teachers pay teachers store. It is editable in case you wanted to add or delete anything. I hope you enjoy it! Happy Wednesday!

Click on the link below to get it:

Speech Language Pathology In the Schools

If you don't like your fate, change it!

I know I've told some of you about this but I thought I'd share it again. Just 6 months ago, I made a big change in my career path as a speech/language pathologist.

For 4 years I had been working for the largest school district in my state. I can sincerely say that my experience there, as a brand-spankin-new SLP, was invaluable. I owe so much to the many SLPs who taught me the ropes. Yes, at times I felt like I was thrown into a maze with a blindfold and asked to find my way out, preferably doing a series of cartwheels or other acrobatics of choice. But somehow, with the help of many friends and colleagues, I found my way through that daunting maze of scheduling, IEPs, laws and regulations, therapy techniques, and organization, and even came out with a few clumsy somersaults. I loved working in the schools with the opportunity of approaching therapy in so many different contexts. I might have stayed with the district forever, if not for the economic downfall of the country, which highlighted some issues.

You see, most people can expect some sort of increase in pay for years of experience. But in my unfortunate timing, every year that I worked for the district, there was a budget cut in education. So we took cuts in pay (in the form of furlough days) and freezes in pay-steps. Funny enough, my trend in yearly pay showed a gradual decrease every year. I was "okay" with it. Really, I didn't go into the profession for money. But then I had a baby and went part-time. And that's when I started feeling abused by the system. I was expected to work extra hours every week (therapy hours, not prepping hours) "for the good of the students" (direct quote from a district meeting). I was required to attend meetings without getting paid for them, even though the full-time SLPs sitting right next to me were getting paid to attend. I was not getting benefits or retirement. Most importantly, while I was only working 2 days per week, my caseload was almost as high as a full time SLP in most states. It wasn't fair to me, or my students. But despite all the negatives, I really did like my job. When the end of the school year was near I requested a decrease in hours for the next year. This was attempt to decrease my caseload size. The district denied any decrease in hours. That was what convinced me to at least try to find another option.

I spent hours making and delivering resumes, writing emails, calling, even flat-out walking in and introducing myself to prospective employers. It was slow and there wasn't anything very promising, so I settled with the idea that I would just stay at the district. I guess I could hope for a better situation if the economy ever recovered. I enjoyed a fabulous summer off with my baby boy. Then 3 weeks before the school year was to begin I started getting calls and emails for other jobs. A month later I had multiple job offers. I was able to choose an environment that was better suited for me and my therapy style. I was able to negotiate my own contract.

It wasn't easy, in fact it was seriously hard! But I managed to change my situation to a much happier one. I was reading my journal from last year and I am amazed comparing my entries from last year to this year, how much of an impact this change has made on my life. I am so much happier in my new situation.

I think it's a valuable life lesson in itself. If you don't like your current situation in life, you have the power to make changes for yourself. I'm not saying go crazy and quit your job or ditch your life partner to go frolic in a meadow of flowers. What I'm saying is, step back and decide if change is necessary. It might be something as simple as a reminder of why you got into it in the first place. Or you might need to make steps toward more drastic changes. Those decisions are up to you. Life is about choices after all. But it's nice to know that sometimes, those choices really do lead to a happier you.

Here's hoping that we all find a happier version of ourselves as we weave through this crazy thing called life.

*FYI: The title of this post is a quote from the musical AIDA. Bonus points for those of you who got that reference.