Task Cards for Language Skills {product review}

Note: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. 
 
This week on Educents, there is an offer for Printable Task Cards for Language Skills!  Educents has been a great resource for me for educational activities, but I always get excited when I see something from a fellow SLP! 

Let's start with the basics, directly from Educents:

"Concepts covered:

ELA, vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, word meanings, prepositions

What's included?

• 130 cards addressing categorization; some with visual cues and some without, with a total of 84 different questions.
• 24 different multiple meaning words cards. Many words in English language have more than 1 meaning.  For some students with severe language disorders, the ability to learn a limited number of vocabulary words for a larger number of contexts is an advantage.  For others with less severe language disorders, this can be confusing.  Reading comprehension can be impacted by inability to understand word meanings.
• 48 cards addressing plural nouns,  24 cards for possessive and 20 for pronouns.  Some have picture choices for responding.
• 32 prepositions cards, in a multiple choice format, with visual cues.  Those cards are repeated without the choices, for a fill-in format. There is a game board and a spinner, with answer forms and student response forms for all sets."

That's a lot for one set, right?    Well this week, I had the opportunity to check out the "category" section.  Like it says above, there are 130 cards in total.  

There are various types of questions on these cards.  One: Find the category with and without visuals. 

 There are also multiple choice questions:

Name....

Questions:

What I Like:
I like that there are so many different task cards, including but not limited to categories. I could find task cards in this set, one for every language goal my students have.   I like that these task cards provide many opportunities for my students to work on their goals.  I really like that she included some with visual supports. 

What I'd Like To See Improved:
This is not a huge deal, but there is a lot of waste space on these cards.  There is a lot of white space.  While this is appreciated for some students, there is not a lot of visual appeal to the cards.  

If you're interested in this set, you can get it on Educents HERE this week!  It's 35% off it's normal price of $32, so you can get all of the activities for $21! 

Goals for Second Semester

We are one week in to second semester at my school, and I have done a lot of reflecting over the past few weeks about my goals for this semester.  I learned a lot during my first semester on the job.  I learned how to be more efficient when doing paperwork, how to manage my time so that no group is cut short on their minutes, how to see groups of 5-6 if needed, how to work with teachers, how to most effectively schedule meetings, and more.  It was a great first semester.  I cannot wait to see what second semester holds!

My goals for second semester:
-Rely less on games and instill in my students that drill is ok
-Have the students take more ownership of their data and be able to interpret it
-Continue planning interdisciplinary lessons that tie in with the Common Core
-Map out IEP meeting schedule for the rest of the semester
-Read up on hypernasality
-Continue to try to not take work home (it's inevitable sometimes, but I like to be done for the day when I come home)

Goals for my students:
-Be able to use their data
-Improve scores on district and state assessments
-Make progress on their speech, language, social language, voice, and/or fluency goals

My personal goals:
-Drink more water
-Sleep 8 hours/ night
-Read for fun
-Go to the gym 3x/ week

Those are just some of my many goals!  I'll let you know in May/ June how they turned out!

What are your goals for this semester? 

Top 10 Apps of the Year (2014)- Yapp Guru Expert Linky Party

Hope you all had a fantastic New Year!   As you are probably aware, I am part of Yapp Guru, serving as an "expert" app reviewer.    As part of being an expert, we were asked to list our top ten apps of the year.

I have used my iPad a lot this first year on the job.  It has been an easy go-to when I've had a busy day and haven't had time to prep the materials I wanted to (again, still learning!).  My students find the iPad extremely engaging, and they are still working on their goals. What more does an SLP want? ;)

So without further ado, here are my top ten apps of 2014!

Language Empires- $24.99

This is one of my favorite apps because you can target so many different goals in one therapy session.  I also love that it is multi-player.  The areas it targets are figurative language, vocabulary, WH questions, sequencing, predicting, and inferencing.  

Articulation Test Center- $49.99

This app has been my go-to this year to get quick data for myself when a referral comes in or a transfer student with a current IEP comes in.  I like to get update information for myself in addition to the information already provided in the IEP.  It is a great tool!  It may seem expensive at first, but it is definitely worth the price.  The quality of this app is phenomenal!

Language Adventures- $24.99

Image courtesy of Yapp Guru

This is another app that I use a lot with my students.  They love that it's a board game, and I love that it keeps them engaged.  Again, you can work on multiple goals in one session, and it is multiplayer!  It focuses on antonyms, synonyms, and multiple meaning words! 

Verb Quest- $19.99

I have one student in particular that is working on verbs and using them in a sentence.  This is a great way for him to practice determining which one (from a choice of 2) goes into the sentence.  He can work on it independently while I'm working with other students!  Students love the wizard theme, too!

I Dare You Articulation- $4.99

This app is one of my students' favorites and therefore one of my favorites.  Erik has created an app that allows the students to get many productions of their sounds while having tons of fun and great discussions!

Easy Bake Treats- FREE

 This is one of my students' favorite reinforcer apps!  When they earn a prize and choose 2 minutes on their choice of game on the iPad, this is often what they choose.  I also use it for following directions and WH questions regarding what they have made. 

Word Flips- $29.99

Image courtesy of Yapp Guru

 

Word Flips is a book that I was first introduced to when I did my clinical rotation at a Children's hospital.  Then I found out that they made an app version!  I was so excited.  My students with apraxia enjoy this app and "flipping" the pages to a new word! 

Speech with Milo Articulation Board Game PRO - $23.99

Image courtesy of Yapp Guru

This app is another one my students enjoy!  Something about board games really gets them interested.  I use this with my students of all ages (K through 5).  It is a fun way to practice articulation targets and take data! 

Social Quest- $21.99

  Image courtesy of Yapp Guru

This app is another go-to for me when I need something quick to pull out for my students working on these skills.  It addresses situations in various locations that you would be in throughout your normal day (classroom, kitchen, etc).  

Lego Juniors- FREE

 Again, this is one of my students' favorite reinforcers, another game that they always select for their prize time.  It's popular with both the boys and the girls!  I also use it for describing, following directions, and WH questions.

It was a great year, and I have learned to love these apps and many more.  Check out more blog posts from Yapp Guru experts here!