Social Skills Video Packages from Everyday Speech

I have written previously about Social Skills Videos from Everyday Speech.  You can check out this post from April for more information.  They are awesome!!  I use them with my students weekly. These videos use students and real life, relevant scenarios that could happen to any student.  Some of the videos deal with conflict; others deal with body language.  The best part is that these videos are written by a speech-language pathologist.

My students ask to watch them over and over.  They learn a lot from them, and they address their IEP goals perfectly, so it's a win-win!  There are over 80 videos, too!  Easy lesson plans for my social skills groups!

Check out this example:

Everyday Speech offers these videos in a variety of packages, so I will highlight a few for you!  Be sure to check out all of the options here.

 The first is the Complete Bundle! This bundle has all of the videos.  It is a one time purchase and you will have all of the videos.  You can download to your computer or iPad and take them with you wherever you go!

The other bundle options are smaller subsets of those videos.  For example, one is the Elementary and Middle School Bundle.   Other bundles are for Basic Conversation Skills for Younger and Older Kids.  There are videos for making friends too!

Finally, you can subscribe to these videos and pay monthly.  This allows you to try it out for awhile and see if you would like to use these with your students.  If you continue the subscription, you will have access to any future videos that may come.

Like I said, there are a lot of options!

What do you think?  Are these videos something you could use in your speech room? 

Note: This post may contain affiliate links.  A copy of the videos was provided for my review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed are mine.  

Makeover Madness: Directing the Action

One of the first products I created was Directing the Action: Social Skills.  You can read about that original post here. This month, I am completing a TpT Seller's Challenge with Third in Hollywood, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, Teach Create Motivate, and Sparkling in Second!  As part of that, we are completing a makeover.  Check out the update to Directing the Action below.

It is one of my best sellers and desperately need a makeover.  It had a difficult to read font, had rounded edges on the flashcards, and the cover and instruction pages were not visually appealing. So it went from this...

To this...

If you are interested in this product, you can find it my TpT store here. 

You can also check out the whole linky party over at Third in Hollywood.



Hope you like it!!

 

I Can Have Conversations With You {app review}

I am always looking for new ways to target social skills and pragmatics.  I was recently contacted about a new app called I Can Have Conversations With You!  This app is specifically designed for those students with autism, PDD, Asperger's syndrome, or social communication disorder.  IT is for students who are 6 years or older, able to read, able to use the iPad, and can speak in sentences.  Check it out with me!

Let's talk a little bit about the features of this app. This app features video modeling of conversations, interactive cues, a "role play" aspect using the child's voice, hundreds of conversational exchanges, and custom progress reports complete with strengths and areas of improvement.

Check out this video for a tour of the app:

The students will work through modules like the one below.  First, they will complete the activity receptively.  They answer multiple choice and yes/no questions.  At the end, they will do an SLP-led role-play and complete an expressive activity.  They will fill in what they think the answer should be.

Throughout the module, Karen comes on the screen to give some positive reinforcement.

Here's the menu for SLPs.  You have options to re-watch the greeting, create an assessment, view the results for the student, purchase more modules, and more!

Here's what I love about this app:
This app has a lot of different scenarios.  These scenarios are relevant to my students' everyday lives, which makes this app very practical for them.  You can create an assessment for the student within the app.  The app also creates detailed reports for you.  I really like that the app gives you recommendations on the next step and gives strengths and weaknesses.  Finally ,this is a good app to suggest to parents for students to practice at home.

What I would love in future updates:
The app is designed for a single player right now.  I would love to see a way for it to be multi-player and track data for multiple students.   I would also like for it to show data at every step, not just at the end of a module.

Interested in this app?  You can purchase it on the app store for $29.99!

Note:  A copy of this app was provided for my review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed are mine.  

Power Books: Conversation {product review}

I recently had the opportunity to check out this new product from Turning Points Media,  Power Books: Conversation.  Read about them below!

Description (straight from Turning Points Media's website):

"Power Books: Conversation is a resource of lesson plans and materials for teaching basic conversational skills to children with high functioning autism or social communication disorder. This is a downloadable product that comes with a pdf file for the book and also two audio files: The "Conversation Song" and an instrumental version."

These lessons were created by Joe Rothstein, who is an SLP in California.  He basis his work on current research, which is so so so important these days!

The book includes lessons for the following areas:
-whole body listening (body positioning and using you eyes)
-staying on topic (reciprocal statements and asking questions)
-expanding topics
-talking too much
-background/ context
-tact

Each lesson in the program includes the following elements:
-direct instruction
-guided practice
-independent practice
-homework
-redirection cues

Here's an example of a lesson:

Other pages in the book include supplemental pictures to go along with each lesson, such as these conversation starters or emotions images.

Also included in this download is the conversation song and lyrics for those songs! Check out a clip of the song here:

Here's what I love about Power Books: Conversation:

-I love that it's research based!  This is so so so important. 

-I like the different levels of instruction/practice for the students.  

-I like that there are included multiple lessons under each topic.

-I like the songs!  My students love music, so this was a fun way to add to their learning. 

-I like how easy it would be to prepare these lessons. It's all laid out for you.

-I like that, even though they are laid out for you, you can adapt them to your students' needs.

If there's one thing that I would like to see in future updates, it would be real photos for the emotions.  The illustrations used are not terrible, by any means.  Sometimes my students with autism have difficulty with illustrations and benefit from real images.  Just a personal preference and a suggestion based on what works for my students.

If you're interested in this book, you can purchase it from Turning Points Media here!  They are listed for $10.00 each and contain a digital download of the book and recordings of the Conversation Song!

What do you think?  Would you use these in your speech room?

Making Sense of Idioms

One of the most common goals I worked on this semester was idioms.  My fourth graders were expected to know them in the regular classroom, so I figured I would target them as well.  What came out of that experience was this packet!  This packet will walk them through the history behind each idiom included as well as activities to help them practice the definitions. One thing I learned was that they will learn the idioms better once they have an understanding of where the idiom came from.  

Here are the activities/pages included:

-Idiom List- This is a list of all idioms included in the packet.

-Idiom Definition poster--Poster with the definition of an idiom to hang on the board in the classroom.

-Pretest/Posttest--Three options for pretests/posttests, one with multiple choice, one with true/false, and one where the students will write their own definitions.

-Idiom Memory-Played like the normal game of Memory.  Students choose a picture card (picture of the idiom) and a definition card. 

-History of Idiom Worksheets (Black and White)-These posters include the picture of the idiom in black and white, a brief history of the idiom, and a follow-up question.  These can be used as posters in the classroom, as worksheets, or as a workbook when stapled together.

 

-History of Idiom Worksheets (Color). These are the same thing as above, just in color.

-Idiom Worksheets- These worksheets have the students write the meaning, list situations in which the idiom could be used, and retell the history of the idiom. There is one page per idiom. 

-Writing Prompts- Use these sheets for students to create a story using the pictured idiom.  There is one page per idiom.

-Idiom Meaning Chart-This chart has four columns: one for the idiom, one for information the student already knows about the idiom, one for the student's definition of the idiom, and then the actual meaning

-Idiom of the Week Bookmarks-Two identical bookmarks which have spots for the idiom, the meaning, and a drawing of the idiom to be used for homework or for the last 5 minutes of therapy when there is some extra time.

-Drawing Sheet-A worksheets where students will draw the literal meaning and the figurative meaning of the idioms.

-I Have...Who Has Game-Play like a normal I Have..Who Has game where one student will start by reading the card they have.  Each card includes an idiom and its picture as well as a question with the definition of the next idiom.  The student who has the idiom that goes along with the definition answers and play continues.

-Idiom Bingo-Five different bingo cards, a tracking sheet, and calling cards.

-Idiom Tic-Tac-Toe--A Tic-Tac-Toe Board with various tasks for the students to complete.  If they complete the task, they may place an X or an O in their spot.

I truly hope this packet helps your students learn idioms and help you with easy planning!   You can find this in my TpT store!  It's currently on sale for 20% the regular price, so get it now while it's discounted! (Note- limited time only). 

Evidence-Based Practice for Social Skills {1000 Likes Celebration Day 3}

Continuing on with the celebration for 1000 likes, I asked Abby to talk about some strategies for social skills and pragmatics.  This is an awesome post with lots of evidence-based practice ideas!! So here we go with Day 3- take it away, Abby! 

Yesterday's winner-Breana O.  Congrats!  You will be emailed by the end of the week! 

Hi! I'm Abby and I am the author of Schoolhouse Talk! I was thrilled when Carissa reached out to me and asked if I would help her celebrate reaching 1000 'likes' on her facebook page. What an awesome milestone Carissa - congratulations! Today I will be sharing a brief overview of some strategies for training social skills.

Social Skills are defined as socially acceptable learned behaviors. These skills are important because they bring about positive responses from others when we interact. Many children want to form meaningful relationships but may not have the skills to do so. A lack of such skills can result in anxiety and social isolation, poor academics, substance abuse, and even suicide in extreme cases. Social skills are not just for students with autism spectrum disorder, and should be taught in every environment a child enters.
The students we work with can have difficulty in skill acquisition (i.e. learning the skills they don't have) as well as skill performance (using the trained skills they have). When training skill acquisition, the best instruction stays within the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD is the range of skills between what a child is able to do independently, and the skills the child can do with support.

SOCIAL NARRATIVES:
Social narratives is a strategy for teaching specific social skills or concepts by presenting the skill in the form of a story. Social narratives are perfect for serving as a primer, which helps make a child aware of a skill, transition, new activity, or routine. Social narratives are often written by breaking a task down into smaller steps. Narratives should be written so the child wants to read them, should be written at the same level a child is reading at or able to understand, and should use flexible terms such as "may" or "might" instead of more rigid terms such as "must" or "will". Carol Gray has many examples of well-written Social Stories on her website.

We can combine social narratives with behavioral rehearsal, or role-playing, for maximum effectiveness. When incorporating role-playing into training, we are then able to target both "thinking" about a skill and "doing" the skill.

If you'd like to learn more, this website does a nice job explaining social narratives, and also provides links to additional resources.

PROMPTING:
Prompts are support and assistance that is provided to help a student experience success. Prompts can take many forms, such as physical touch, modeling, verbal prompts, gestural prompts, or natural prompts. An example of a natural prompt is someone saying, "Hello." When working with your students, you want to use the least supportive prompt necessary in order to ensure success. Remember, students need to be attending to a situation in order to perform the appropriate or expected response. So many times, students' attention should be prompted prior to prompting their behavior. That prompt for attention may be all the student needs to refocus and perform the desired behavior. Fade your prompts as quickly as possible once a student is responding. An easy way to fade prompts is to pair a more supportive prompt with a less supportive prompt, then fade away the more supportive prompt.

PEER MENTORS:
Peer mentors are another great way to help train social skills in a more natural set-up than child/therapist interactions can provide. Basically, peer mentors are trained to appropriately initiate and respond to their peer. Now the adult therapist can facilitate the play, but is not directly part of the interactions, resulting in significantly reduced prompts to the student! Peer mentors should be a similar age to the student, should demonstrate adequate social skills, and should also have a history of getting along well with your student. I think this is such a great way to train social skills! When I go to a classroom to pull students, there are always some peers who beg me to take them too. Now I have a good excuse to agree! Remember to get parent permission before selecting peer mentors to train. Another good idea is to choose a couple "generalization peers" to see how trained skills and interactions transfer to other 'novel' children. This publication from the Vanderbilt-Minnesota Social Interaction Project is an excellent explanation of incorporating social skills training and peer mentors in the classroom. Are any of you using peer mentors in your practice?

VIDEO MODELING & VIDEO SELF-MODELING
Video modeling is a highly effective strategy for students with autism due to the strength of visual cues vs. auditory cues for these students. Students are shown short videos which demonstrate appropriate and successful target behaviors. Much like athletic teams have been studying videos, this technique is now moving into the classroom! These videos should be positive and focus on success, and should be 1-2 minutes in length so your students can retain the information in memory.
When using video self-modeling, your students are the stars! You can record your student participating in social interactions. You can even provide prompts and instructions to the student while recording, but then edit those prompts out before showing the video to your student. That way, the final cut that your student watches shows him or her performing a desired behavior successfully. How powerful for a student to see! Remember, keep the videos positive and focus on performing behaviors successfully!


So that's it - four effective evidence-based techniques for introducing social skills and training behaviors! Thank you so much for allowing me to share on Home Sweet Speech Room today! Congratulations on 1000 Facebook 'likes' - WOW! (Schoolhouse Talk is also on facebook, twitter, and instagram!)

Thanks so much, Abby!  Hope you all learned a lot from this post and that it will be helpful to you!! 

Today, I also have TWO great giveaways for you- One from If Only I Had Super Powers and another from Let's Talk Speech Therapy.

CC from If Only I Had Super Powers generously donated her new Space Hero Social Skills unit for one lucky reader to win!  It looks awesome!! Check it out here for more pictures and info.  Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rachel at Let's Talk Speech Therapy is giving away one copy of Building Conversation to a lucky reader!! It's simply adorable.  Check out more pictures and info here and enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silly Scenes: A Preschool Pragmatics Activity

In our preschool, there are a fair number of kids with pragmatic goals.  Here's one fun activity to address this goal!

Print, cut, and laminate all cards and sorting mats. Students will draw cards and determine if the scene is silly or not silly.

If they answer correctly, they place the card on the appropriate mat.

 You can find this activity in my TpT store.

Go Fly a Kite! Idioms and Other Sayings

I hope everyone had a great time with their families celebrating the holidays!  I have and have also been enjoying the time to relax.  I've been working on some new activities too, so get ready!  As always, if there is something you would like to see, leave a comment on the blog or Facebook or email me.  I would love to hear from you!

This pack is a 31 page download and includes a game board, a die, 102 idiom cards, 3 blank cards, and 4 worksheets.

Students draw idiom cards and determine the meaning of the idiom listed on the card.

If they answer correctly, they roll the die and move to the color indicated.

Watch out for flying kite cards! Lose a turn if you draw one of these!

Worksheets include: writing sentences using the idioms, matching the idiom to its definition, and illustrating the idiom.

 

You can find this activity in my TpT store. 

Directing the Action: Social Skills/Pragmatics

This pack focuses on social skills and pragmatics. It is a 57 page download.

Good Scene or Bad Scene: Students will take turns drawing cards and will decide if it is a "good scene" or "bad scene" (a good thing to say or not). Sort cards onto mats. Watch out for the empty director's chairs. Lose all your cards if you draw one.

 

Includes student mats, 24 scene cards, and 6 blank cards.

Help the Director: Students will draw cards and say what should be done differently for each situation. Move forward one space on game board if you answer correctly. 

 

Includes game board, 24 megaphone cards, 6 blank cards, and a homework page for additional practice.

Positive or Negative Reviews: Emotions: Students will draw cards and decide if the emotion on the card is a positive or negative emotion. Sort onto appropriate mats.

Includes sorting mats, 30 emotion cards, 6 blank cards, and a homework page for additional practice.

The Director Says...Idioms: This game is played like Memory. Students flip over 2 cards and match the director (idiom) to the megaphone (meaning of the idiom).

Includes 14 idiom cards, 14 meaning cards, 4 blank cards, and a homework page for additional practice.

Getting Press: Getting Someone's Attention: Students will draw cards and state what they would do to get the other person's attention in the situation described on the cards. Keep the card if you answer correctly.

Watch out for empty chairs. The press left, and you lose all your cards!

Editing Skills: Make it Positive: Students will draw cards and read the negative comment. Can be played 2 ways: Either change the statement into a positive statement OR think of a positive response to make a friend if he said the negative comment.

Tone of Voice:This activity focus on tone of voice. Students will draw a tone card and a statement card. They read the statement using the given tone of voice.

Includes a practice page, 18 statement cards, 12 tone cards, and 6 blank cards. 

This activity is available in my TPT store.