Socrative

I'm loving the student response system Socrative! Free and available via website or teacher app & student app. Students use their own devices and watch as their responses appear up on the board. There are plenty of features; I like the Short Answer the best!

This gives every student the opportunity to respond, which increases the number of trial opportunities for a target skill. Students who may feel uncomfortable responding orally may feel more comfortable typing, and still get the opportunity to develop their language skills.

Suggestions to integrate language skills within academics using this tool:
- Explaining and defining: students create definitions for content vocabulary; vote on the clearest most comprehensive definitions
-Analyzing text and supporting with evidence: activities such as determining a character trait or theme and supporting with a piece of evidence from the text
- Summarizing/Main idea: students formulate a one-sentence summary of a chapter, the concept of a lesson, a current event article, a scientific process, etc.
- Math: poll the students and use the responses to determine trends (e.g. percentages, decimals, fractions, ratios, mean, median, mode)
-Collaboration and social pragmatics: working together in groups to formulate one group response to post to the board

Students have also really loved the ability to lead the activities and generate questions that their classmates must answer!

Simplifying Definitions

Many of my students are challenged by the task of learning new vocabulary and their definitions. They are often even more confused by the vocabulary contained in the definitions. A vocab list of 10 new words very quickly becomes 30 new words! This often results in dependence upon adults to explain and simplify concepts. How can we build independence?

Previously, the only sources I could find looked babyish and childlike -- not appropriate for my middle schoolers! Earlier this year I found the online dictionary Wordsmyth, which provides leveled definitions at the Beginner, Children's, and Advanced levels. It also provides related information such as synonyms, antonyms, related words, pronunciations, example sentences, and some images. The best thing is that it is presented in a mature format! I suggest to my students that they use the Children's setting and explain that this level is appropriate throughout your teens and for people (even adults) who aren't advanced experts in vocabulary.

With this tool, these students are no longer dependent upon adults to simplify every definition for them (at school or at home). They are able to independently investigate word meaning and ask for guidance when they really need it. 

Just the Beginning...

** I am under construction! **

Hello, blogging world! 

I will begin posting resources and links to information (so many talented SLPs are already sharing so much!), as well as posting some of the strategies and ideas I have used with my own students. There is such a wealth of information already out there; I hope to add at least some new thoughts and ideas to the conversation!

 See you again soon!
-Meghan