Could it be my birthday? No. OK. Maybe it's Christmas? No. Hmm. No matter what, I feel super lucky and I have that excited feeling inside that is similar to the one a child gets when they were able to open their first present on Christmas morning! This is because I've just received a shiny new interactive set from SpeechPage.com Publishing Company, and I just know that I'm going to like what I see! I always love their materials! And "yes" it is exactly what I was hoping for! It is a full set of materials for targeting a language goal and it is all ready for me to take to the speech clinic tomorrow to start using right away!
SpeechPage.com materials are awesome. They all come laminated and even have Velcro dots applied to them. This makes my life EASY!! I look very prepared for a useful and interactive therapy session and the durability of the laminated product that comes in a storage bag means that I will be able to have this great set of materials for many years to come!
I already have five students in mind that I will use the product with this week alone. Can you imagine how many more times I'll use it in my therapy sessions in the next 15 to 20 years? Many more! So, good thing it is so durable, huh? I just know that this product will hold up to the usage amount!
This new awesome set is called "Interactive Illustrated Idioms 3A3B" It is actually a set of two different interactive idiom sets and I am lucky to now have for helping my own students understand idioms better. I have a total of 48 different colorful cards to use for working on the literal meaning of idioms. This is terrific! There are an estimated 2,500 idioms I read once, and I do have difficulty deciding on which ones to tackle sometimes, but I see that SpeechPages has made the decision for me already by selecting 48 of the most commonly used ones. Terrific! This idiom teaching has already turned into a PIECE OF CAKE!
What is an idiom? Here's a friendly reminder: It's a phrase that cannot be understood by just looking at the words. It is a phrase that can get used a lot by people, but if you haven't memorized the actual meaning of it, you would have NO IDEA what they are talking about!
For example:
"I GET A KICK OUT OF THAT."
"WE SEE EYE TO EYE."
"HE'S PULLING MY LEG."
I actually use these type of sayings all of the time in my own speech without even realizing that I'm saying them (I'm big on saying the, "EASY PEASY, LEMON SQUEEZY" and the "TAKE THE CAKE" ones! Many of my own students just look at me with puzzled looks on their faces and ask, "What does that mean Mrs. Manda?" If we say these saying in our own everyday speech, other people are doing it too of course! This means that we have to take the time to teach idioms to our own children and students. Increasing their understanding of the figurative language area of idioms will make them more effective at understanding and expressing language and that will improve their overall communication skills tons!
Idioms are part of our language, but there's no way anyone will know what they mean if they don't practice using them and gain an understanding of both their literal and metaphorical meanings beforehand. This set of cards are going to be very helpful for illustrating exactly what each one means in a colorful and fun way. All we have to do is take the top card off the Velcro to see the literal meaning of the idiom underneath it. We could also take them all off and go on a search to find the meaning. This will give us an opportunity to practice listening, reading and memory skills too. If we don't find the match right away together than we will have to remember what we had read or seen.
The pictures are cute, colorful, informative and the text is easy to read. I just know that they are going to initiate a lot of discussion about the fun teaching area of idioms!
Idioms are part of our language, but there's no way anyone will know what they mean if they don't practice using them and gain an understanding of both their literal and metaphorical meanings beforehand. This set of cards are going to be very helpful for illustrating exactly what each one means in a colorful and fun way. All we have to do is take the top card off the Velcro to see the literal meaning of the idiom underneath it. We could also take them all off and go on a search to find the meaning. This will give us an opportunity to practice listening, reading and memory skills too. If we don't find the match right away together than we will have to remember what we had read or seen.
The pictures are cute, colorful, informative and the text is easy to read. I just know that they are going to initiate a lot of discussion about the fun teaching area of idioms!
One thing that I really like too is how the developers had the forethought to highlight the actual idiom on the card. This makes the actual words to be targeted for memorizing and use easy to see!
Look at how many I have! Whew. Awesome!
Want your own set?
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Now, who am I going to use these useful cards with? Well, the first students that come to mind are the ones that I see who are higher on the autism spectrum and need to come see me in order to work on social skills and to increase their higher level language understanding like figurative language. These students have a lot of difficulty memorizing the meaning of idioms and using them effectively in conversation. They seem a bit too abstract to them. They struggle to recognize them and to realize the differences between their literal and non-literal meanings. I will also present these cards to my younger language students who need to start hearing these sayings so that they can understand what their teachers and caregivers are trying to tell them. Working on idioms is appropriate I think for children ages 4 and higher.
These cards will make it fun to practice learning about then and they sure will help me continue to enjoy my job as a speech-language pathologist! I love helping children advance in their language skills. Yay!
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I'm excited to utilize these in therapy very soon! Would you like your own set too? Why not head over to SpeechPages.com today to pick up your own and start helping your students today with the process of learning to recognize, understand, and use idioms in their own conversational speech productions. Your therapy session will not only turn into a HOLE IN ONE, but will also TAKE THE CAKE!!
Also, you can see if this if can be a LUCKY DUCK by entering the Rafflecopter giveaway located below. SpeechPage.com Publishing Company is giving away one set of their Interactive Idioms. Isn't that awesome?!!!
And remember, it's better to STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT and enter the giveaway right away because you don't want to miss your chance of winning this fantastic set of idiom teaching cards by the LUCK OF THE DRAW. The giveaway will only be posted for one week. Good luck!!
Best wishes,
Also, you can see if this if can be a LUCKY DUCK by entering the Rafflecopter giveaway located below. SpeechPage.com Publishing Company is giving away one set of their Interactive Idioms. Isn't that awesome?!!!
And remember, it's better to STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT and enter the giveaway right away because you don't want to miss your chance of winning this fantastic set of idiom teaching cards by the LUCK OF THE DRAW. The giveaway will only be posted for one week. Good luck!!
Best wishes,
Manda, SLP
Twin Speech, Language & Literacy LLC
Note: SpeechPages.com provided a free copy of this awesome idiom teaching packet for me in order to complete this review.
SpeechPage.com Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 356 North Olmsted, OH 44070 Info @ SpeechPage.com |
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