When I initially began providing services to high school age students, I was surprised by the gaps in learning that I encountered. The curriculum that so many grade levels follow typically target specific skills and concepts, with little time left over to address critical thinking skills. As a Speech/Language Pathologist in this setting, I felt challenged to develop strategies and ideas that address higher level language skills in relevant and creative contexts. In any high school classroom, I continually encounter students in all settings, who are unable to strategize solutions, recognize ambiguous language, and associate classroom concepts with current events. These difficulties often significantly limit our students' abilities to actively participate in class/peer conversations and generalize learned information to other contexts.
The therapy activities listed below target a broad base of language skills that can easily be taught within the classroom setting to all of the students in a given class. I have found that teachers love to have us teach these lessons and often, they will carryover the activities to reinforce learning. Here are some general tips before using any of the activities on this page:
1. Always prescreen your materials before introducing them to your students. I mention that because it's easy to overlook ads or pictures surrounding Internet material that can be potentially inappropriate.
2. You can make folders on your computer desktop from the activities below. For each activity, I've embedded a PDF Document which explains the activity. Just click on the activity and you will be prompted to open it. Feel free to save the documents and print if so inclined.
3. When doing a lesson with a class, ideally, display your visuals via computer and projector/screen. Depending on budgets, if your school isn't yet using Smartboards and Projectors, then the viewing of these activities can be done via a computer or IPad (with Wi-Fi or 3G) in small groups.
4. Make folders on a flash drive of your lessons, saved websites, and pictures that are without copyright issues for quick and portable access. Register for free with YouTube and Hulu for easy and quick access to favorite videos.
The therapy activities listed below target a broad base of language skills that can easily be taught within the classroom setting to all of the students in a given class. I have found that teachers love to have us teach these lessons and often, they will carryover the activities to reinforce learning. Here are some general tips before using any of the activities on this page:
1. Always prescreen your materials before introducing them to your students. I mention that because it's easy to overlook ads or pictures surrounding Internet material that can be potentially inappropriate.
2. You can make folders on your computer desktop from the activities below. For each activity, I've embedded a PDF Document which explains the activity. Just click on the activity and you will be prompted to open it. Feel free to save the documents and print if so inclined.
3. When doing a lesson with a class, ideally, display your visuals via computer and projector/screen. Depending on budgets, if your school isn't yet using Smartboards and Projectors, then the viewing of these activities can be done via a computer or IPad (with Wi-Fi or 3G) in small groups.
4. Make folders on a flash drive of your lessons, saved websites, and pictures that are without copyright issues for quick and portable access. Register for free with YouTube and Hulu for easy and quick access to favorite videos.
