Sadly, almost a year ago, I wrote the part one of this post. Yes, I know what the heck?! Well, anyways, I am bringing some fantastic Usborne books to you for your speech therapy sessions. I am glad I did not write this one soon after I wrote part 1 because I would not have done these books justice. Not sure what awesome book I am referring to?
SHINE A LIGHT BOOKS!
These books are so much fun to bring into a speech therapy session! I have several and really need to add to my collection ASAP.
Why Do I Love These Books in Speech Therapy?
Attention Getter!
First of all, anytime you can bring a flashlight into the activity, you have the client’s attention. (Remember, I see individual kids so I refer to them as clients.) As a kid I loved to make shadow puppets on the wall with the flashlight. This is similar to that idea except the pictures are in the book, giving you the perfect shape each time! Let the kids control the flashlight and watch their eyes light up each time turn a page!
Introduction of New Vocabulary
The vocabulary in the books is a good conversation starter. I know in my Rainforest book, I had no idea a pink dolphin lived in the rainforest and neither did my little friends. This topic opened up language between us to discuss and use language skills in a structured situation. If you like Eric Carle books because they bring new animal vocabulary to your clients, you will like the Shine A Light books for the same reason.
Inferencing
Another great reason to love these books is for inferencing. Using the clues on the page, can you figure what animal/picture is hiding? That’s what makes this series great for school age kids! Take a guess on what is hiding with the kids. If you are wrong, so what? Once we discover that our guess was wrong, I go back with the kids and discuss. Did your answer meet the clues? Maybe it’s an animal we’ve never hear of…like the pink dolphin!
Fits Perfectly Within Your Themes
These books fit great within your themes. I have several than I use within my thematic therapy sessions. You can easily take a simple theme, like ocean animals, and take it up a notch with “Secrets of the Seashore.” Sometimes, I have themes are geared to my young clients such as trains. But when I add “On the Train” to the week for the older kids, I am able to stretch the theme to those kiddos and adequately address their goals!
So What Are Some Of My Favorites?
Besides the “Secrets of the Sea,” these are a couple of my favorites! I plan to add the apple tree and the Wonders of the USA soon!
Did you miss part one? You can check it out here!
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