In this post, I’ll talk about one of my most-utilized SLP tools, Story Champs.  Narrative structures and the ability for students to comprehend and retell stories is very important to their education.  This tool can be very helpful for this skill.  Read on!

What is Story Champs?

Story Champs is a multi-tiered language curriculum that is easy to implement, fast-paced, and powerful. The curriculum targets story structure and complex language features necessary for understanding and producing oral and written language that children need for academic success. Story Champs aligns with the Common Core State Standards and provides schools with the tools necessary to strategically and systematically focus on language.  To find out all of the intervention tool’s specifics, check out their website or these videos that Language Dynamics put together to demonstrate the product in use… take a look:

While they offer a bilingual edition, I will be discussing my use of the English Story Champs 2.0 in this review.

What Story Champs offers – Quick & Dirty:

• RESEARCH-BASED!  Over 20 feasibility and experimental studies have been completed. Here is a Research Synopsis
• Use as young as Pre-K.
• Skills Developed Through Story Champs
  • Listening comprehension/Reading comprehension
  • Answering questions about stories and information
  • Vocabulary & Learning vocabulary from context
  • Complex syntax
  • Oral narrative retelling, personal generation, fictional generation
  • Written narrative retelling, personal generation, fictional generation
  • Information oral retelling & writing
  • Domain knowledge
  • Problem solving
  • Social and emotional aptitude
  • Memory
• Ability to use in large groups, small groups, and individual intervention
• Lesson length of 15-45 minutes
• Designed for use within RtI/MTSS frameworks
• Ideally, a classroom teacher uses the large group lessons while a special educator (e.g., SLP, SpEd teacher)/literacy specialist/paraeducator delivers small group or individual lessons
• In many studies, the dose of Story Champs intervention was small (e.g., only 2X/week for 10 weeks), suggesting that this is a powerful intervention capable of producing robust effects in a short amount time.

Included in the kit (Spoiler alert… it’s EVERYTHING in the picture:

• 12 Classic Stories
  • LEVEL A: basic story structure & LEVEL B: enhanced story structure
• 12 Blitz Stories
  • LEVEL A & B: vocabulary words; vocabulary words from context
  • LEVEL C: causal connections (because, so that)
  • LEVEL D: temporal connections (after, when)
  • LEVEL E: modifiers (adverbs, adjectives)
  • LEVEL F: causal and temporal connections
  • LEVEL G: causal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL H: temporal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL I: causal connections, temporal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL J: advanced story structure
• Illustration Cards (Blackline with some color)
• Icons (color)
• Champ Checks (use with dry-erase markers)
• Story Starter Cards
• Story Games for Small Groups
• Flash Drive
  • Manual and Master Lesson Plans
  • Digital Presentation
  • Printable Files
    • Take Home Activities
    • Classroom Center Activities
    • Story Writing Organizers
    • Info Writing Organizers
    • Pattern Blocks
    • Information Notes
    • Word Journals
    • Spot the Sparkle Posters

How I use it:

I currently work with a population of students coming from lower SES homes, and many are ELL students.  I have found that my students lack narrative skills and struggle with reading/listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, etc.  These skills make it difficult for them to fully access the curriculum.  I have been utilizing Story Champs with my students, K-5, for the end of last school year and the beginning of this year within therapy sessions, typically 1X/week.  We cover 1-2 stories during our time, depending on the skills we are targeting and the student performance.  I utilize the curriculum to target vocabulary, comprehension, retell, and other skills.

What works for us:

This curriculum has been great for my students.  The illustrations are simple and not too busy for them to “digest”.  They are able to see the characters and elements of the story.  The symbols used for each story element is carried throughout the materials and make it easy for students to comprehend the elements and what each means.  We also love the varying activities and printables that can be used with the curriculum. I love how easy the curriculum is to follow.  It’s not complicated and I can pull the intervention box out and use it with zero prep!  My students have not become bored yet with the curriculum because we are able to spice up each lesson with a different game or activity that keeps it fresh.  We have also been able to use many of the manipulatives with other stories we read (books, textbooks, etc.) or videos we watch (e.g. brainpop, flocabulary, etc.).

Suggestions for Improvement:

I love the popsicle sticks manipulative and we use them so much that the icons (stickers) have begun to fade.  I would love extra sheets of stickers and/or more durable material for this part of the product.  Some clearer labeling on the various manipulatives/supplies would help me pick them out faster.  Sometimes I forget what the name of each manipulative is and struggle to find the right one(s) for a lesson.  Of course we would love the ability to buy more stories if we happen to really get through all levels of the current ones.

Is it worth it?

Definitely!  Although it may be difficult to swallow the initial price point of $298, I believe that it is a great investment.  Why is it worth it?  First of all, most materials/tools that SLPs invest in are not proven to be research-based as this tool is.  I can also say that I have not purchased another tool that I have been able to use in individual and group therapy each week, while seeing great results, without my students getting bored.  As SLPs are becoming more involved in RtI, this curriculum is a great resource as it allows for group work as well as individual (my other tools do not allow for this).

Story Champs is a great Tool for SLPs, all school staff involved in RtI, and Speech/Language Therapy sessions targeting multiple goals. I hope this little knowledge party (aka review) was helpful to you.  If you have other questions/comments, add them below!

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I’m an SLP and I enjoy long walks… down the hallway?

Most SLPs have a packed schedule.  Trying to organize therapy minutes for 60+ students across multiple grade levels and goals into about 30-35 hours per week is extremely difficult.  I’m not sure about you, but I end up with sessions back-to-back nearly all day.

Each year I’m surprised with how long it takes me to walk to and from my students’ classrooms.  This year I’m on a very spacious campus.  For example, if I have 1st grade students scheduled at 9:00, I am leaving my office with my previous group at 8:58.  It takes a few minutes for me to gather all of them from their classrooms and organize them.  It’s 9:02 when we leave their pod area.  We begin walking, as briskly as their 1st grade legs will move, and arrive at my room at 9:05.  By the time they are sitting and calm and I begin our activity or lesson, it can be nearly 9:10.  At 9:28 we must depart to return to their rooms.  We don’t walk silently, I’m trying to engage them in conversations that further target their therapy goals but it is difficult to do without bringing along materials.  I feel like I’m missing out on so many minutes of potential therapy each day.

I know that part of the solution is students moving about campus and arriving to my room independently.  While my older students should be able to come to me on their own, there are those beginning weeks of learning schedules as well as those students who demonstrate “difficulty” with getting from their classroom to me.  And eventually I’d like to be able to send my Kindergarteners and 1st graders back on their own but we’ll likely be starting our sessions together for a majority of the year.

To take advantage of these minutes of transition, I’ve developed these Walk ‘n Talk cards to keep on hand.  I have included a majority of the targets my students work on in 16 prompt cards (printed 2-sided) that I can use as we walk across campus.  I can have students practice articulation for 3 more minutes, warm up with some reminders and questions, practice fluency carry-over or conversation skills, etc.  These cards are available here!

I have really enjoyed having prompts on-hand during our transitions and it has also been something that I can utilize for quick articulation and language RtI and screenings, provide to teachers for RtI and carryover in the classroom, and send home for parents.

I would love to hear from you on this topic.  Are transition times something you struggle with as well?  How do you take advantage of those minutes?

Have a great week!

Here we go!  One of my favorite times of the year… A TpT Sale Party!  “Teachers are Heroes” sale starts this week and we’re linking up with our cart favorites just for you!

I have finally started to feel my product-producing MoJo coming back and have begun to make a new series of products for Articulation.  The first in this series is available now and will be a great price during the sale!  Articulation Strips – /r/ are a totable articulation drill activity for readers! Great the traveling SLP, RtI/push-in services, independent practice, homework, and more!  There are over 180 articulation strips in this pack!  More sounds will be added soon!

I have also Bundled my Animal Puzzles!  These interactive puzzles are perfect for EI/Pre-K Speech therapy, classrooms, and more. Endless targets including requesting, body parts, following directions, describing, animal noises, free play, and more.

Now for my over-flowing cart!  Here are 5 of my picks for the upcoming sale!

Interactive Vocabulary Books: Color Books from Speech Room News

Leveled Grammar Intervention from Allison’s Speech Peeps

Mad Scientists Inferences from Live Love Speech.

Apraxia – Interactive Apraxia Activities Value Bundle From Teaching Talking

No Prep Articulation by The Speech Bubble SLP

Enjoy the sale!  Share below what you will be purchasing!  And check out more posts on the Linky Home for more ideas of great products to purchase!

]]> http://sublimespeech.com/2015/02/whats-in-your-cart-hero-sale-edition-linky-party.html/feed 1 http://sublimespeech.com/2014/04/preposition-remix-from-smarty-ears-appy-friday-review-giveaway.html http://sublimespeech.com/2014/04/preposition-remix-from-smarty-ears-appy-friday-review-giveaway.html#respond Fri, 25 Apr 2014 05:01:37 +0000 http://sublimespeech.com/?p=1405

To begin, press “play” and you will be taken to the player screen.

This is a single-player game so begin by choosing a player and pressing “go”.  You will then see a set of photos and hear a cue.  You have the option to have the words to the direction displayed as well.

If they choose correctly, you will see “Well Done” displayed.  If incorrect, you can choose to hear a “buzz” or nothing until the correct one is chosen.

After the session, you will see a session report like this:

There are many settings that can be changed as seen below:

Pros:

• Nice, colorful, stimulus photos.
• Clear voice on stimulus items.
• You can easily modify settings from the main page.
• Data collection for each client is included!
• Built-in compatibility with Therapy Report Center helps with report writing and progress monitoring.
• You can back-up to iTunes so that data is not lost.

Improvements:

• Many of my children find it difficult to isolate the part of the photo that is targeted by the instruction (e.g. Touch the man that has a hot dog under his grill.  You have to touch only the man, not the grill or hot dog, to be correct) which can skew results.
• I would love to be able to work with more than one student at a time on this app.  Many other preposition apps allow this so hopefully that will be included with any updates.

It is currently available for only $9.99:

Enter to win a copy of all 3 Smarty Ears apps that are featured this week!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Disclosure: Smarty Ears provided a copy of this app for review.  No other compensation was provided and all opinions are that of the author.

You can see in the top left that the “support” option allows for additional information/options.  I would start by watching the video tutorial included to learn more about using the app.  To begin, choose “Start Practice” and move to this screen where you can choose a player or create/import clients FROM the TRC if you utilize that option.  The player box will appear colored on selected player(s).  Choose “start” when you have selected the player(s) you will be working with.

You will have the option for flashcards or find it.

Then you will have the ability to select/deselect verbs that will be practiced.In the Flashcards you are able to easily move from present to present progressive to past tenses.  You can also move from word to phrase to sentences without exiting!

The find it section has you select the type of format of the verb before beginning:

Students then select the correct photo of the verb said and shown in text.  If they choose correctly, a star appears.  If not, the image they chose disappears and they are given another chance.  When it is selected correctly, the photo appears larger to allow for practice of the verb before continuing on.

There is homework included as well which is one of my favorite things about Smarty Ears apps!

In the Report Center you can view the child’s “sticker page”, progress cards, or generate a certificate.

This is an example of the progress cards:

When you decide to generate a certificate you fill out the following:

And the certificate appears like this:

Pros:

• Nice, colorful, stimulus photos.
• Clear voice on stimulus items.
• You can easily modify settings from the main page.
• You can target receptive and expressive by recording the correct answer.
• Data collection for each client is included!
• Built-in compatibility with Therapy Report Center helps with report writing and progress monitoring.
• Stickers received are motivating for many students.

Improvements:

• A few of the photos are mildly confusing to younger/lower students.
• In the find it mode I’d love to control how long the photo stays up after a correct response.

It is currently available for only $9.99:

Enter to win a copy of all 3 Smarty Ears apps that are featured this week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Disclosure: Smarty Ears provided a copy of this app for review.  No other compensation was provided and all opinions are that of the author.

You’ve seen several of the awesome speech and language gift-giving posts lately.  I’m definitely a proponent of educational toys for our kiddos and strive to purchase hands-on gifts for the kids in my life.  However, I know that many of our speech and language students gravitate toward technology.  There are several great apps out there that can be gifted to kiddos that will allow them to use that “precious” technology while working on their skills without even knowing it!  These are apps I would recommend to parents that want to know which apps their students can use or for your own personal use in gifting apps to the children in your lives.  Typically you might just choose to give an iTunes gift card or the like but giving the app directly ensures that it will be an educational app rather than the newest Angry Birds app.  Here are 10 app suggestions for you:

        

     

     

     

     

• Find the app you would like to gift in the app store.
• In the top right corner you will tap the “share” button.
• Tap the “gift” icon in the next screen.
• Sign into iTunes with your account.
• Type the e-mail of the person you would like to send the app to.
• You can add a message if you’d like.
• Pick the day that you want the app sent (sweet for birthdays and holidays!).
• Select a gift theme.
• Tap “Buy”, then tap “Buy to confirm”.

• Sign into the app store with your Apple ID.
• Find the app in the store that you want to gift.
• Select the arrow to the right of the app and select “gift this”.
• Type the e-mail of the person you would like to send the app to.
• You can add a message if you’d like.
• Pick the day that you want the app sent.  Click “next”.
• Select a gift theme.  Click “next”.
• Click “Buy Gift”, then tap “Buy to confirm”.

Do you have other apps you would suggest gifting?  Leave the app and link in the comments below!