Lesson Plans and Children’s Books on Differences and Disability Awareness

One of the things that I absolutely love about working in the schools is the opportunity to build community with my students and advocate for them with their teachers and peers. One of my favorite ways to do this is through our school social/emotional curriculum called Pride. I've mentioned Pride in a past blog post and …

A Fun and EASY January Activity for Speech and Language – New Year’s Resolutions!

Today I want to share with you a fun and easy activity I like to do with students when we return from winter break. The activity involves New Year's Resolutions and goal setting, so first I wanted to provide a little information on what I have learned about student goal setting since I started working …

Halloween Fun and a Christmas Freebie!

Happy holidays! Yes, that's right - in my world, Halloween is included in "the holidays" which means we get to celebrate and spread holiday cheer beginning October 31st! I love celebrating holidays in my speech room. For Halloween this year, we read Halloween books, did Halloween crafts, played Halloween BINGO, ate Halloween snacks, did Halloween mad-libs, …

An EASY Back to School Vocabulary Craft Activity

This week I started seeing all of my students again. It was fun to catch up with them and hear about their summers and we had a few "house keeping" items to take care of, like making schedule reminders for my older students so they can come on their own and creating punch cards for …

Welcome to Mrs. Penrod’s Room!

It has been a great week back at work so far! I really enjoyed the training we received on our new writing curriculum, "The Write Tools," and I have had lots of time to get ready for the upcoming school year. We've had several student volunteers so I've had lots of help with my projects …

Back to School!

I can't believe today is the last day of summer! Teachers at my school go back to work tomorrow for 4 days of professional development and work time to get ready for the upcoming school year before the students start on August 10th. We're adopting two new curriculums this year - "The Write Tools" and "Math …

Following Directions Activities and Resources – Links to Freebies!

I recently wrote about the diagnosis of (C) APD as well as treatments that are available for this diagnosis and other learning difficulties - treatments that are supported by research and those that are not (According to Macquarie University Special Education Center (MUSEC)). Students who are diagnosed (or misdiagnosed, depending on who you ask) with (C) APD …

If It’s Too Good to be True, it Probably Is – Treating (C) APD

Controversy is a good thing. I take that back - controversy with an open mind is a GREAT thing. It spawns evaluation of current information, a motivation for additional research, and a sharing of ideas. It forces us to evaluate our beliefs and come to understand new information. With this new information, we either solidify what we already believe …

Disability Awareness Essay Contest

During the first 20 minutes of each school day, every classroom in my school does Pride morning meetings. Pride is a school-wide initiative to promote student success by addressing social and emotional needs while building a sense of community within our school. This year, I have gotten more involved in planning the topics and curriculum for Pride. …

Data Collection Tips and Tricks for SLP’s

No matter where you work as an SLP, data collection is a critically important part of our jobs. First of all, for all of us, from the very first moment we meet a patient, student, or client, we begin taking data. The data from our initial assessments drives our treatment plans and the data we …