As a speech-language pathologist, I address language goals - sentence structure, vocabulary, comprehension, sequencing, story grammar, etc. - and there is no better resource to teach these goals than a book. Although I have attempted to utilize classic curriculum-based books (i.e., The Scarlet Letter) with the students on my caseload, I notice that the content is difficult for them to relate to, and the language, in particular, is too complex for them to get through.
In an effort to reach my students through their own interests, cultural backgrounds, experiences, and reading/language level, I am building a library of specially curated Young Adult novels to use in therapy. Many of the books I selected cover topics high schoolers in an urban setting may relate to, including racism, sexual assault, refugee life, new love, difficult family situations, friendships, sports, and consequences of bad decisions. My hope is to engage my students - to get on their level, so I can leverage the content to help foster language skills - and to show them that books are enjoyable, relevant, and within their academic reach.
I appreciate your support in helping me to encourage literacy for ALL students, especially those with language disabilities living in more urban settings. Let's offer some critical resources where they are lacking.
About my class
As a speech-language pathologist, I address language goals - sentence structure, vocabulary, comprehension, sequencing, story grammar, etc. - and there is no better resource to teach these goals than a book. Although I have attempted to utilize classic curriculum-based books (i.e., The Scarlet Letter) with the students on my caseload, I notice that the content is difficult for them to relate to, and the language, in particular, is too complex for them to get through.
In an effort to reach my students through their own interests, cultural backgrounds, experiences, and reading/language level, I am building a library of specially curated Young Adult novels to use in therapy. Many of the books I selected cover topics high schoolers in an urban setting may relate to, including racism, sexual assault, refugee life, new love, difficult family situations, friendships, sports, and consequences of bad decisions. My hope is to engage my students - to get on their level, so I can leverage the content to help foster language skills - and to show them that books are enjoyable, relevant, and within their academic reach.
I appreciate your support in helping me to encourage literacy for ALL students, especially those with language disabilities living in more urban settings. Let's offer some critical resources where they are lacking.
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