Using storybooks in speech-language intervention:

Transcription

1 Using storybooks in speech-language intervention: From theory to application Bilinguistics Inc. This course is offered by Bilinguistics, an SH pproved CE Provider Content rea: Professional Instructional Level: Intermediate Continuing Education Units:.1 Objectives: Participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge in: Basic theory and research related to storybook intervention The implementation of common scaffolding techniques Book qualities important for speech and language intervention The design of intervention activities used with storybooks The terms storybook intervention, literature-based intervention and shared story reading are used interchangeably in this manuscript. 1

2 Introduction Storybooks have long been used as educational tools. They provide a structure for teaching concepts while keeping the student engaged and interested. Story structure additionally assists in retention and retrieval of classroom concepts due to familiarity with stories, repetition, and formulaic patterns. Book themes can be selected to allow students to explore fantasies, learn more about the real world, further students knowledge about current classroom subjects, and introduce new topics. These benefits of literacy-based lessons also have gained popularity in speech and language intervention. Storybooks are beneficial to the work of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) from both an educational and a practical perspective. They provide an excellent way to keep students engaged while addressing their speech and language goals. Storybooks can be used with all ages and cultures to address a wide range of goals, including articulation, semantics, syntax, comprehension, pragmatics, and discourse skills. Clinicians can work at different levels depending on the student s needs ranging from decontextualized discrete skills to skills that require more global processing, such as inferring meaning in stories, understanding characters feelings, and producing story sequence. Clinicians can use story themes and contexts to help students generalize skills learned in storybook reading to other settings. On the practical side, using sets of storybooks with activities increases the efficiency of the often busy SLP by decreasing preparation time once the materials have initially been created. dditionally, parents can easily become a part of the treatment process at home, which can greatly increase learning and retention of new skills. 2

3 Theory and Research Researchers consistently have found that students with language learning difficulties have benefited from literacy-based intervention techniques. Shared reading activities have been shown to aid in students overall development, including socialemotional, language, and academic development. By providing a model or visual experience, books can promote social-emotional development by helping students identify with and understand complex emotions, such as guilt, pride, and shame (Doyle & Bramwell, 2006). Shared reading activities can also help provide students with the language necessary to talk about their emotions. Such socio-emotional development has been shown to contribute to students academic success (Denham, 1998; Elias, 2003; Zins, 2001). Storybooks promote language development by providing concurrent exposure to oral and written language (Teale & Sulzby, 1986). s Westby (1985) noted, narratives provide a bridge between oral communication that contributes to social interaction and writing. This allows students to learn new information and promotes development in different areas that contribute to academic success. Shared Reading While books have been used as part of therapy for many years, current studies have found numerous benefits from the use of broader literacy-based intervention techniques. Shared reading experiences have been found to have a positive effect on students overall oral language skills (Debaryshe, 1993), as well as more specific skills. Storybook reading has been found effective for pragmatic skills, such as establishing and maintaining joint attention and promoting conversational turn taking (Bruner, 1978). Literacy-based intervention also has been used successfully for semantic and syntactic development by increasing vocabulary and by increasing the understanding of word 3

4 relationships and complex sentence structures (Gillam & Ukrainetz, 2006; Crowe, Norris, and Hoffman, 2000). Shared reading provides adults with an opportunity to provide students with models of language structures and vocabulary that they are not yet able to employ independently (Beed, Hawkins, & Roller, 1991; Bruner, 1978). In addition to promoting growth in oral language development, shared reading experiences also provide an important link to literacy development. Reading to students promotes a greater eagerness to read (Mason & Blanton, 1971), exposes students to printed materials they are not yet able to read independently (Teale, 1984), and provides them with positive reading role models. Such exposure to books can provide a critical foundation for academic success. Scaffolding techniques can be used in shared story reading to approach intervention goals at a level that is comfortable for the child. Students with language impairments tend to be passive learners (Rabidoux and MacDonald, 2000). Shared reading allows adults to use scaffolding techniques to engage students, allowing them a comfortable way to be active in the learning process, during intervention, in the classroom, and in the home. There is strong support in the literature indicating that students who are active in the learning process learn more quickly and retain information better (Feldman & Denti, 2004). Scaffolding Techniques Scaffolding is support provided in a creative and adaptive manner that enables the student to learn the skills at the most independent level possible. Each student has a range of skill levels from what he or she is able to do without any assistance to what he or she is able to do with maximal assistance. This range was termed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) by Vygotsky (1978). The bottom of the zone represents what 4

5 students can do by themselves and the top of the zone represents what students can do with a lot of help from an adult. s students learn, their zone moves to higher levels. Scaffolding techniques allow a clinician to work at a level that is beneficial to each student. Numerous types of scaffolding can be used to help students internalize new information and scaffolding can be used before, during, and after storybook reading. Examples of different scaffolding techniques are included in the following section of this paper. pplication s previously discussed, story-based activities are effective methods for speechlanguage pathologists to use during intervention. In this section, we outline important considerations when choosing a storybook, general activities that can be used with a variety of books, as well as specific examples from the book Podría haber sido peor /It could have been Worse, by.h. Benjamin. Selecting Books for Intervention Choosing the right book is crucial for engaging the students. The general criteria in choosing a book are that it must be age-appropriate, interesting to children, and have some pertinence to a student s speech or language goals. Books that include repetition, simplicity, humor and great (but not too distracting) illustrations are often successful with students who have speech and language difficulties. Books that are already in use in the classroom can have a dramatic effect on a student s success due to familiarity and repetition. Fortunately, the school environment abounds with resources and support to help in choosing books that meet your students needs. 5

6 Resources 1. School Librarians: Librarians are usually very helpful in choosing the appropriate level and themes for the students. They are very knowledgeable about book content and are insightful in suggesting books when a SLP describes what he or she hopes to accomplish with the book activity. Depending on the size of the school, librarians often know most of the students personally and can offer suggestions on popular topics with classrooms or specific students. 2. Classroom Teachers: It is also a good idea to talk to the classroom teacher in order to get a schedule of themes that will be taught in the classroom. Repetition of topics gives a student confidence due to an already established knowledge base and familiar vocabulary. The repetition of themes also encourages carryover of speech and language goals into the classroom setting. 3. Internet Resources: The Monroe County Library of Indiana has a great listing of books that are broken down by: o Predictable Books o Chain or Circular Story o Cumulative o Familiar Sequence (calendar) o Familiar Sequence (numbers) o Pattern Story o Question and nswer o Repetition of Phrase o Rhyme o Songbook ( Many of these books can be found in school or public libraries. 6

7 California State University, San Marcos provides a list of recommended books in Spanish and also books in English about Latinos. ( Storybook Intervention: Pre-reading, Story-reading, and Post-reading s noted above, literacy-based therapy techniques can be used before, during, and after reading a storybook (Hoggan & Strong, 1994). Pre-reading activities engage the student prior to reading the story, preparing them to comprehend the story in a more meaningful manner. While reading the story, cueing or scaffolding techniques allow students to actively participate in the story. Scaffolding techniques also allow the adult to check for comprehension during reading. Post-reading activities can be used to target specific speech and language skills in a context rich manner while allowing the student to review what he or she has learned. Expansion of intervention in this manner provides greater familiarity and exposure to concepts which will increase success in the classroom. Pre-reading activities: Pre-reading activities are used to bridge any gaps between a student s current skills and the targeted skills. Below is a list of pre-reading activities as well as examples designed for the book, Podría haber sido peor /It could have been Worse, by.h. Benjamin. 1. Music use songs semantically related to the material in the book. (Hoggan & Strong, 1994) 2. Semantic mapping/graphic organizers the adult and students develop a list of words and concepts related to the story and then develop a visual representation or map of how the words and concepts are related to one another (Gilliam & Ukrainetz, 2006; Hoggan & Strong, 1994). ccording to Gillam and Ukrainetz 7

8 (2006), graphic organizers also provide the opportunity for students to work on increasing semantic and syntactic complexity through scaffolding techniques. Examples are below. 3. Pre-reading discussion Pre-reading questions are designed to tie the students knowledge and ideas from the graphic organizer to the concepts in the book. 4. Illustration discussion The student creates a story using illustrations from the selected book. Scaffolding techniques may be used to facilitate higher semantic and syntactic complexity. Below are examples of several templates that may be used during this activity. Following Gillam and Ukrainetz (2006) structure for creating a sequence of activities, we designed activities specifically for Podría haber sido peor /It could have been Worse. These are concrete examples of what can be used in literature-based intervention. The clinician would complete a set of pre-reading activities, and then read the book. Pre-reading activity 1: Semantic Mapping/ Graphic Organizer: Say: Vamos a leer un cuento que se trata de un raton que está regresando a su casa. El raton viajaba por un prado y un río para llegar a su casa.. We will be reading about a mouse on his way home. He traveled through a field and a river to get home. sk the student: Qué te encuentras en un prado? What do you find in a field? 8

9 s the student comes up with plants and animals, write the responses on a board or on paper. dult/student Spanish English Qué te encuentras en un prado? What do your find in a field? S Zancudos Mosquitoes Sí, zancudos viven en el prado. O Sí, zancudos son insectos pequeños que se encuentra en el prado. S Pájaros Birds Sí pájaros son animales que vuelen y que se encuentra en el prado. Yes, mosquitoes live in the fields. Or Yes, mosquitoes are small insects that you find in fields. Yes, birds are animals that fly and that you find in fields. Say: Cómo llega a su casa normalmente? How do you usually get home? s the student responds with words such as walk, run, and skip, write their answers on the board. Use the words the child produces in sentences. dult/student Spanish English Cómo llega a su casa How do you usually get home? normalmente? S Caminar Walking Sí, puede caminar por el campo hacia su casa. Yes, you can walk through a field toward your house. 9

10 sk: Qué más puede pasar en su camino hacia su casa? What else can happen while you are walking home? s the student responds with words such as fall down, trip, etc., write them on the board and explain how the words or concepts are related to each other. dult/student Spanish English Qué más puede pasar en el camino hacia su casa? What else can happen on your way home? S Puede tropezar. You can trip. Sí, se puede tropezar mientras que está caminando hacia su casa. O Sí, puede tropezar cuando está caminando a su casa. Yes, you can trip while you are walking home. Or Yes, you can trip when your are walking home. Pre-reading activity 2: Pre-reading questions: 1. Un raton podría escapar de un gato en el camino hacia la casa? Could a mouse escape from a cat on the way home? 2. Un gato podría escapar de un raton en su camino? Could a cat escape from a mouse on the way home? 3. Qué tipo de animal trataría de comer un raton? What type of animal would try to catch a mouse? 4. Dónde puede esconder un raton cuando está en el campo? Where can a mouse hide when he is in a field? 10

11 Pre-reading activity 3: Create stories using illustrations: Say: hora, vamos a mirar los dibujos y hablar de lo que ves. Now we are going to look at the pictures and talk about them. dult/student Spanish English Qué está pasando? What is happening? S El gato está atacando al raton. The cat is attacking the mouse. Porqué? Why? S Porqué quiere comerlo. Because he wants to eat him. Sí, el gato está atacando al raton porque quiere comerlo. Yes, the cat is attacking the mouse because he wants to eat him. On Page 16, the ppendix is designed for use during the pre-reading and post reading activities. During the pre-reading activities, the student can use the illustration to create a simple sentence or story. During post-reading, the student can recall points from the story, draw a picture and then write about their picture. Read the story book: While reading the book, use scaffolding techniques to engage the student and check understanding. Clinicians commonly use scaffolding techniques in order to help the student learn target skills. Specific scaffolding techniques are presented in this storyreading section but they are effective during pre- and post-reading activities as well. 11

12 Below is a list of scaffolding techniques commonly used in speech and language therapy (Liboiron & Soto, 2006). Scaffolding techniques 1. Print reference The adult references a target from the book by pointing or commenting (e.g. The adult points to an illustration and asks, What is happening in the picture? ) 2. Cloze procedures The adult provides the first part of an utterance and the student completes the thought (e.g. : The mouse was walking on the vine when he lost his balance and S: fell off). 3. Syntactic and semantic expansions The adult expands on an utterance provided by the student using the grammar and vocabulary targets (e.g. S: The mouse walking. : Yes, the little mouse is walking on the vine.). 4. Comprehension questions The adult asks the student a question targeting an appropriate level of complexity for the student (: Why do you think it could have been worse for the mouse? S: Because the cat could have eaten him). 5. Binary choice The adult offers the student two choices of responses (e.g. : What happened to the mouse? Did he fall off the vine or jump off the vine? S: He fell off the vine.). 6. Modeling The adult models the target structure for the student (e.g. What happened to the mouse when he was crossing the river? The mouse fell into the river.) (Liboiron & Soto, 2006). 12

13 Post reading activities: Post-reading activities create a time when the student can review and reflect on what they have learned. For students with language impairments, post-reading activities are a powerful way to allow the student to experience success that they may not often feel in the classroom. Here are general post-reading activities followed by examples for Podría haber sido peor /It could have been Worse. 1. Discussion questions The adult and student discuss the story. ccording to Gillam and Ukrainetz (2006), the clinician should respond to 40% to 60% of all questions with scaffolding techniques. 2. Syntactic activities Students create grammatical structures through a variety of art activities and games. Suggested targets: past tense and present progressive 3. Semantic activities Students add to their word books through art activities in the areas of object/function, part/whole, categories, antonyms, and synonyms. Suggested targets: comparison, categories, and action words. 4. Narrative retelling use scaffolding techniques and visuals from the book to support the student while retelling the story 5. Phonology/rticulation Use images from the book as well as general images in order to target specific phonological and articulation skills. See articulation chart in the following activities. Post reading activity 1 Use the pictures from the book to scaffold, ask the student: Qué pasó al raton? What happened to the mouse? 13

14 Then ask: Qué hubiera pasado al raton? What could have happened to the mouse? Example of dialogue between the adult and student with scaffolding techniques. dult/student Spanish English Qué pasó al raton? (dult points to What happened to the mouse? the mouse falling) S Se cayó al piso. It fell on the floor Qué hubiera pasado al raton? (dult points to the picture of the cat) What could have happened to the mouse? (dult points to the picture of the cat) S El gato pudo haber comido el raton. O El raton pudiera caer en las espinas. The cat could have eaten the mouse. O The mouse could have fallen in the thorns. Post reading activity 2 1. sk the students what were the worst and best things that happened that day. 2. Have the students draw a picture and write a word/sentence about the events. Post reading activity 3 Play the situation game. Instructions: The clinician provides a common situation and the student creates a better or worse situation. 14

15 Conclusion: In addition to being used as general educational tools, storybooks are effectively used in speech-language intervention. They provide an excellent structure for teaching concepts and their repetition and formulaic patterns can aid in retention and retrieval of new information. Storybooks can be selected to address any speech and language goal from sound production to discourse. From a practical perspective, storybook activities are fun and can reduce therapy preparation time once the initial materials are created. Books also provide structure for parents to help carry out intervention in the home. In addition to reviewing current theory and literature related to the use of storybooks in intervention, we have provided models for creating your own storybook activities. These models are a few of the activities that can be used in practice. The possibilities for effective and fun intervention are endless. The three appendices that follow are examples of charts that can be used to record data and chart the progress of each student. 15

16 ppendix : Story Illustration and Writing This template can be used to draw a picture from the book and write key words or sentences about the story. The Title / El Título: 16

17 ppendix B: rticulation Chart This articulation chart was created for the book Podría haber sido peor / It could have been Worse, by.h. Benjamin. Charts similar to this can easily be created for any book to track a student s articulation productions while answering wh questions. Word + - K G S D N L T R RR Y cluster Raton Cayo Suelo Espinas Gato Comido Hoyo Pajaro Desapareció Sentó Cardo Salió Volando Serpiente Pez Palo Resbaló Lobo Total 17

18 ppendix B: Scaffolding Chart Below is a chart of scaffolding techniques. The clinician can use this chart to take data on the types of scaffolding the student most frequently responds to. The information can be used to send home specific techniques for the parents to use while completing his or her homework. Scaffolding Technique Frequency Modeling Print reference Expansions Binary choice Cloze procedure Comprehension questions 18

19 References Beed, P., Hawkins, E., & Roller, C. (1991). Moving learners toward Independence: The power of scaffold instruction. The Reading Teacher, 44, Benjamin,.H. (1998). Podría haber sido peor [It could have been worse]. (Warnes, T, Eds. Mlawer, T. Trans.). New York: Lectorum Publications, Inc. Bruner, J.S. (1978). The role of dialogue in language acquisition. In. Sinclair, B.J. Jarvella, & W.J.M. Lewell (Eds.). The child s conception of language (pp ). New York: Springer-Vedag. California State University. Libros Recomendados en Español/Recommended Books in English about Latinos. Barahona Center for the study of books in Spanish for Children and dolescence California State University, San Marcos < Crowe, L., Norris, J.., & Hoffman, P.R. (2000). Facilitating storybook interactions between mothers and their preschoolers with language impairments. Communication Disorders Quarterly 22, Debaryshe, B.D. (1993). Joint picture-book reading correlates of early language skills. Journal of Child Language, 20, Denham, S.. (1998). Emotional development in your children. New York: Guildord. Doyal, G.D., & Bramwell, W. (2006). Promoting emergent literacy and social-emotional learning through dialogic reading. The Reading Teacher, 56, Elias, M.J. (2003). cademic and social-emotional learning. Educational Practices, 11, Gillam, R. B., & Ukrainetz, T. M. (2006). Language intervention through literaturebased units. In T. M. Ukrainetz (Ed.), Literate language intervention: 19

20 Scaffolding PreK-12 literacy achievement (pp ). Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications. Hoggan, K. C., & Strong, C. J. (1994). The magic of once upon a time : Narrative Teaching Strategies. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 25, Liboiron, N., & Soto, G. (2006). Shared storybook reading with a student who uses alternative and augmentative communication: description of scaffolding practices. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 22, Monroe County Library of Indiana. Predictable Books. Children s Services Monroe County, Indiana. < Ninio,. & Bruner, J. (1978). The achievements and antecedents of labeling. Journal of Child Lanuguage, 45, Rabidoux, P., & Macdonald, J. (2000). n interactive taxonomy of mothers and children during storybook interactions. merican Journal of Speech-Language, 9, Teal, W., & Sulzby, E. (1986). Emergent Literacy: Writing and reading. Norwood, NJ: blex Publishing Corporation. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, M: Harvard University Press. 20

21 Westby, C.E. (1985). Learning to talk-talking to learn: Oral-literate language differences. In C.S. Simon (Ed.), Communication skills and classroom success (pp ). San Diego, C: College Hill Press. Zins, J.E. (2001). Examining opportunities and challenges for school-based prevention and promotion: Social and emotional learning as an exemplar. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 21,