This is the first, in hopefully a series of posts about monthly books for use in speech therapy sessions. This has been a long time coming and after I realized just how many books I have collected and routinely use in therapy, I finally decided to share.
Please know that I don’t use ALL of these books each month every year. I tend to choose about two books a month each for 1st & 2nd graders. Often times these are books being used in the classrooms by teachers, so that is why I separate these grades. I do use literature books for K and 3rd grade, too (maybe I can get around to sharing that process someday), but the ones I use for 1st & 2nd grade are those that I generally have established plans surrounding and can suggest for use with your entire elementary caseload. That being said, if you are just starting out with books, I recommend you pick two per month that meet the interest and needs of the majority of your caseload, to start. Then begin to plan ways to incorporate these into your groups.
Here’s the short list of books I have set aside for September.
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- Sylvie by Jennifer Sattlery
- Pirates Go To School by Corinne Demas
- Pirates Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
- A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
- Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
- Miss Nelson Has a Field Day by Harry Allard
- Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Here’s what I target with just about EVERY book:
→Sequencing, retelling, summarizing, story grammar/elements (character, setting, problem, events, consequences, ending/solution)
→Tier 1 describing, Tier 2 vocabulary, synonyms & antonyms
→Comparing & contrasting/similarities & differences
→Basic concepts, direction words, temporal concepts
→WH questions-basic and inferential
→Inferencing-social/pragmatic
→Verbs & pronouns
→Sentence generation-higher level structures, conversational, expansion
→Articulation
Here’s what each book is particularly great for (don't forget about all the targets above, too):
Sylvie
Simple predictions
Tier 1 describing
Story grammar
I just LOVE this book about a curious flamingo. You can find my book companion with 1st grade standards here.
Pirates Go to School
Similarities & differences
Inferencing-social/pragmatic
Rhyme
This is a quick read and best for younger students. You can find my quick prep book companion here.
Pirates Love Underpants
Story grammar
*Lots of giggles AND language:).
This entire series is one in which your little ones will request over and over again. You can find interactive notebook activities for this book here and the FREE craft activity shown above here.
A Bad Case of Stripes
Inferencing-social/pragmatic
Tier 2 vocabulary
This book is perfect for the beginning of the year and building rapport with your students. You can find interactive notebook activities for this book here.
Hooray for Rodney Rat
Articulation/discrimination /r/
Similarities & differences
Inferencing-social/pragmatic
This is right in line with the feelings associated with speech sound disorders in which your students might find a connection with the events of the story. You can find interactive notebook activities for this book here.
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day
Tier 2 vocabulary
Figurative language
This is one of my favorite series from when I was young. My students get a chuckle out of the plot and vintage language. You can find my book companion here.
Those Darn Squirrels
Sequencing
Problem solving
This is a new story for me about a grumpy old man and a problem with squirrels. One read will have you hooked on the quirkiness of Old Man Fookwire and the clever determination of the squirrels. I must add this to my list of companions to create!
The Invisible Boy
Synonyms & antonyms
Inferencing-social/pragmatic
This is a great book for empowering students to embrace their talents and gain perspective. You can find my book companion here.
If you want to take the leap into using books, try my September Bundle of book companions. Do you have favorites that I have missed?
