Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words (Part 3)

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Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words Blog Reflection Series

This month, I am reading The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn by Paula Denton, EdD. This text is recommended reading, as part of the Responsive Classroom Model to teaching. I am reading and reflecting on this book as an SLP working with early elementary-aged children.

General Guidelines for Teacher Language: 

1. Be Direct.

2. Convey Faith in Students’ Abilities and Intentions.

3. Focus on Actions, Not Abstractions.

4. Keep It Brief.

5. Know When to Be Silent.

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

The Power of Our Words describes two types of language to help educators focus on actions, not abstractions: Envisioning Language and Reinforcing Language.

 Envisioning Language

In general, when working with children, it is helpful to focus on clear, actionable ideas over abstract ideas. This is especially true for children with language disorders, who often lack the vocabulary and comprehension skills to follow indirect and implicit classroom expectations.

The author of the Power of Our Words recommends using vision statements to help guide students’ behaviors. As SLPs, we write vision statements in Individual Education Plans (IEPs) all the time. An IEP vision statement is a clearly defined future the Team is trying to attain by completing the steps outlined in the IEP. A student vision statement works in the same way. When creating a vision statement, educators draw on the students’ intrinsic values (e.g., to have fun, be safe, feel important, make friends, learn interesting things) to define an accessible future. They complete the vision statement with clear, actionable steps to achieve that future.

 Example of Envisioning Language in Speech Therapy:

 “Today, in speech, I expect everyone will listen to each other and participate in the activities to become better communicators.”

Following vision statements with open-ended questions, which ask the students how they can make this vision come true, is an excellent way to gauge their understanding of expectations, as well as learn their perspective on the vision.

 Reinforcing Language

 “Children need to know their strengths in order to know what to stand on as they reach for the next higher rung. They need our words to help them do this.”

(Denton, 2018 p. 89)

“Children build on their strengths, not their weaknesses” (Denton, 2018 p. 88). Light bulb! How great is that quote?! I was blown away by it. Seriously, I had to put the book down and digest that little sentence. I spend so much time identifying weaknesses and figuring out the best evidence-based way to improve upon those weaknesses, and then I read this book. I have heard of taking a strengths-based perspective before, and I thought that was what I had been doing. I realize now that I had just been documenting strengths and weaknesses and then focusing on the weaknesses.

This links to my previous post about being a genuine listener; what I need to do is pay attention to my students’ interests, and strengths to help build an engaging learning environment. Reinforcing language can help force that perspective for educators.


“Good job!” “Nice work!” “I like your work ethic.”

 What I liked about the Power of Our Words was that the advice and instructions were realistic for educators. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended a two-day Responsive Classroom training and left feeling overwhelmed and leery of the concepts. This book does a much nicer job explaining the ideology.

 The author says that expressing your personal approval has its time and place. If you are genuinely expressing praise and personal approval to celebrate your students’ triumphs, go for it. “Good job” is for celebrating, not for effecting change. If your goal is to help your students grow, then use specific descriptive feedback. By explicitly labeling positive, concrete behaviors, students learn exactly what they are doing well and should continue doing to succeed.

Continuously framing behaviors emphasizing your personal approval sends the “message that the purpose of good behavior is to please us, when what we want is for children to be motivated toward cooperative, careful behaviors for the sake of themselves and the group” (Denton, 2018 p. 97).

Are you a good jobber? I definitely am! One thing the book mentions while you are embarking on this journey of improving your language for behavior management is to practice catching your mistakes and following them up with the appropriate response. In my speech therapy sessions, you will hear me say things like, “Good job! You used the visuals to help you remember the setting of the story that time.” It is a work in progress.

I highly recommend reading The Power of Our Words for yourself! It includes concrete examples of what to say and when to say it, as well as more in-depth information about each of the general guidelines and types of teacher language. It also includes steps to begin practicing teacher language with your students.

References:

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Thanks for reading!

Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words (Part 2)

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Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words Blog Reflection Series

This month, I am reading The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn by Paula Denton, EdD. This text is recommended reading as part of the Responsive Classroom Model to teaching. I am reading and reflecting on this book as an SLP working with early elementary-aged children.

General Guidelines for Teacher Language:

1. Be Direct.

2. Convey Faith in Students’ Abilities and Intentions.

3. Focus on Actions, Not Abstractions.

4. Keep It Brief.

5. Know When to Be Silent.

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Let’s talk about listening.

Genuinely listening to our students is a foundational skill in behavior management. Educators can’t teach children they do not know. Taking time to genuinely listen to our students, not only helps us learn about their interests, but it opens our eyes to their fear, anxieties, and reservations (which is where most behaviors stem from).


Being genuine listeners also helps us to build further a foundation of trust, which, as I mentioned in the previous post, is vital for fostering a learning environment. Modeling genuine listening shows children that we value their answers. When they feel valued, they are more likely to put thought into their answers, because they trust that we genuinely want to know their response and understand their way of thinking.


In speech therapy sessions, it can be easy to fall into the trap of surface-level listening, because we are busy scaffolding, recalling evidence-based practice, taking accurate data, and often managing multiple different goal areas, never mind student behaviors….and oh yeah, we only have thirty minutes. However, practicing genuine listening skills is necessary not only for building rapport, but it also models effective communication skills.

Be a Genuine Listener

Set aside your ideas and agenda to focus on the student’s words. Then, adjust your body language to be open and focused on your student. Student’s can tell when we ask a question with a specific answer in mind, and they can tell when we are not actually interested in their response. If you want your students to put real thought into your questions, you need to put real effort into listening to their answers. To help make sure you are not asking questions with specific answers in mind, ask open-ended questions to help stimulate their thinking and reflection. Close-ended questions have their place, but try to include open-ended questions in your discussions to engage your students in their learning.

After your student responds, pause to model thoughtfully reflecting on what they have said. Then, paraphrase their response to ensure understanding, acknowledge their ideas, make connections in their thoughts, and provide them new language for expressing their ideas. Don’t just repeat what the student said. Paraphrase using your own words, avoid using “I,” and be brief to keep the focus on the child’s contributions to the discussion.

Do you sometimes struggle with being a genuine listener? Even though I am an SLP, I often struggle with leaving enough silence and asking questions that stimulate thinking. But that is why I am here reading this book…to learn and grow.

References:

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Thanks for reading!

Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words (Part 1)

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Read With Me PD: The Power of Our Words Reflection Series

Photo of cover of The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton, EdD

My PD read for the month of June is The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn by Paula Denton, EdD. The Power of Our Words is published by The Center for Responsive Schools, Inc. It is recommended reading as part of their Responsive Classroom Model. Every educator, related service provider, and support staff member in my school district attended a Responsive Classroom training at the start of the 2018 school year. The training and information disseminated largely pertained to the general education classroom setting. However, I was able to walk away from the training with with game changing behavior management ideas that I felt I could adapt to my speech therapy room. I am ashamed to say that I actually bought this book back in September 2018 and am only now getting around to reading it, but at least I am reading it!

I was drawn to this book, because of the subtitle, Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn. In almost every IEP meeting I attend, I try to convey to parents and educators the huge role language plays in learning and all of life really. Classroom lessons and social interactions are mediated through language. Having a good grasp of language skills and an thorough understanding of how others comprehend you is essential to academic and social success. Too often I walk into a classroom and hear a well-meaning educator give a five-step direction with negation, conditional commands, temporal concepts, and figurative language, and I primarily work in the kindergarten wing. Even as an SLP, I sometimes stumble into using complex, complicated, convoluted language with my students. Understanding how your students understand you is integral to your ability to provide adequate instruction. Enter: The Power of Our Words.

General Guidelines for Teacher Language:

1. Be Direct.

2. Convey Faith in Students’ Abilities and Intentions.

3. Focus on Actions, Not Abstractions.

4. Keep It Brief.

5. Know When to Be Silent.

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Today, I want to discuss the Be Direct part, because when I first heard of it I thought it sounded insincere. The book framed the idea better than the trainer had.

Being direct with children is respectful.

When you are direct with children, you clearly tell them your expectations. When children understand your expectations, they are (a) able to rise to the occasion and (b) more likely to trust you. Reciprocal trust and respect are invaluable in creating a learning atmosphere.

The book reminded me of the first lesson I thought I learned, but apparently forgot, from grad school–don’t ask, tell. When you ask a student to complete a direction, you are giving them options. For example, I often say things like, “Could you come sit down at the table?” The could implies that there are two options in this situation: sit down at the table or don’t. When the child chooses not to sit at the table, because he thought there was a choice in the matter, and I become upset that he is not sitting at the table with me, he feels confused. Confusion leads to distrust and does not foster a learning environment. It is much more respectful and effective for me to say, “Sit down at the speech table, we are ready to begin.”

I have also fallen into the trap of comparing students, by praising the ones who are doing what is expected. “I like how Johnny is sitting at the table.” The author of the book says something along the lines of, well that’s great for the two of you, but it is completely useless information to the other children (Denton, 2018 p. 14). Saying that you like how another child is behaving, does nothing to explain what that child is doing to meet your expectations. Instead, try describing the behaviors you would like to see. In the example above, I should say, “Come sit down at the table and show me whole body listening.” Use clear, easy to follow expectations that children are able to execute to direct their behavior.

The next, be direct no-no that I absolutely struggle with, is avoiding sarcasm. When I am becoming frustrated by bad behaviors it is easy for me to slip into sarcasm for some comedic relief. During a recent, particularly terrible teletherapy session, a student paused his maladaptive behavior to say, “Did you just roll your eyes at me.” Yehp! I did…

There are two problems with sarcasm:

-It is confusing to children, especially those with language disorders.

-It is also damaging to your role as a compassionate, caring adult in your students’ lives. The author wrote, “[When a teacher uses sarcasm, students] no longer see the teacher as an authority who protects their emotional safety but someone who freely uses the currency of insult” (Denton, 2018 p. 16). Sarcasm, like indirect language, is damaging to the trust you are trying to build with your students.

When you are feeling frustrated, don’t deflect. That is exactly the moment to define your expectations clearly to improve the situation.

Do you struggle with being direct in your directions and expectations? Stay tuned for more insight from this month’s PD read: The Power of Our Words.

Thanks for reading!

References:

Denton, P. (2018). The power of our words: Teacher language that helps children learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

Speech Therapy Materials Organization (& A Cautionary Tale)

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First, a cautionary tale. When I was in graduate school, I discovered Teachers Pay Teachers and quickly became addicted. I invested in speech therapy materials that I still use five years later, and I downloaded ALL of the freebies. This was far too many materials to store on my little baby laptop, so I stored everything on an external hard drive, which I remember being very expensive.

Flash forward to the end of my graduate experience, I am beginning to study for my comprehensive exams and preparing to begin my career within the next six months. I plug in my external hard drive on a cold January morning only to discover it is empty. EMPTY. Everything…EVERYTHING…was gone! All of those materials I had discovered and carefully organized. I was upset about the materials, but the hard drive also had all of my pictures and every study guide I had made during my graduate career (Reminder: I was beginning to study for my comprehensive exams and those were the study guides I had planned to rely on).

I frantically took my hard drive to Geek Squad only to learn that, sometimes hard drives just implode. It had to do with it being jostled, temperature, and age. It cost a LOT of money to retrieve the data on the hard drive. Somethings were unfortunately lost, like every photograph I took in 2010…but, I learned an important lesson and leaned on my friends for their notes to study.

These days, I store everything in two places. I pay for upgraded storage on Google Drive and I have a backup of everything on two different external hard drives.

Now let’s discuss how I keep all of my materials organized. During my Clinical Fellowship, I quickly learned the importance of having organizational systems in place. This lesson came after I (a) tried to purchase something I already owned… and (b) purchased an identical product to something I already owned. I’d being lying if these things only happened one time. Anyone else experience this problem?

I currently have four integrated organizational systems that have been working for me!

1. All of my digital files are stored on Google Drive (and on a back-up hard drive) by skill and/or theme.

I like having the digital materials stored on Google Drive. First, I can easily search key words and find materials that meet my needs. Second, I can access all of my materials on any computer, which improves my work flow.

2. My prepped skill-based materials are displayed on the wall of my therapy room for easy access.

This display has expanded. When I am finally allowed back into my therapy room I will take an updated photo. I use command strips and hanging file folder displays to store my most-used, prepped skill-based materials. For example, all of the Grab n’ Go decks by Live. Love. Speech (pictured below), the WH-Curriculum by the Speech Bubble, Interactive Vocabulary Books by Speech Room News, and skill binders I have assembled from materials on the SLP Now membership.

Originally, I stored these items in a file cabinet and I quickly forgot about them or left them in an unorganized pile on my desk, because I used them too frequently to put away in a creaky file cabinet. Being able to quickly see all of my materials is very helpful!

3. Paper copies and prepped thematic materials are organized into seasonal file boxes.

This is by far my favorite organizational tool. Just look at those adorable labels, they make me want to be organized. The labels are by The Type B SLP, check them out here.

I store these bins away on a metal shelf situation in the back of my therapy room. When a new season comes, I place the appropriate box beside my therapy table for easy access. I store all of my seasonal prepped materials, plus extra copies of paper activities in the boxes. Yes, I do have two Fall boxes. I love Fall!

This system also helps me with purging materials regularly, because the boxes can only hold so much. Plus, it is easy to make copies in advance. A few weeks before the new season I carry the box into the copy room and replenish any activities that are looking low.

A peek inside the seasonal storage boxes. I stand a regular piece of paper upright to serve as dividers between themes.

4. Finally, I keep a written log of all materials by skill and/or theme in inventory binder.

I purchased the Ultimate Organization Labels & Planner by Texas Speech Mom and it makes my Type A, organization heart smile. I use the inventory pages to keep track of all of my materials both digital, hard copy, and prepped. I use this binder when I am planning sessions.

Below is a screenshot from my personal inventory binder. Template is from the Texas Speech Mom Ultimate Organization Kit. (Check it out here).

And that is how I organize my therapy materials. Do you have a similar system? Do you have a better system that you would like to share?

Thanks for reading!