Picture this: You’ve been teaching idioms non-stop, patting yourself on the back because your students just learned ‘Spill the beans.’ Moments later, they’re on TikTok asking ‘It’s giving what?’ or saying ‘No cap.’ Are we truly equipping them for the language they live in?

While I love the idioms from yesteryear, such as all the lovely sayings from Aesop’s fables, you don’t hear them much in everyday life. The majority of students haven’t even been exposed to Aesop’s fables beyond a story or two.

Try listening in at a restaurant some time, especially to a group of younger people, or reading song lyrics from a popular new song. I imagine the older you are, the less you’ll recognize their figurative language. If they don’t hear it in their lives, why are we pushing it? Have you ever asked them “Have you heard this before?” I have, and I usually get a baffled shake of the head.

Language is a living, breathing thing. It’s constantly evolving, shedding old phrases and creating new ones. We sometimes have to let go of the old and accept the new. That means it’s time to ask a crucial question: Why are we even bothering with teaching idioms in the first place?

The True “Why”: Understanding Non-Literal Language, Not Memorizing a Secret Code

When we teach idioms to students, our primary goal shouldn’t be to have them memorize a fixed list of phrases as if they were secret codes for an exclusive club. (Honestly, whose club would they be codes to? Grandma’s bridge club?) If our aim is simply rote memorization, we’re missing the point entirely.

The real “why” behind idiom instruction is far more profound: to foster a robust understanding of non-literal language.

Benefits of Understanding Non-Literal Language

• Inferencing and Abstract Thinking: Understanding idioms requires moving beyond the concrete and literal. It builds critical thinking skills necessary for comprehending metaphors, sarcasm, humor, and complex social cues.
• Social Communication: So much of human interaction relies on implied meanings and figurative speech. A student who struggles with non-literal language might miss jokes, misinterpret intentions, or feel perpetually “out of the loop.”
• Reading Comprehension: Texts, even those for younger readers, are rife with figurative language. A strong grasp of non-literal concepts directly impacts reading comprehension and overall academic success.
• Language Flexibility: Understanding that words can have multiple layers of meaning makes students more agile and adaptable language users.

If our students are simply memorizing that ‘raining cats and dogs’ means heavy rain but don’t grasp the underlying concept that words can take on completely new meanings when combined, or how to figure them out, we’re not truly serving them. We’re giving them a fish for today rather than teaching them how to fish for a lifetime of language.

Why ‘Grandma’s Idioms’ Aren’t Cutting It Anymore

The challenge with focusing exclusively on teaching traditional idioms is their diminishing relevance. While culturally significant, phrases like ‘kick the bucket’ or ‘let the cat out of the bag’ are rarely encountered in the daily conversations, social media feeds, or digital interactions of today’s youth.

When we present students with idioms that feel foreign and disconnected from their world, we risk:

• Demotivation: Learning feels like an arbitrary chore rather than a relevant skill.
• Lack of Context: Without real-world exposure, the idioms lack natural context, making them harder to internalize and generalize.
• Inefficiency: Precious therapy and classroom time are spent on vocabulary that may never be actively used or encountered.

Of course, the classics still have their place. Learning to decode figurative language is a timeless skill. Consider exploring a time when language and culture were in a period of change, much like today.

My new Roaring Twenties Figurative Language Unit helps students decode the secret language of the Jazz Age with 60 slang terms and idioms. With differentiated slides for both younger and middle school students, this no-prep unit goes beyond a simple vocabulary list to connect language, history, and culture in a fun, engaging way.

Want to get a taste of this ‘cat’s pajamas’ of a unit?

As a newsletter subscriber, you can download a special PDF of 30 terms and their contextual use slides from the unit—perfect for a mini-lesson or a quick warm-up. Just fill out the form below to get instant access and join our community of language-loving SLPs and teachers!

The Solution to Understanding Figurative Language

Instead of teaching a list of static idioms, let’s empower our students, working alongside teachers and parents, to become idiom detectives! The goal is to identify, interpret, and understand the non-literal language they encounter every single day.

I propose creating a Living Idiom Dictionary—a dynamic, collaborative resource that evolves with the language our students actually use and hear. My Living Dictionary for Slang and Idioms is a free product that can help you get started.

How it Works:

• Spot It! Encourage students to listen for phrases they don’t understand, especially in casual conversations, TV shows, movies, social media, song lyrics, and video games.
• Capture It! When an unfamiliar phrase pops up, jot it down. This can be a physical notebook, a shared digital document, a whiteboard in the classroom, or a note on the fridge at home.

• Define It (Collaboratively)! This is the crucial step. Instead of just looking it up, discuss:What do the individual words mean literally?
  • What do you think it means in this context?
  • Where did you hear it? Who uses it?
  • Work together (SLP/teacher/parent with student, or even peers) to figure out the non-literal meaning. Sometimes, a quick online search might be necessary to confirm.
• Contextualize It! Write down the idiom, its non-literal meaning, and an example sentence of how it’s used. Bonus points for drawing a literal and a figurative picture! Write down the idiom, its non-literal meaning, and an example sentence of how it’s used. Bonus points for drawing a literal and a figurative picture!

Teaching How to Decode Figurative Language

You can use my free Figurative Language Decoding Visual Aid to help students with the process of untangling the meaning of figurative language. This simple, two-page guide includes a figurative language decision tree and a 3-step decoding guide, turning students into language detectives.

Revisit and Revise: Language is constantly changing. This dictionary isn’t static. Encourage students to add new entries, refine definitions, and even note when certain phrases fall out of use.

This activity directly addresses the “why” of idiom instruction. It’s not about memorizing a secret code; it’s about actively engaging with the concept of non-literal language in a relevant, meaningful, and empowering way. It teaches them how to learn these phrases, rather than just what they mean.

Ready-to-Use Resources for Teaching Idioms

If you’re ready to dive into really exploring figurative language, my new Pirate’s Chest of Idioms & Slang: A Figurative Language & Vocabulary Resource is a fun way to engage students with over 50 entries, providing real-world usage examples and fascinating historical origins to set sail on a journey of language and history. (It’s also bundled with a companion product, The Real Pirates: Nonfiction Article & Differentiated Comprehension Questions, to create a truly comprehensive unit).

Don’t let the communication gap widen! My Gen Z Idioms & Slang resource is the ultimate tool to kickstart your own Living Idiom Dictionary. With 65 terms (130 slides!), this “no cap” resource goes beyond definitions to promote critical thinking and SEL discussions. It’s the only resource of its kind that crucially attributes the rich origins of slang from sources like African American Vernacular English (AAVE), Ballroom Culture, and Hip-Hop Culture.

If you’re ready for the ultimate toolkit, consider grabbing The Complete Non-Literal & Figurative Language Bundle. It’s a growing bundle that currently includes all five of my non-literal language resources, giving you a complete solution for modern and historical figurative language. You get a 30% savings over buying them individually, so you’ll be fully equipped to start your own Living Idiom Dictionary today!

The Glow-Up for Teaching Idioms

It’s time to let go of the old and embrace the ever-evolving language of today. The true goal of teaching idioms to students isn’t about rote memorization; it’s about giving them the tools to “fish” for a lifetime of effective communication. By cultivating a “Living Idiom Dictionary,” you’re not just teaching a lesson—you’re teaching a skill for life.

Are you ready to make the shift? Here’s your toolkit to get started:

• To Introduce the Concept: Grab the My Living Dictionary for Slang and Idioms freebie.
• For Instant, Engaging Lessons: Explore the Roaring Twenties or Gen Z Idioms & Slang resources. Don’t forget my FREE Figurative Language Decoding Visual Aids!
• For the Ultimate Solution: Get all five resources and 30% savings (with more value added as it is a growing bundle!) with The Complete Non-Literal & Figurative Language Bundle.
• To monitor progress beyond a simple right/wrong, refer to my post on Mastering the Art of Measurement: A Guide to Creating Rubrics in Speech Therapy.

Don’t forget to check out my Freebies Page for more FREE resources!

By focusing on relevant, modern idioms, you can truly equip your students with skills for a lifetime of effective communication. Start your Living Idiom Dictionary today!

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The post Beyond “Spill the Beans”: Why Teaching Idioms Needs a Modern Glow-Up appeared first on Mrs. Speech Online.

So a few years ago I started hearing raves in continuing education about how many targets you could reach from reading a picture book or short story in speech therapy.  And I thought, “yeah, but you’d only  maybe get one or two practices out of each book for most of those language goals.  Drilling is far superior.”  Plus…it would take a whole session to read a book.  You wouldn’t have time for anything else.

I kept on with my drilling.  And my students made progress on their little goal chart.  Good progress.  And sure, sometimes teachers would say, “but they can’t do it in my room,” And I’d say, “well, that’s because I’m working on a discrete skill, to make sure they have the ability.  Now we have to broaden it to a longer text.”

Literacy Units – Language in Context

But I started hearing more and more about using literature as an SLP.  I started taking these continuing ed classes that were talking about using a picture book as the anchor for a month of therapy. And it was like there was an actual lightbulb in my head.  “You mean we can use the SAME book for a whole MONTH?!!”  Now THAT, that seemed workable.  In fact, that seemed downright awesome.

Because – context. While my drills were great, and they reinforced the skill, they were like practicing a sound in isolation, and would only take a student so far.  And honestly…sooooo boring. So going over a fun picture book for a month, that sounded like just the thing.

Pick the “Just Right” Story

But I was in a middle school setting now.  And sure, there are picture books that are higher language that would fit the bill for middle school. But it was October.  And now your head is probably going straight where mine went.  How could I not introduce my middle schoolers to “The Tell-Tale Heart”? (OK, it was a draw between that and “Ichabod Crane” but they rolled their eyes and said they read that every Halloween).

Well, first, let me tell you: success hinges on finding the “just right” version.  The middle-schoolers who you see for language are probably not going to do well with the original version of the story.  But you don’t want a version too watered down either, or you lose so much of the lovely language-teaching opportunities.  Another key: do not have the students read the first time.  It seems like a good idea, but if you are reading for meaning, you want an advanced reader who has read the story at least once to read it aloud for the group.

Decide the Order of Teaching

And then…do you pre-teach every vocabulary word and turn of phrase, or do you do a read-through first, then go back over it?  Or, maybe watch a video that had most of the text first, that gives meaning to words they don’t know?  I did a little of everything that first time, each group a little different.  I think it was best when I gave a little minilesson first, then we watched the video, which I would pause every so often to allow them to predict or make sure they knew the big picture of what was happening.  Then we went back, closely, over the text.  This may differ depending on the text you read, too.

Language Skills Galore!

I didn’t spend a month on “The Tell-Tale Heart.”  We spent two, maybe three 30 minute sessions.  Partially because I still have a hard time reconciling my old drill mindset.  But I also only have two in my groups (don’t hate me – it’s a rule for teletherapy where I am).  I also was winging it in large part.  If I had been thoroughly prepared, I would have had more and better questions. 

I’m writing my questions down and keeping documents so next year, I will be better prepared.  If you are interested, you can find my completed guides in my TPT store, Mrs. Speech.  They contain questions addressing context clues, figurative language, sentence writing, predictions, inferences, story craft, story arcs, prefixes and suffixes and other language and literacy skills.

Appreciation of Literature

But the engagement of the kids!!  They LOVED it!  So much that I went out and hunted down short stories in a number of genres, based on what they requested, and found so many lovely stories! 

They are requesting stories now – and they remember exactly where we were in the story from one week to the next.  They ask for more from the same author (yes, they are asking for stories).  And most of these stories I am using are at least 50 years old, some, like Poe, are in public domain.

And I love that I am fostering a love for literature.  Even though when I ask, they say they wouldn’t read the longer version, LOL, they still are listening and responding to these stories with enthusiasm and asking for more.  Which is far more than my drill cards ever got!

Want to see what stories I’ve been using in my therapy sessions?  Find my FREE list on TPT!

Check out more on short stories in therapy with my other articles:

• Activity Magic: Short Stories for Multi-Goal Mastery in Speech Therapy
• Unlock Student Engagement: The Magic of Short Stories in Middle School Speech Therapy
• Level Up Literacy Teletherapy: Unleash FREE Online Resources to Captivate Students!

Subscribe below for a FREE bookmark to help students generalize articulation while reading!

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The post Why, and How, I Started Using Short Stories in Therapy appeared first on Mrs. Speech Online.

Why Short Stories?

Here’s the deal: short stories provide a natural context for practicing:

• Context Clues: Piecing together meaning from surrounding information.
• Inferences: Reading “between the lines” to understand deeper meaning.
• Vocabulary Development: Encountering new words in a fun and engaging way.
• Comprehension & Retelling: Following the story arc and summarizing key events

I’ve explained how I use short stories in my therapy room here!

The Power of a Good Story:

One of my students recently graduated from speech therapy, and guess what he told me? He was sad because he loved our story time! (Don’t worry, I sent him home with my trusty story list!) That’s the power of these engaging tales.

Ready to Dive In?

I’m excited to share some of the short stories that have been a hit with my students, along with a few new ones we’ll be exploring soon.  Here’s what I look for when selecting stories:

• Engaging Plot: A reasonable amount of action to keep things interesting.
• Relatable Characters: Kids connect better with stories they can understand.
• Twist Endings: Surprise endings leave a lasting impression (the kids love these!).
• Manageable Length: Ideally under 5,000 words (around 40 minutes of reading time).
• Student Choice: Involving them in the selection process boosts engagement.

Tried and True Stories

With links to Lesson Guides:

• The Wife’s Story by Ursula le Guin
  • A “backwards werewolf” horror story with a twist ending that the kids find fascinating.
• Three Skeleton Key by George Toudouze
  • A horror story of three men stuck in a lighthouse surrounded by man-eating rats.  Has a bit of a twist at the end.
• The Night the Ghost Got In by James Thurber
  • A humorous ghost tale that had the kids asking for another.
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
  • A psychological murder story with a twist ending.  I used an adapted version.
• The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
  • A dark story about being careful what you wish for.  The kids loved the twist ending.
• The Storyteller by Saki (H.H. Munro)
  • A humorous look at what makes a good story when a bachelor entertains three children on a train.

Stories For the Future

Other stories I’ve found that I think my middle-schoolers will enjoy:

• The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
  • A story about a virtual reality nursery that gets out of hand, with a twist ending.
• The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton
  • A woman must decide between her lover’s potential death or his marriage to another woman…there is no end, which I love/hate, so students will have to debate what happens.
• Hey You Down There by Harold Rolseth
  • The story of a couple who discover strange creatures living at the bottom of their well.  A nice twist ending students are sure to enjoy.

Remember: This list is a jumping-off point! Don’t be afraid to experiment and find stories your students adore.  If you want my full list, it is FREE on TPT!

If you’re looking for a structured way to determine your students’ needs before you begin, my new Middle School Contextual Language Screener provides a practical starting point to assess skills related to literature.

Want a FREE bookmark to help students generalize speech sounds?  Sign up below for this and more exclusive freebies!

Let’s Chat!

What are your favorite short stories for speech therapy? Share your experiences and recommendations in the comments below!

Want to learn more about middle schoolers? Read Middle School Language Development: What They Don’t Know May Surprise You.

Happy Reading!

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The post Unlock Student Engagement: The Magic of Short Stories in Middle School Speech Therapy appeared first on Mrs. Speech Online.

Reaching Out to Our Community

First things first, let’s talk about reaching out to our community. Whether it’s through local schools, community centers, or even social media, there are tons of ways we can spread the word about what we do. Hosting workshops, giving talks, or even just setting up a booth at a local event can go a long way in raising awareness. Letting people know we’re here to help is invaluable. So many people don’t know about the wonderful things you do every day. This is your time to shine!

Providing a Variety of Resources

As speech-pathologists, we have a host of resources at our fingertips, and it’s up to us to share them with our community. From brochures and handouts to online guides and toolkits, there’s no shortage of ways we can support individuals and families affected by communication disorders. Even a list of links is infinitely helpful for those looking for more information! Let’s not forget about collaborating with other professionals and organizations, because this provides even more comprehensive care.

Educating Others on Disorders

Educating others about communication disorders is a big part of what we do. It’s super important in breaking down barriers and fostering understanding. Whether we’re giving a presentation at a local school or hosting a webinar for parents, every opportunity to spread knowledge and awareness is a step in the right direction. Plus, by empowering others with information, we’re helping them make informed decisions. Access to the support they need is crucial. The general public simply isn’t aware of all the options available!

Making a Difference in Media Representation

Last but not least, let’s talk about making a difference in media representation. From movies to TV shows, how communication disorders are portrayed in the media can have a big impact on how people perceive them. There’s nothing more frustrating to me than seeing communication impairments misrepresented!  By working with writers, filmmakers, and other media professionals, we can help ensure that these portrayals are accurate, respectful, and free from harmful stereotypes. It’s all about advocating for better representation. This helps give a voice to those who need it most.

In a nutshell, being a speech-pathologist isn’t just about helping individuals—it’s about being an active and engaged member of our community. By reaching out, providing resources, educating others, and advocating for better representation, we can make a real difference in the lives of those affected by communication disorders. So, let’s keep up the amazing work and continue being the superheroes our communities need!

If you’d like a jumpstart on educating your community on communication impairments, check out my BSHM packet on TPT!  It is 41 pages of SLP information in an easy to edit Google Slides format!

Keep rockin’ the world!

Links for more information: 

• American Speech-Language Hearing Association
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Communication with People
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Mayo Clinic
• NIDCD Statistics

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The post Speech-Pathologists at the Heart of Outreach appeared first on Mrs. Speech Online.

I put this on my board one school day. See, for the last 5 or so years, I’d had a poster-size white erase board in the hallway of my school. It was beside the entrance to the cafeteria. Therefore, every student would have a chance to see it during the day. I then sit in my room and listen to the conversations in the hallway. The children, I think, would have voted this joke as the best one that year.

But my board had a purpose beyond the amusement of everyone in the school. Not only did it lighten the mood and start the day with fun, every child in that school knew who I was. I wasn’t just an unknown adult that pulled kids out of classes. I raised the bar for vocabulary for the entire school. It gave everyone a common thing to talk about, and (let’s be honest) identified students that likely would need my services at one time or another.

The Therapeutic Value of Humor

Most of us feel better after a good laugh, and it’s not all in your head. Laughter increases those feel good chemicals in your brain. It boosts the immune system and relieves stress.  It gives us a social connection and helps shift perspectives into a lighter side of life. It even improves circulation and gives your tummy a bit of a workout. I have no doubt it created a happier, more connected school environment than there otherwise would have been.

Academic Benefits of Humor

Most of us have thought about how jokes can address multiple speech and language skills. To understand humor, students have to understand nuances, multiple meanings, and wordplay. Often jokes rely on figurative language. They involve cognitive processes like inference, prediction, and abstract thinking. 

Jokes help students practice social skills such as turn-taking, perspective taking, and understanding social cues. They build rapport. When telling a joke, students are practicing fluency skills like pacing and intonation, as well as articulation skills. Students are encouraged to commit the joke to memory so they can retell it. This helps them work on memory skills as well.

Building Rapport and Engagement:

Humor builds a bridge between students and teachers. It makes school a more light-hearted place.  Having a joke to share gives shy or anxious children a low-pressure way to engage in conversation.  The kids would tell the jokes to each other, and talk about whether it was funny or not. They discussed what made it a joke. I often heard teachers using the jokes as a teaching opportunity in the hallways.

As I talked with others about why I had the joke board, it raised awareness with teachers. They realized that what I did with students inside my little room wasn’t just working on /r/ and /s/. When I called it my “school-wide intervention,” it highlighted how essential speech and language skills are for daily communication.  Students in the school knew who I was, and saw me as a positive person in the school.  I had teachers and students alike bringing me jokes.

Addressing Challenges and Limitations:

So, what is the problem with using humor? I did have to be careful that the jokes were school appropriate, of course. No jokes about “two guys walk into a bar.” They had to be age-appropriate as well, so I skipped over a lot of jokes. Some of these the students at my school might not have the context or vocabulary for. And some kids just didn’t get the jokes (and they were usually on my list for MTSS interventions).

Finding enough jokes for the entire year was a bit difficult the first year. I then had to keep track of them somehow. Now I have It’s So Punny, a document that is over 50 pages long, full of jokes appropriate for school, which you can find in my TPT store.

The board itself was an issue at some points through every school year.  There is always that one student who finds it entertaining to erase it with their fingers. I would switch from dry erase to wet erase to whiteboard crayons throughout the year. Having a transparent cover might have helped that problem. I had to get permission to hang the whiteboard on the wall (I used removable adhesive strips).

Two Thumbs Up

In conclusion, though, I would highly recommend a joke board in your school or classroom. There are so many reasons to incorporate humor in the school day. The conversations I heard outside of my room were often the best part of the day. Hearing the students comment as they walked by was truly enjoyable. 

If you’d like to hear more about what skills a simple joke can address, see my article Why Jokes Are the Best Zero-Prep Language Tool You’re Not Using.

Keep that funny bone tickled,

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The post Why I had a joke board (And you should too) appeared first on Mrs. Speech Online.

Feeling overwhelmed by IEP meetings and juggling multiple speech therapy goals? You’re not alone! This blog post dives deep into the world of strategic planning. It offers tips and tricks to maximize student progress and transform your therapy sessions. Here, we’ll explore the concept of yearly initiatives. This powerful approach can streamline your planning and supercharge your students’ learning.

Streamlined Goal Setting with Yearly Initiatives

Traditionally, we’ve used cyclical approaches for phonological processes. But have you considered extending this idea to encompass broader language development? This post explores the magic of yearly goal initiatives. It involves choosing a specific language area you focus on for the majority of your caseload throughout the year.

Here’s why yearly initiatives are a game-changer:

• Deeper Dives: Focus on crucial areas like problem-solving, inferencing, prefixes/suffixes, defining/describing, or comprehension instead of broad or multiple themes. This allows for a deeper dive and more impactful therapy.
• Cohesive Learning Journey: Focusing on one area creates a cohesive and effective learning journey for your students. This ensures all activities build upon each other.
• Research-Backed Benefits: Studies on spaced repetition show that distributing learning over time with focused practice sessions leads to better long-term retention.¹ This aligns perfectly with yearly initiatives. Students engage with a key skill throughout the year, solidifying their understanding and building strong memory pathways.
• Myelination Matters: Research on myelination suggests that repeated practice strengthens the connections involved in a skill.² The focused sessions encouraged by yearly initiatives can promote myelination. This increase the speed and efficiency of processing the targeted skill.

Individualization Within the Initiative

While your yearly initiative guides your planning, you can certainly individualize goals within it. This might include:

• Adjusting difficulty levels (e.g., percentage accuracy, task complexity)
• Tailoring prompting strategies (frequency, type)
• Shifting focus (utilizing similar materials for other purposes)
• Utilizing individualized rubrics for assessment

Example: Let’s say your yearly initiative is problem-solving.

• Joe: Focuses on identifying problems in longer stories, creating multiple solutions, and predicting outcomes.
• Jane: Needs visual aids and shorter stories to identify problems and may require prompting to create solutions. Uses the same rubric as Joe.
• Carl: Works on explaining solutions with appropriate pragmatics and grammar. Also provides a model for higher level problem-solving for the other students.

Sample Yearly Initiatives:

• Problem-Solving (social and safety scenarios, sequencing, predictions, wh-questions)
• Inferencing & Context Clues (predictions, character traits, vocabulary, multiple meaning words, non-literal language)
• Prefixes & Suffixes (vocabulary building, context clues)
• Defining & Describing (categories, antonyms, synonyms, multiple meaning words, inferencing, forming wh- questions, vocabulary)
• Comprehension (wh- questions, main idea, summarizing, story arc, sequencing)

Finding the Perfect Balance: Goals and Efficiency

Now, let’s talk about IEP goals. Most language students require at least two therapy goals. However, bombarding them with too many can be counterproductive. This aligns with Cognitive Load Theory, which suggests that overwhelming working memory with excessive information or tasks impedes effective learning.³

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Limit to 2 or fewer goals per 30-minute/week on the IEP, unless the skills are quick to learn or complement each other (e.g., identifying story elements and summarizing).

5 Goals is the High End: Prioritize focus! With fewer goals, progress accelerates. You can always add more goals later if students master their current ones.

The Power of Focused Sessions: Deep Learning vs. Superficial Exposure

Imagine an orchestra. Are you more likely to learn the music if you spend 5 minutes on each song, or dedicate focused sessions to mastering one at a time? The same principle applies to language therapy.

• Deep Learning: By dedicating 3-6 sessions (1-3 weeks) to a single goal, you allow students to truly grasp the concept. They build strong memory pathways.
• Data Collection Made Easy: This focused approach simplifies data collection. Collect data at the beginning, end, and potentially during the middle of a longer cycle. This helps document progress and regression (critical for ESY services). Create a rubric or data probe usable throughout the year for consistent data collection across multiple students.
• Elaboration for Long-Term Learning: By dedicating 3-6 sessions (1-3 weeks) to a single goal, you allow students to truly grasp the concept and build strong memory pathways. This helps them apply their learning to different contexts. This deeper understanding, fostered by elaboration, is crucial for long-term skill development.⁴

A Personal Discovery: The Unexpected Benefits

This concept wasn’t something I initially planned. In grad school, I was taught to cover each goal every session. It left me feeling overwhelmed! About 10 years ago, after taking a course on executive functioning, I noticed many of my students struggled with these crucial skills. Naturally, the focus of their IEP goals shifted to address these deficits.

The unexpected result? A year-long focus on problem-solving! This unintentional initiative highlighted the importance of these skills and created a cohesive therapy journey for my students. All activities built upon each other, addressing their specific needs. Interestingly, the collaborative environment fostered unexpected benefits. Students seemed to learn from each other’s problem-solving strategies, creating a more engaging atmosphere.

Planning Efficiency and Deeper Learning: A Win-Win

The impact wasn’t limited to student learning. My own planning became much more efficient. Therapy materials were readily available, student goals were clear, and data collection was streamlined. We weren’t constantly switching gears – we were all focused on mastering the same core skill, allowing for deeper learning and richer student interaction.

This experience truly solidified the power of yearly initiatives in my therapy sessions. It’s a framework I wholeheartedly recommend to any speech therapist looking to maximize student progress, lesson planning, and create a more cohesive learning journey.

But It’s Not Perfect: Considerations for Yearly Initiatives

While I’ve witnessed the positive impact firsthand, and some research supports this approach, there are limitations to consider:

• Limited Research: While studies on spaced repetition and myelination offer some support, more research is needed to definitively establish yearly initiatives as “evidence-based.”
• Individualized Needs: Yearly initiatives may not be suitable for every child on your caseload. Consider developing two initiatives targeting different areas of language for diverse needs.
• Stimulus Material: Because you’re focusing on the same skill, you’ll need a variety of engaging activities and materials to keep things fresh for students. The upfront investment in creating these materials may be higher than with a constantly rotating set of goals.
• Medicaid and District/State Requirements: If you are required to address every goal or need percentages to report for every session, you may have to revise or take time out of the initiative cycle to fulfill these requirements.

Despite these considerations, yearly initiatives offer a powerful framework for planning and delivering effective speech therapy. By incorporating these tips and acknowledging the limitations, you can explore how yearly initiatives can benefit your students and streamline your practice.

Ready to Transform Your Therapy Sessions?

Download our free guide on TPT:  Yearly Initiative Template This downloadable resource provides a guide to help you implement yearly initiatives in your own practice.

Take Action!

Leave a comment: Share your thoughts and experiences about yearly initiatives! Has this approach transformed your therapy sessions?

By incorporating yearly initiatives and focusing on deep learning through focused sessions, you can maximize student progress and transform your speech therapy sessions!

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References:

1. Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354 ↩︎
2. Fields, R. D. (2008). White matter in learning, cognition and psychiatric disorders. Trends in Neurosciences, 31(5), 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2008.04.001 ↩︎
3. Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction, 1(1), 53–62. ↩︎
4. Bjork, R. A. (1994). Memory and metamemory considerations in the training of human beings. In J. Metcalfe & A. P. Shimamura (Eds.), Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (pp. 185–205). MIT Press. ↩︎

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Ever received a transfer IEP and felt completely lost trying to decipher the goals? You’re not alone! Writing clear, measurable IEP goals is crucial for effective intervention and progress monitoring. This post will guide you through creating goals that are easy to understand, implement, and track.

The Anatomy of a Stellar IEP Goal

We’ve all heard of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, & Time-bound.  IEP goals often hit these points on the surface, but not when you begin to apply them to charting progress.

Every well-written IEP goal should include these key components:

Student Name

Always begin with the student’s name for clarity.

Target Behavior

• Define the specific skill or behavior you’re targeting.
• Use observable and measurable verbs (e.g., “identify,” “produce,” “name,” “read,” “write,” “follow,” “initiate”).
• Avoid vague terms like “improve,” “understand,” or “learn.”
• Example: “Produce the /r/ sound in words.”

Conditions

• Specify the context in which the behavior will be observed.
• Examples: “Given a picture card,” “When presented with a list of words,” “When regulated,” “In a classroom setting.”

Criterion

• Accuracy: Set a specific, measurable and achievable accuracy level.  Set challenging but realistic goals that the student can reasonably achieve within the IEP timeframe.
  • Remember, the student has to meet the goal by the end of the IEP (or the timeframe you set)
  • Examples: “With 80% accuracy,” “Correctly 4 out of 5 times.”
• Prompting:
  • Be precise! “Minimal prompting” is too vague.  Clearly define the level of prompting and if it will be faded over time.
    • Type: “With gestural cues,” “With a model,” “Independently,” “With a verbal cue (e.g., ‘Think about where your tongue should be’).”
    • Frequency: Is the prompting 1:1, or only 1:4?
    • Timing: Is the prompt when you feel the student needs it, when they ask for help, or after a wrong response?
  • Sometimes prompting is the appropriate target to measure.  If the student can do it with high accuracy with help, then the goal would be to fade the prompting, and this is what should be measured for data.

Timeframe

This is usually tied to the IEP (ie “By the end of the IEP year”).

Baseline

Determine a baseline of the student’s current performance to inform goal setting.  This can be difficult when initiating a new goal area or writing goals for an initial IEP.  Ideally, you would have had time to complete a baseline probe in your evaluation, but it doesn’t always happen.  It is okay to write an estimated baseline, or take your baseline from a subtest.  

Writing Goals for Consistent Data Collection

Keep it Clear

Write goals clearly and concisely so that anyone can understand and implement them, and so they are easy to graph. You want to make sure that not only can you consistently measure progress, but any other SLP who might work with the student can replicate it.

Choose the Right Tool

Select a progress monitoring tool that aligns with the goal.

For articulation, consider a data sheet that not only tracks accuracy but also error types.

Use Consistent Materials

Utilize the same assessment materials whenever possible to ensure reliable data.

Don’t Collect Data Every Session: 

Focus on collecting data at regular intervals to get a more accurate picture of progress and allow time for learning between data points.  This is highly dependent on how often you see the student as well as the speed of expected progress.  My recommendations based on service delivery (roughly every other week):

• 1X/week – every 2-3 sessions
• 2X/week – every 3-4 sessions
• 3X/week – every 5-6 sessions

Adjust data collection frequency based on the student’s progress and the complexity of the goal.  Slower progressing students or highly complex goals may need more time between data points.  For further explanation, see Making Data Meaningful.

Consider Rubrics for Writing Measurable IEP Goals

For skills requiring nuanced assessment (e.g., critical thinking, social skills), use a rubric to track progress along a continuum.  Even articulation can sometimes benefit from a continuum, for those kids that are approximating but not quite perfecting a sound.  Looking for rubrics?  I have a growing collection on TPT!

Here’s a simple example of an articulation rubric (especially useful for those /r/ and /sh/ sounds):

• 0 points: Significant distortion (e.g., severe lisp, omission, substitution).
• 2 points: Moderate distortion (e.g., slight lisp, approximation).
• 3 points: Mild distortion (e.g., slight misarticulation, close approximation).
• 4 points: Accurate production with correct placement and voicing.

I have more information on rubrics in my blog post: 

Mastering the Art of Measurement: A Guide to Creating Rubrics in Speech Therapy

Focus on Increases

When targeting the reduction of a behavior, it’s often more beneficial to rephrase the IEP goal to focus on the increase of the desired target behavior. This approach offers several advantages:

• Improved Parent Understanding: Parents may misinterpret goals that focus on decreasing behaviors, leading to unnecessary anxiety or confusion. Framing goals around increasing desired skills provides a more positive and reassuring message.
• Enhanced Data Collection and Tracking: Focusing on increasing target behaviors simplifies data collection and reduces the risk of confusion when tracking. You can directly measure and graph the increase in the desired skill, providing clear evidence of progress.

For example, instead of writing a goal like “Will decrease stopping of fricatives,” consider rephrasing it as “Will increase production of fricatives.” This rephrased goal emphasizes the positive outcome and makes it easier to track progress.

A Glow Up Example

Like a beauty parlor makeover, we can transform vague IEP goals to comprehensive, measurable, and highly detailed ones.

Instead of: [Student Name] will produce the /r/ sound in words with 80% accuracy.

Try: By the end of the IEP year, [Student Name] will produce prevocalic and vocalic /r/ sounds in all word positions of 1-2 syllable words with 60% accuracy, given 1:1 exaggerated models and gestural cues before production, from a baseline of 13% accuracy, on 3/4 data collection days.

Picking up this goal, I have a good idea of the word list used to measure progress, as well as what kinds of cuing/prompting is expected for mastery. Pro tip: It is entirely acceptable to use more than one sentence for a goal, if it helps with clarity and ease of reading!

By following these guidelines, you can create IEP goals that are clear, measurable, and effective for both you and the student.

For more from me on this topic, check out these articles or click on the topics below:

• Unlocking Progress: Why Simple Speech Therapy Goals Can Be Deceptive
• Documenting Beyond Quantifiable Data: SLP Session Notes

Happy goal writing! 

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Teaching children how speech sounds are made is a great instructional activity for both the therapy room and the classroom!  Phoneme categorization is a highly effective activity for developing strong phonological awareness skills in young learners.

By sorting phonemes based on their place of articulation (where the sound is made), manner of articulation (how the sound is made), and voicing (whether the vocal cords vibrate), children gain a deeper understanding of how sounds are produced.  This can aid early learning as it allows children to make connections and organization of the phonemes.

This knowledge is crucial!

Improved Reading and Spelling

Strong phonological awareness is a foundational skill for reading and spelling. By understanding how sounds are created and how they relate to each other, children can more easily decode words, sound out unfamiliar words, and spell accurately.

For Example:

Why do some “long u” words also have a “y” sound in front?  The process of “yod-dropping”, or losing the “y” sound, in American English, generally occurs when the “ū” following an alveolar sound “t,d,n,l,s,z”.  Labials or velars have retained the original “yū” pronunciation, as well as words beginning with a “ū”.  There are exceptions; however, many of those can be traced back to the origin language, such as “puma”, or dialectal differences.

Enhanced Speech Clarity & Pronunciation

Sorting phonemes helps children become more aware of the subtle differences between sounds, which can improve their speech clarity and articulation.

Early Identification of Speech-Sound Disorders

The phoneme sorting activity can help teachers and SLPs identify children who may be experiencing difficulties with speech sound production.

I’ve created a new TPT Easel Activity to help you!  This resource includes 3 phoneme sorting pages, and a full color oral anatomy image, with labels!

Teaching Tips for Phoneme Categorization

• Prior Knowledge: Before introducing phoneme sorting, review letters and their corresponding sounds. Emphasize saying each phoneme in isolation (e.g., /p/ for “p,” not “puh”).
• Watch videos of speech sounds, such as G – How to Make G Sound
• Multi-sensory Learning:
  • Visual: Use mirrors or self-view cameras to allow children to observe their own mouth movements.
  • Kinesthetic: Encourage children to touch their lips, teeth, and tongue as they learn about the different places of articulation.
  • Auditory: repeat the sound multiple times.
  • Tactile: Have children feel the air movement with their hands or light objects (tissues, feathers) when exploring manner of articulation (e.g., stops, fricatives).
• Modeling: Demonstrate the sorting process yourself, thinking aloud as you categorize sounds.
• Guided Practice: Go through each sort together as a class, discussing the characteristics of each phoneme.
• Differentiation: Start with a small set of sounds for younger children or those who are struggling. Gradually increase the complexity.
• Early Intervention: In early learning classrooms, integrate phoneme sorting with letter and sound instruction, emphasizing how sounds are produced.

Extension Activity Ideas:

• Watch how the mouth works in real-time while someone is speaking! It is constantly making fine-tuned movements to produce recognizable speech.
  • This is a great video that shows an MRI of a person speaking and explains some of the sounds: An Introduction to the Vocal Organs – with MRI video
• Explore vowel production: Discuss the places of vowel production (front, middle, back) within the oral cavity. While these sounds involve less physical contact with the mouth, understanding their placement is crucial for comprehensive phoneme awareness.
  • Interact with the Chart | Color Vowel

• Anatomy of the speech system: In addition to teaching oral anatomy, teach students about the anatomy of the entire speech system, from lungs to the nose. This can be effectively integrated into a unit on the respiratory system.
• Expand Phonemic Awareness: Integrate place, manner, and voicing instruction with other essential phonemic awareness skills such as:
  • Blending: Combining phonemes to form words.
  • Segmenting: Breaking words down into individual phonemes.
  • Rhyming: Identifying and generating rhyming words.
  • Alliteration: Recognizing and producing words that begin with the same sound (not letter)

Connect Phoneme Categorization to Reading & Writing:

Analyze Pronunciation

Introduce the IPA

Introduce the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or dictionary-style phonetic symbols alongside graphemes (letters) and phonemes. This helps students understand the relationship between sounds and their written representations. (The image to the right states “You wish you could read this message!”)

Talk About Production

When breaking down phonemes, discuss the oral movements involved in their production. Explore words with unexpected pronunciations, such as “truck” (often pronounced with a /chr/ sound), “Wednesday,” “library” (/laɪbɝi/), “doubt,” or “knight”.

Explain how sounds influence each other within words

For instance, in “butter,” the /t/ sound is often influenced by the surrounding vowels, resulting in a reduced pronunciation (/bʌdɚ/ or /buhder/). Discuss how the voicing of the plural “-s” changes depending on the preceding consonant.

• See my article: Everyday Phonological Processes & Their Impact in the Classroom
• 3.2: Assimilation and Dissimilation – Social Sci LibreTexts

Integrate with Other Language Concepts:

Spelling

Connect phoneme sorting to spelling instruction by exploring spelling rules, guidelines, and the impact of etymology on spelling.

• Spelling Rules & Guidelines
• Spelling: Instructional Guidelines
• Basics: Spelling | Reading Rockets

Etymology

Utilize resources like Etymonline to investigate word origins and their influence on spelling.

• See my article: The Importance of Etymology in the Classroom
  • Etymology
  • The Impact of English Word Origins on Modern Spelling – Lucky Little Learners
  • Etymonline – online etymology dictionary (shows ads)

Morphology

Explore how morphemes (meaningful units within words like affixes) affect pronunciation and spelling.

• Morpheme Mapper – Phonics & Stuff

Collaboration

Teachers and SLPs can collaborate on this! Consider guest teaching or co-facilitate the activity. Both SLPs and teachers provide valuable insights into student needs and offer specific strategies for addressing individual challenges.

Other resources on Phoneme Categorization:

• Place Manner Voice Chart | The Speech Guide
• Understanding Consonant and Vowel Phonemes in English
• Rethinking Spelling Instruction — Reading Rev
• Word Mapper – Phonics & Stuff – phoneme to grapheme tool
• Teaching Tools – Phonics & Stuff – includes word chain builders, phonemic manipulation tool, and sentence generator. There are games and a worksheet creator on other tabs. Some features require a free account, and others require a subscription.

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Imagine encountering a new word. How do you truly understand and remember it long-term? Memorizing a definition from a dictionary can be helpful, but it often feels like a fleeting piece of information.

Let’s be honest, traditional vocabulary instruction can be… well, a bit dry. Writing definitions, memorizing lists of synonyms or prefixes, and endless flashcard drills can quickly turn students off. While these methods can be helpful for initial exposure, they often fail to engage students and foster deep, meaningful understanding.  

But what if there was a more engaging and effective way to build a rich vocabulary?

Ditch the Drills, Dive Deeper!

Instead of rote memorization, let’s focus on creating meaningful connections with words. This goes beyond simply learning definitions. Comprehensive vocabulary instruction explores the fascinating world of words by:

Unravelling Etymology:

• Why it matters: Understanding word origins helps students grasp the nuances of meaning & spelling. For example, the word “comprehend” comes from Latin “prehendere”, meaning “to seize.” This understanding helps students connect the literal meaning to the figurative meaning of “to understand or grasp.”
• Activities: Research word origins, create timelines, or stories, of word evolution, and discuss how word meanings have changed over time.
• See my article “Why Etymology Matters” for more on this.

Breaking Down Words:

• Why it matters: Analyzing prefixes, suffixes, and roots helps students decode unfamiliar words, recognize patterns, and build vocabulary organically. For example, knowing the prefix “un-” means “not” allows students to easily understand the meaning of words like “unhappy,” “unbelievable,” and “unfortunate.”
• Activities: Use morpheme mappers, play word chain games, and have students create their own words using prefixes and suffixes.

Exploring Pronunciation:

• Why it matters: Pronunciation plays a crucial role in understanding and using words correctly. Subtle differences in pronunciation can significantly alter the meaning of a word.  Being able to attend to the differences in sounds can help with phonemic awareness.
• Activities: Use audio recordings and online dictionaries to explore different pronunciations of words. Engage in discussions about how pronunciation can change the meaning of a word (e.g., “present” as a noun vs. “present” as a verb). Expand phonemic knowledge by introducing ways to categorize phonemes by place, manner and voicing.
• See my article “Everyday Phonological Processes & Their Impact in the Classroom” for more on this.

Building Word Relationships: 

• Synonyms & Antonyms:
  • Why it matters: Going beyond simple lists helps students understand the subtle shades of meaning between words. For example, while “happy” and “joyful” are both synonyms, “joyful” implies a more intense and exuberant emotion.
  • Activities: Create semantic maps, play word association games, and engage in debates about the most appropriate synonym to use in a given context.
• Morphologically Related Words:
  • Why it matters: Exploring words with shared roots, prefixes, or suffixes helps students see connections between words and build a richer vocabulary. For example, understanding the root “port” (meaning “to carry”) helps students connect words like “import,” “export,” “transport,” and “portable.”
  • Activities: Create word webs, research word families, and explore semantic relationships (e.g., cause and effect, part to whole).
• Semantically Related Words:
  • Why it matters: Understanding semantic relationships between words goes beyond simply knowing their definitions. It helps students grasp the nuances of meaning, build a deeper understanding of concepts, and improve reading comprehension. For example, exploring the relationship between “cause” and “effect” allows students to understand how actions and events are interconnected.
  • Activities: Visualize relationships between words using diagrams, such as concept maps, cause-and-effect chains, part-to-whole relationships, and analogies.

Personalizing Learning:

• Why it matters: Creating their own definitions and using the word in an original sentence helps students make the word their own and deepen their understanding.
• Activities: Have students create their own vocabulary journals, write stories using target vocabulary words, and present their learning to the class.

My TPT Resources for Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction:

Comprehensive Vocabulary Map: This interactive resource provides a structured framework for in-depth word study. Students can explore etymology, synonyms, antonyms, related words, and more while creating a visual representation of their learning.

Etymology Graphic Organizer: This user-friendly organizer helps students uncover the fascinating origins of words, analyze word parts, and track the evolution of their meanings.

Comprehensive Category Activities: with Graphic Organizers & Word Lists helps educators and therapists teach children comprehensive categorization skills, moving beyond basic naming. It includes engaging activities, visual aids, and category lists to explore overlapping categories, subcategories, and hierarchical relationships, ideal for children who struggle with naming or are ready for more advanced categorization skills.

Phoneme (Sound) Sorting by Place, Manner, and Voice:  This engaging easel activity helps children develop crucial phonological awareness skills by sorting phonemes based on place, manner, and voicing. Ideal for articulation therapy, early readers, and children with dyslexia, it improves articulation, increases phonemic awareness, and provides interactive learning for diverse needs.

By incorporating these strategies into your vocabulary instruction, you can transform word learning from a tedious chore into an engaging and enriching experience. Your students will not only build a strong vocabulary but also develop a deeper appreciation for the power and beauty of language.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What are your favorite strategies for teaching vocabulary?

Want to hear more?  Check out my other posts!

• The Importance of Etymology in the Classroom
• Developing Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Categorization by Place, Manner, and Voice
• Everyday Phonological Processes & Their Impact in the Classroom

Other helpful links:

• Using Morphology to Teach Vocabulary
• Making Sense of Spelling
• Understanding morphological and etymological families
• 36 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities for Every Grade
• Fabulously Fun Vocabulary Activities for the Classroom

Happy Word Digging!

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Etymology – the study of word origins – is like uncovering hidden treasure. It’s often seen as a dusty academic pursuit, but trust me, it’s a goldmine for teachers and SLPs. In this post we’ll dig deep into why etymology matters.

The Family Tree of a Word

Imagine this: ‘School’ originally meant ‘leisure time’ – more like a coffee shop or pub hang-out than a classroom!

It originated as the Greek word “σχολή” (scholē), and was used to describe free time to come together for intellectual pursuits, discussions, and contemplation. When the Romans adopted the word as Latin “schola”, it eventually began to refer more to the place of lectures and learning, rather than the time itself.

As it entered Old English, it retained the meaning, but spelling was inconsistent. The spelling was modernized but kept the “sch” to refer back to the original word. “Scholastic” and “scholar” both come from the Latin “schola”.

Wired for Stories

You will probably easily remember this story, won’t you? That’s because our brains are wired to remember stories.  That’s one of the reasons why etymology is so important when teaching spelling, morphology, and vocabulary.

Not Just Dictionary Work

While I remember assignments to write the prefix/root/suffix, origin language, and meaning as I defined new vocabulary words, it felt like a dry and tedious exercise. It often lacked meaning and felt disconnected from the actual word itself. 

However, when etymology is presented as a way to tell the story of a word – its journey through time and across languages – it becomes much more engaging. This approach not only makes learning more interesting but also helps students create deeper connections between words, understand the nuances of their meanings, and even infer the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Why teach etymology?

Spelling Superpower:

Ever wonder why spelling bee champions ask for the origin of a word?  Understanding etymology can be a real game-changer for spellers.  Word origins give students ways to understand and remember the spelling of words.

Unravelling Irregularities

Many of those pesky spelling rules have historical roots.  Look at these great examples!

• Knight – comes from Old English cneht. The /k/ sound was originally pronounced but had faded by 1760.
• Island – comes from Old English “igland” /ˈiːjˌlɑnd/ but spelling was modified in 16th century due to a mistaken relationship with the word “isle”
• Doubt – from Latin “dubitare,” but came to English from Old French “douter”. The ‘b’ was added back in 14-16 c. to refer back to the Latin origin.

Unlocking Word Structure

By breaking down words into their roots, prefixes, and suffixes, students gain a deeper understanding of their structure. This knowledge can help them predict spellings more accurately and recognize patterns. For instance, knowing the root “psych-” helps students with words like psychology, psychopath, psychic, and psychotic.

Rules of Origin

The origin language of a word, and the spelling rules that come with it, need to be discretely taught to ensure students understand the “why” of spelling.  This goes beyond simply memorizing prefixes/roots/suffixes.

Phonemic Power-Ups:

Etymology can also deepen students’ understanding of phonemic awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds in words.

Historical Sound Shifts

By exploring the historical evolution of words, students can see how sounds have changed over time. For example, the word “knight” originally was pronounced with both the “k” and the “gh” sounds.  Some knowledge of linguistic history can further explain spelling.

• The Great Vowel Shift (links at bottom of post) was a gradual change in the pronunciation of English long vowels during the Middle Ages, after many spellings were relatively standardized.  For example, “food,” “good,” and “blood” all rhymed with “goad” in Chaucer’s work, but in Shakespeare’s works, they all rhymed with the modern pronunciation of “food”.  (You can hear remnants of original vowels when you listen to dialects like Scots English.)  Vowels are changing, even now, as dialects and languages further meld with the ease of travel.

Connecting Sounds to Meaning

Etymology helps students connect the sounds of words to their historical origins and meanings, creating a richer and more meaningful understanding of language.

Morphological Marvels:

Etymology is a powerful tool for developing morphological awareness, the ability to recognize and analyze word parts.

• Unpacking Word Structure: Students learn to identify and analyze prefixes, suffixes, and root words within complex words. For example, they can break down “unbelievable” into “un-” (not), “believe,” and “-able” (capable of being).
• Building Vocabulary: By understanding how words are formed, students can build their vocabulary more effectively. They can use their knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and roots to deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Vocabulary Enrichment:

Exploring word origins as a story can transform vocabulary learning from a dry exercise of rote memory into an engaging adventure.

• Deeper Than Definitions: Etymology helps students understand the nuances of word meanings and their connections to other words.
• Making Vocabulary Interesting: Discovering the fascinating histories behind words makes learning more memorable and engaging.

So, the next time your students encounter an unfamiliar word or struggle with a tricky spelling, remember to “dig deeper” into its etymology. You might both be surprised by the fascinating, and useful, stories hidden within the words we use every day.

Look for my next post on Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction for Teachers & SLPs!

Tips to make etymology matter in the classroom

Incorporate etymology into daily instruction:

• Discuss word origins during vocabulary lessons.
• Have a “Word of the Week”, or even a “Root of the Week”
• Use etymology to explain spelling rules and exceptions. Group spelling words by origin to help students make that connection.
• Encourage students to research the origins of words they encounter in reading.
• Keep a word wall for the words the class has discovered.

Use engaging activities:

• Word Chains with roots, prefixes and suffixes – how many new words can the student make with the original root?
• Mystery Word – provide clues about a word’s origin and have the students guess the word.
• Create timelines of word evolution
• Etymology Scavenger Hunts: have students research the origins of words related to a certain topic or theme

Tools for Exploring Etymology:

• Morpheme Mapper – simple & kid-friendly break down of morphemes in a word.  Allows to search for other words with that morpheme.
• Etymonline – more advanced, and it does have ads.  Younger kids may need assistance understanding the entries.
• Etymology Graphic Organizer – TPT resource including a graphic organizer and word lists: “Etymologies that Explain Spelling” and “Words with Interesting Etymologies”

Extra Resources on The Importance of Etymology:

• ETYMOLOGY and SPELLING – etymonline.com
• Historical Layers of English – Reading Rockets
• Early Modern English: Grammar, Pronunciation, and Spelling
• Great Vowel Shift: How It Shaped Modern English Spelling
• Making Connections: The Link Between Spelling and Vocabulary
• Curious Kids: Why does English have so many different spelling rules?
• How Words Cast Their Spell
• Comprehending Spelling
• A brief history of English spelling
• Typos, tricks and misprints
• The Great Vowel Shift
• Tracing English as far back as possible (explaining Proto-Indo-European or PIE)

Want more origins fun?  Try researching the origins of various idioms at The Idioms!

Happy Digging!

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