I've Changed from Preschool to Teens and Young Adults

 I've moved jobs and now work for a full inclusion secondary school working with students 6th-12th grade and Post-Secondary.

Come follow along as I get back into blogging.  This time it will focus more on Receptive/Expressive Language, Pragmatics, Fluency, Voice, and AAC.

Voice Volume and Preschoolers (It's usually loud!)

Preschoolers have a difficult time understanding vocal modulation.  Think Outdoor Voice (yelling is okay) versus Indoor Voice.  Then you have the voice you use in the library or at the movie theater (whisper) versus and Talking Voice (how loud you need to be to be heard at the table during Group Time).  In preschool, we have started talking about what voice to use at what time.  It is a good time to introduce the concept of loud and quiet.  

Now check out Leslie's book Quiet Loud.  She gives a lot of examples of quiet and loud.  We're going to be reading this book during Greeting Time, Snack Time, and at least one Large Group Time.  

December: Week 1

Subject:  M is for MUSIC

Phoneme: /m/

Transition Song:  Must Be Santa (Raffi)

Concept:  Music and Voices.  High and low.  Fast and Slow.  Loud and Soft.

Materials:  Laminated M.  Laminated Santa pieces (See previous post).

Letter recognition and pre-literacy/writing skills for letter M:  Use your pointer finger to trace the letter M.  Show me your pointer finger!  Ready?  Put it at the bottom of the letter M just like me.  "Draw up the mountain.  Go back down.  Back up the mountain and down to the town."  Repeat 2X.  Hold up letter M and in a loud voice:  "Give me a ME!  MAY! MY! MOW!  MOO!"  (Have kids repeat after every CV word.)
What words start with the Mmmmm sound?  Merry!  Moo!  Mine!  Mouse!  ME!  Whose name starts with the Mmmm sound?

Listen to the music!  (Play music that is loud/soft, high/low and discuss the concepts.)  Can you play loud?  Use tapping sticks to try tapping loud and soft.  Now use your voices like a fire engine siren and sing on an E vowel, siren up as high as you can and down as you can.  Yell.  Whisper.  What voices do you use outside?  In school?  In the library?