DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS Focused Training for Speech Language Pathologists and Special Educators Using MindWing Concepts Methodology Adapted by Kathryn Bach Cobb County School District July 17, 2013

Essential Question  How do I use the Mindwing tools to assess and treat students with communication disorders?  How do I use the tools to improve oral narrative and writing skills?

Discussion  Table Activity: Discuss with your table mates strategies you have employed to improve retelling?

“Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all interrelated, and development in one area supports development in all the others.” Early Reading Strategy: The Report of the Expert Panel on Early Reading in Ontario, Canada.

Strands of Language Pragmatics Phonology Semantics Syntax & Morphology Discourse Metalinguistics

Importance of Language  Children with reading difficulties produce spoken narratives that are shorter, have fewer words, undeveloped story grammar….and the weaknesses extend to written narratives. Justice, 2004  Once behind in language development, it is difficult to catch up. Hart and Risley  Relationship between oral and written language is reciprocal-reading and writing are initially dependent on oral language….. Flood and Lapp, 1987

Tools for SLPs and Special Educators  Provide consistency across the district  Addresses CC standards for all grade levels in ELA and Communication  Narrative Mode of Thought Story Grammar Elements Linguistic Elements Critical Thinking Literary Elements Expository Text Structures

Copyright © 2007, MindWing Concepts, Inc Web:

Developmental Sequence of Narratives  Stage 1- Preschool  Stage 2- Preschool  Stage 3- Preschool  Stage 4- Early Elementary  Stage 5- Late Elementary  Stage 6- Adolescent  Stage 7- Adolescent

Table Activity  Form a group of three  Read your group’s book  Use the Teacher Analysis Sheet to determine the stage of your book  Be prepared to share

Story Grammar Elements  Usually addressed with story maps  Braidy/SGM are 3-D Interactive Story Maps  Icons  Generalize concepts to reading and writing

Beginning Middle End Name:__________________________ Date:____________ Story Graphic Organizer

Linguistic Elements  Linguistic elements at the sentence level convey meaning and promote critical thinking in both stories as well as information text.  Clauses  Elaborated noun phrases  Cohesive ties such as: and, also, or temporal: first, next, before, last, when, while, after, finally causal: so, because, when adversative: but, instead, actually  Mental state verbs: remember, think, know, realize  Linguistic verbs: exclaimed, yelled, whispered, shrieked, cried  Adverbs: gently, slowly, happily, diligently, willfully

Critical Thinking Skills  Critical Thinking Triangle Kick-off (Initiating Event) Feelings (Internal Response) Plan  Teaches students to make connections and think critically _____ happened, so I _____ and ____to

Transfer to Expository Text  Explicit teaching of the seven informational text structures  Relies on familiar icons  Based on concepts taught at narrative level  Critical thinking triangle plays important role

Text Structures  Descriptive – describing a topic – person or place  List – Author has a plan – things related to a topic  Sequence – Author has a plan to put things in order  Cause/Effect – Plan is to explain the reasons  Problem/Solution – Identify a problem and a plan to solve it  Persuade – opinions; point of view; plan to convince others  Compare/Contrast – describe two topics and show both similarities and differences.

Other Applications  ESOL students  Resolve conflicts  Organize for writing  Problem solving  RTI

Assessment and Data Collection  Assessment  Oral language samples  Tracking Narrative Language Progress (Gillam & Gillam) TNL-Pr  Progress Monitoring Instructional Planner – another tool to use

character  Who is the story about?  Think about : person, animal, or being age/gender physical description likes and dislikes personality

Character Song (Tune: Are You Sleeping) Braidy is a character. Eyes, face and head. Braidy is a character. Eyes, face and head.

setting  Where and When does the story take place?  Think about the “ho-hum” day in the setting.

Setting Song (sung to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) Twinkle, twinkle little star The setting tells where the characters are At the mall or in the pool At the park or in the school Twinkle, twinkle little star The setting tells where the characters are.

Kick-off  The Initiating Event:  What good or bad event happened to the Character to cause him/her to do something?  Think about a football game and how the kick- off starts the game.  The Kick-Off is the part of the story that changes the typical or “ho-hum” day.  It’s a “ho-hum” day UNTIL….  The Kick-Off is often something that one does not expect to happen.

Kick-off Song What happened? Something suddenly happened. What happened? This must be the kick-off! What happened? To cause the character to do something What happened? This must be the kick-off!

Large Group Activity  To make an initiating event or kick- off tangible with students I like to do the following activity:  Read the phrase and come up with an ending to share with the group.

feelings  Internal Response:  What are the Character’s feelings about what happened?  Emotions, goals, intentions, or thoughts.  (happy, sad, mad, surprised, disgusted, afraid, embarrassed, proud, lonely)

Feelings Song Feelings, nothing more than feelings Feelings that the character feels at the kick-off Feelings, oh, oh, oh feelings happy, glad, or upset Feelings the character feels Feelings, oh, oh, oh feelings Feelings that the character feels at the end of the story. Feelings, oh, oh, oh feelings Oh, oh, oh feelings are what the character feels.

Large Group Activity  Often the feeling component of a story is left out in retelling and written narratives.  I use the sentence strips to help the students generate feeling words.  I have a word splash available if they need some support.

plan  STOP - THINK  What does the Character want to do?  Think about the kick-off and the internal response?  What does the Character want to achieve?

Plan Song Plan, plan we have a plan The plan is what the character’s gonna do now Plan, plan we have a plan The plan is what the character’s gonna do now. (rest) Plan, Plan

attempts  What action does the Character take to achieve the plan?  Attempt 1  Attempt 2  Attempt 3 …..  May involve multiple plans, or attempts at the plan.  The DETAILS … (To begin with, First, Then, Next, Furthermore, Finally)

Attempts Song (sung to Pink Panther)  Attempt, attempt, Attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt First, and second, third, and then, and next, and finally - Are the steps that the character takes to get to the resolution  Attempt, attempt, Attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt, All the steps that the character takes to get to the end of the story.  Attempt, attempt, Attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt, attempt

Consequence  What happened as a result of the Character’s plan and attempts ?  The “tie-up”  As a result….

resolution  How does the Character feel about the direct consequence?  Think about… - feelings - lesson learned - moral of the story

Consequence and Resolution Song (sung to Hallelujah Chorus) Consequence, consequence, it’s the tie- up, it’s the tie-up, the result of the plan Consequence, what happened, the result of all the attempts Resolution, the result, it’s how the character felt at the end Was there a complica- tion? Did everything go as planned? Consequence, consequence, it’s the tie- up, it’s the tie-up, the result of the plan

Story Grammar Marker SGM  Face = Character  Star = Setting  Shoe = Kick-Off  Heart = Feelings  Hand = Plan  Rings = Actions/Attempts  Bow = Direct Consequence  Hearts & Strings = Resolution

Braidy/SGM  You have now learned the icons that make up Story Grammar Marker (SGM).  Use these icons to: - help you understand the elements in a story - recall information to retell a story - create / write your own story

Cohesive Ties Stages 1-4 and, and then, then, first, next, when, after that, but, so, or, because, if Stages 1-7 and, and then, then, first, next, when, after that, but, so, or, because, if, as a result, because, therefore, although, however, like, similarly

Cohesive ties used when retelling a story and, and then, then, first, next, when, after that, but, so, or, because, if, as a result, because, therefore, although, however, like, similarly

Dialogue Dice 1- Name one strand of the “Braid” 2- Name the two Mindwing manipulatives 3- Name the three elements of the “critical thinking triangle” 4- Name four stages of narrative development 5- Name five icons 6- Name six cohesive ties

Assessment: Evaluating Narrative Skills  Choose a book being used for pre and post-testing or any book appropriate for stage/structures to assess growth  Teacher reads book and student re- tells or teacher asks student to create a story using picture(s)  Use of the Braidy doll/SGM and book are permitted

Elements01234Notes: Character No character is stated Pronoun used Main character named Main character named & physical description Main character named & physical description/personali ty qualities. Setting No setting stated Time OR Place stated Place described: physical characteristics Place described: physical & sensory verb(see, hear, touch, smell, taste) Place described: physical characteristics & expectations for use. Action Sequence No actions stated within the setting Action/events listed, not temporally sequenced. 2 Temporally sequenced series of actions 3+ temporally sequenced actions Temporal cohesive ties used with temporally sequenced actions Initiating Event No kick-off statedKick-off stated Kick-off stated in sentence/related to character and setting Kick-off stated in sentence/related to setting and action Kick-off stated in sentence/related to feelings OR plan Internal Response No internal response (IR) stated IR stated as a descriptor “She was crying:” IR stated as a feeling/emotion word “sad” IR stated, named and related to the kick-off Ir stated named and related to kick-off and plan. Plan No Plan statedPlan is inferred Plan is stated using a planning word: want wish, decide Plan is stated using a planning word and related to the kick-off Plan is stated using a planning word and is related to the kick-off and IR Critical Thinking Triangle (Kick- off+IR+Plan) No components are present 1 component is stated 2 components used to identify the Main Idea Components of the Triangle are present All components are present and related using at least 1 cohesive tie Planned Attempts No attempts are present (there may be action words) Attempts rather than simple actions are stated Attempts are sequenced Attempts are sequenced AND relate to the Triangle Attempts are sequenced AND related to the Triangle and Resolution Direct Consequence No consequence is state Ending is stated but not a consequence of the plan (The End) Consequence is stated AND related to the Kick-off OR Actions Consequence is stated AND related to Kick-Off AND Plan Consequence is stated AND related to the Plan AND the Resolution Resolution No Resolution is stated A feeling is stated as main character’s response to the Direct Consequence A response to the Direct Consequence is given in a lesson learned Lesson is related to the Direct Consequence AND the character’s participation in it A formal moral is stated as it relates to the theme AND events COBB COUNTY NARRATIVE RUBRIC Student: __________________________________________ DOB: __________________ SLP: ________________________________________ Date: ______ Score: ______ /40 Date: ______ Score: ______/40 Date: ______ Score: _______/40 Date: ______ Score: _______/40 Retell/Create (Circle) Retell/Create (Circle) Developed by Cobb County SLPs 2012 Additional rubrics may be found on the speech blackboard

Trade Book Activity  In your group:  Analyze the story Draw icons/use stamps to identify the elements of the story Determine the narrative stage of the book Be prepared to share Based on the book, what types of strategies would you work on? What IEP goals would you emphasize?

Cohesive Ties Activity o Using the story you just analyzed, find cohesive tie words used throughout the story. o How can you incorporate those words in retelling, writing, other opportunities? o Share your ideas

Dialogue Dice 1- Name one strand of the “Braid” 2- Name the two Mindwing manipulatives 3- Name the three elements of the “critical thinking triangle” 4- Name four stages of narrative development 5- Name five icons 6- Name six cohesive ties

References   Moreau, M.R. & Fidrych, H., 1994 The Story Grammar Marker Teachers’ Manual  Moreau, M.R. & Zagula, S Braidy the StoryBraid Teacher’s’ Manual

Demonstrations  Free DVD  Focus Areas  Resources/Free Lessons  Mindwing Manual Book Walk  Common Core Standards  Electronic hand-outs available: Mental-Linguistic Verbs, Braidy rubrics, today’s PPTs