Both Ciara and I love incorporating reading and literacy development into all of our sessions. We work with a diverse population of kids at our center. Some come from low print home, some won’t sit still for a book. Sometimes the parents aren’t great readers either. Can you relate?
I wanted to show my families how easy it would be to share books with target sounds in a fun and engaging way.
A few years ago I put together a set of materials that I called Lit/Artic kits. They are curated books paired with manipulatives geared towards a specific phoneme or developmental sound pattern. I am going to share a few of my favorites with you over the course of the next few weeks. This is a great way to combine literacy and articulation.
I am going to run down a few parameters I had to operate between in order to make these kits come to life.
I work for a hospital. All items in the kits need to be “wipeable” that means no soft fabrics, or stuffed animals.
Everything I ordered had to come from Amazon. No really. When ordering from within a big hospital they have preferred vendors. I will share what I was able to find on Amazon. You may be able to find the items cheaper or that suit your project better elsewhere. My hands were tied in this particular instance because I was given a special grant to complete these kits by a hospital fundraising team.
I wanted everything organized in a single grab and go location with little prep work in advance for the therapist.
These kits are great for that last-minute therapy plan, or you just need to step away from cards and drill. Targeting sounds in a highly structured and well-designed activity can foster more natural speech, carryover, and increase engagement. Exposure to books in a positive way is always a plus for me.
Follow the link below to head to the first Lit/Artic kit featuring a classic book Goodnight Gorilla.
