Linky Party: Dog Breath!

Today I am joining a Linky Party hosted by the amazing Deanna Jump! The topic is one of my favorites: BOOKS! Literature can be used to target a variety of language goals for school-age children. Here are just a few of the many goals that can be addressed:

-Wh-questions

-Vocabulary 

-Identifying parts of speech 

-Identifying story elements: main idea, characters, problem, resolution

-Inferencing, Predicting

-Sequencing

-Antonyms/Synonyms 

-Multiple meaning words

-Various syntax-related goals

-Increasing MLU

That's a lot of goals! There are many amazing children's books out there, but today I will be discussing "Dog Breath" by Dave Pilkey. 

Why I love it: My students responded to this story and I was able to incorporate many language goals! There is a clear problem and resolution. There were many opportunities for wh-questions. 

Short Synopsis: Dog Breath is the story of Hally Tosis (yes, halitosis), a sweet dog with horrible breath! After a particularly unfortunate mishap (due to Hally's bad breath), Hally's owners decide to give her away. The children of Hally's owners are devastated and try to get rid of Hally's bad breath before their parents find Hally a new home. They go on a mini-journey to rid their beloved dog of her terrible breath. Nothing works! The children are very upset. But, that night, two burglars break into the Tosis home! Hally is a friendly dog and begins licking the burglars. Her breath is so bad that they pass out! Hally saves the day! Mom and Dad Tosis are amazed and decide to keep their hero dog.

Sample therapy tasks:

-List of various wh-questions: I ask some questions during the reading of the story and others at the end

-Story sequencing: Students use a story sequencing board with images/text to place story events in order 

-Identifying story elements: Setting, main idea, characters, problem, resolution

-List of nouns, verbs, and adjectives from the story (students place word cards into N, V, or A pile)

-Predicting: During the story, I ask the students what they think will happen next, why they think this will occur, etc.

-Increase MLU: All questions need to be answered with full sentences!
 
These are just some of the activities that can be utilized to target goals with literature! I highly recommend trying language therapy with books if you haven't done so. Addressing goals and instilling a love for reading in children...what could be better? :)