MindWing Concepts Blog

There have been a number of apps for iOS (iPad/iPod/iPhone operating system) that have been released in recent months that seem like they were created for use with Story Grammar Marker! Digital Storytelling apps such as Story Patch allow children to create stories while having an emphasis on narrative structure, with choices about character, setting and actions. Students with language disorders will need assistance with organizing, expanding, and adding complexity to their narrative and sentence structure, and that is where you and the SGM come in!

In this video, I give a quick walkthrough of Story Patch (iPad only, currently only $.99- yes, that’s 99 CENTS) and its choices for story creation. You’ll see how its “Create a Story with Help” mode is a great opportunity to link the choices students can make with narrative icons they can begin to internalize. The open-ended story creation mode is a blank slate offering countless choices to work at varying narrative levels, levels of detail and story length. The text tool allows you to take the language in unlimited directions supported by the pictures you choose. Story Patch could even be adapted to support expository language, especially since the allows you to insert pictures saved from the Internet or with your camera.

Mindwing is currently working on developing an app specific to the methodology of its tools. In the meantime, there are quite a number of apps that can be easily adapted to teach narrative and expository language. Enjoy the video!

Link to video: http://youtu.be/8fwQlp3dcp0

Sean J. Sweeney, MS, MEd, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and instructional technology specialist working in the public school and in private practice at The Ely Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He has presented on the topic of technology integration in speech and language at the ASHA convention and is the author of the blog SpeechTechie: Looking at Technology Through a Language Lens and one of the editors of TherapyApp411.

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I always love finding resources that serve as a context for addressing many speech and language-related skills. The wonderful book Edwina- The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She was Extinct by Mo Willems is one of those resources; it can be used to target narrative and expository formulation, as well as social thinking skills in several areas.

To begin with, Edwina is a story that will engage and delight children from early to late elementary ages, beginning with its title and the name of the main character, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. Reginald has a problem: everyone around him is enthralled by Edwina, the friendly town dinosaur, and no one heeds his increasingly emphatic pleas to accept that Dinosaurs! Are! Extinct! The structure of the story is perfect for mapping as a complete episode using Braidy or Story Grammar Marker, as can be seen below:

Though this story has the twist of having the main character be both strangely right and wrong at the same time, it also provides a great context for building skills essential for children with autism spectrum disorders and other social pragmatic issues. The key problem in the story is mainly one of perspective, and could be visualized for students using the SGM Universal Magnets, Perspective Taking Maps (with icons down the middle and competing perspectives on either side), or Critical Thinking Triangle as discussed in the Making Connections volume of Mindwing’s Autism Collection to develop perspective taking skills.

Edwina also is a nice teaching tool if you are using Michelle Garcia Winner and Stephanie Madrigal’s terrific Superflex program, which reviews Social Thinking skills in the context of a comic book world. We can all relate to the ongoing battle between Superflex, who helps us use flexible thinking and problem solving skills, and the Team of Unthinkables, characters who try to force the citizens of Social Town to act in certain “Unexpected” ways. One of the leaders of the Unthinkables is Rock Brain, who gets us “stuck” in patterns of rigid thinking and on our own wants and ideas. Although Reginald does exhibit some flexible thinking in the varied ways he approaches his problem, the fact that he views Edwina’s existence as a problem at all is an example of a “Rock Brain Moment,” one you can analyze with students using that program’s “Find the Unthinkable Rock Brain” activity. One illustration in Edwina provides a perfect stopping point and discussion of Rock Brain thinking, as Reginald protests Edwina’s distribution of cookies in the park by carrying a sign that reads “This is NOT happening!!!”

Finally, Edwina can be used to target expository language in several ways. Try researching extinct animals and make a list (BrainPop’s clip on Extinction is a great place to start if you have a subscription or free trial) using Thememaker’s List Map, or perhaps a sequence of how a particular animal died out. As we only see a bit of Reginald’s presentation on “Things that are Extinct,” perhaps your students could continue his project in PowerPoint form! The story also has several embedded lists, such as the ways Edwina helped the townspeople, and cookies play a key role, so why not work on writing and completing the sequence of making actual cookies!

Sean J. Sweeney, M.S., M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and instructional technology specialist working in the public schools and in private practice at The Ely Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He has presented on the topic of technology integration in speech and language at the ASHA convention and is the author of the blog SpeechTechie: Looking at Technology Through a Language Lens, which won the 2010 Best New Edublog Award. He can be contacted at sean@speechtechie.com.

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In some recent posts I have described some visual and interactive activities to complement the instruction in It’s All About the Story establishing the concepts of character and setting. In keeping with the sequence of lessons in Mindwing’s Autism Collection, I’d like to move on to a few ways technology can help you introduce the Initiating Event or “Kick-Off “ of a narrative. As the lessons describe, you can discuss how in a particular setting, something happens to characters to “change the ‘Ho-Hum’ day” and start the story! An additional language strategy is to teach the words and phrases that signal a Kick-Off: suddenly, just then, etc. Taking a step beyond the visuals in the lessons, you can teach your students to apply the concept of the Kick-off using a few fun interactive technology resources.

First of all, I’d like to mention Kerpoof again, as it is one of my favorite teacher-friendly resources. Kerpoof is absolutely perfect for introducing the Kick-Off in a multisensory manner that will let kids use their creativity. Check out my handout and grab your teacher account on Kerpoof, then use the Make a Picture activity to choose a setting:

Kids can then use the sidebar and captions features to click, drag, and illustrate characters and a Kick-Off that might occur in that setting:

For a different take on Kick-Offs (geared toward a younger audience), try Sesame Workshop’s adorable Pinky Dinky Doo site, which integrates audio podcasts (you can listen to right on the site), visual activity sheets, and an interactive story creator to present fun, engaging, yet simple stories you can discuss in your sessions. You can use Pinky Dinky Doo’s podcasts to ask kids to identify Kick-Offs (and focus on auditory comprehension) as suggested in It’s All About the Story, and you can also create your own:

This site would also be wonderful to share with parents to continue your work at home!

An additional resource for instruction regarding Initiating Events is one that would be more appropriate for upper elementary or older students: Five Card Flickr. This “game” site pulls from approved photos on the photo sharing website Flickr in order to create an interactive digital storytelling experience. You can modify it by only selecting with students a setting, character(s) and Kick-Off to emphasize the interaction between the three elements and the Kick-off signal words:

In this case, perhaps, a dog was running on a tropical seashore when??? Draw 3 of 5 will tell!!!

Enjoy exploring Kick-Offs with your students!

Sean J. Sweeney, M.S., M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and instructional technology specialist working in the public schools and in private practice at The Ely Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He has presented on the topic of technology integration in speech and language at the ASHA convention and is the author of the blog SpeechTechie: Looking at Technology Through a Language Lens, which won the 2010 Best New Edublog Award. He can be contacted at sean@speechtechie.com.

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Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts – which is right around the corner from MindWing’s office. The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden is located at the Springfield Museums near our office as well. The influence of Ted’s (Dr. Seuss’) memories of Springfield can be seen throughout his work.

Photo courtesy of http://www.holyokeinphotos.com/

In keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, we wanted to share a lesson idea from MindWing’s book: East Meets West for the Holidays by Maryellen Rooney Moreau and Judy K. Montgomery. This lesson is based on one of Dr. Suess’ most beloved holiday stories: How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Below is the view of the neighboring town of Easthampton, MA from the top of Mt. Tom. Perhaps this is the view that inspired Dr. Seuss to write this entertaining, heart-warming tale that has become a holiday tradition and been made into a cartoon, a musical and a movie. It has been thought that “Who-ville” is actually Easthampton and that the Mt. Crumpit, the mountain upon which The Grinch resides, is actually Mt.Tom! Maryellen Rooney Moreau lives in Easthampton and travels over Mt. Tom every day to work.

So, IS Maryellen actually “Maryellen Who?"

Click Here to access this rich lesson on How the Grinch Stole Christmas that filled with narrative development, story sparkle, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, expository text, rare words, cultural aspects. Also, when you watch the movie, you can use the Perspective-Taking Maps from the Story Grammar Marker® Manual to Map and talk about the different perspectives of the Grinch and the Whos.

In the middle of the Grinch’s attempts to carry out his plan to “steal Christmas,” Cindy-Lou Who catches him stealing her Christmas tree. The Grinch has to “trick” Cindy-Lou in order to continue to carry out his plan. The motivations and intentions of the Grinch in this situation may be difficult for children with Social Learning Challenges to comprehend and express. Our new Autism Collection contains a new Critical Thinking Triangle™ Map that can help to elaborate and discuss the Grinch’s plan for trickery as well as Cindy-Lou’s perspective of the situation.

Click thumbnails to Enlarge Images

We also found this website http://www.seussville.com/grinch/activities.html that has some fun activities with The Grinch theme.

We wish you the happiest of holidays and all the best in the new year!

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Using the holidays as a context for language interventions can be tough, as it’s important to be inclusive of all cultures and celebrations. From a technology perspective, there just aren’t many great interactive resources about the Festival of Lights (anyone want to make some)? Gingerbread, however, while associated loosely with Christmas, is probably fair game in the public school setting!

Now, while websites with excessive, distracting ads are often something I rule out as a potential therapy resource, sometimes sites that are actually a giant, yet somehow unobtrusive ad can be great. This can be said for Sprint’s The Gingerbread Man with Everything site, a simple interactive you can use to decorate a fabulous cookie. Its relation to story grammar will become apparent when you click to browse the gallery of characters from fireman to cheerleader to vampire (it may be hard to explain to your students what the emo gingerbread man is all about, but we have faith in you).

You can download Google Sketchup here, and the Gingerbread House Template is here!

Give it a try- Google Sketchup is pretty easy once you get your feet wet. However, if, understandably, you find it a bit daunting, check out Karen Ogen’s list of interactive web-based gingerbread house creators, another nice context to work on description. Have fun and Happy Holidays!

Sean J. Sweeney, M.S., M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and instructional technology specialist working in the public schools and in private practice at The Ely Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He has presented on the topic of technology integration in speech and language at the ASHA convention and is the author of the blog SpeechTechie: Looking at Technology Through a Language Lens.

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Picture of our Team last year at ASHA in New Orleans!

It’s that time of year, again – time to reconnect with our friends and colleagues at the American Speech and Hearing Association Conference, this year in Philadelphia.

1. We will be at Booth #215 with product demos, videos, special give-aways and prizes! If you mention reading this BLOG or getting our E-Newsletter, you will be entered in a special drawing with a chance to win The Autism Collection Kit!
2. In addition to our Booth #215, Maryellen Rooney Moreau will be presenting on the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorders in session #0303, Thursday, November 18, 9:30AM-10:30AM in Room CC/106B. This session is entitled: “It’s All About the Story: The Language-Thinking-Social Connection” and will highlight our new Autism Collection: It’s All About the Story and Making Connections.
3. Learn about RESEARCH ON THE STORY GRAMMAR MARKER® by visiting Poster Session “Effects of Story Grammar Marker: Listening Comprehension & Oral Expression” #2148, Poster Board 201 SA, Saturday, November 20 from 3:00PM-4:30PM, Poster, CC/Hall C. This session is being presented by Linda Lafontaine, Curtis Blake Day School of American International College and Maryellen Rooney Moreau, MindWing Concepts, Springfield, MA.

For those of you interested in the research from the poster session, we will post it on www.mindwingconcepts.com after it is presented at ASHA.

We look forward to seeing you at ASHA Booth #215!

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Help them ask Who, What, When, Where & Why Using the Story Grammar Marker®

Children often “don’t know” what they “don’t know!” Using the Story Grammar Marker® manipulative, parents, teachers and specialists can give children the ability to ASK AND ANSWER “Wh” questions such as: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Development of these abilities improves children’s oral language, writing, critical thinking and comprehension. It also especially can help children in social situations and conversations.

In this video Maryellen demonstrates how the Story Grammar Marker® can be used to scaffold “Wh” questions. The Character is the “Who.” The setting is the “Where/When.” The Planned Attempts are the “What.” The Critical Thinking Triangle™ elements of the SGM® (kick-off, feeling, plan) are the “Why.”

In literature, television, movies, plays and in real life often we are left to infer the “Why:” motivations, feelings and plans of characters and people. Using the SGM® provides an organizational structure for children (and even adults) to “hang on to” while telling or listening to a story and observing or participating in a social situation. The SGM® is a tool for “inference,” thus helping children comprehend and express what they “don’t know.”

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It’s really exciting when a speech-language material is published that provides clinicians with a ready-to-go resource that jibes well with strategies we already have been teaching. Such is definitely the case with the excellent We Can Make it Better program recently released by Think Social Publishing and written by Speech-Language Pathologist Elizabeth Delsandro. We Can Make it Better is a set of 20+ stories in which social interactions go quite wrong due to “unexpected behaviors” by one of the characters. The materials and activities unfold in a very logical therapeutic structure that challenges students to “make it better” by deciding alternative actions for the characters, “rewrite” the story as a more positive “Second Edition” and act it out, thus providing a great context for teaching social problem solving.

To be quite honest, social problem solving has been an area that, when providing a rating each semester in my private practice’s progress notes, I have wondered if I adequately assessed or addressed. Of course we have “teachable moments” in sessions where problems arise between students, and discussions of problems in the real world, but I have been wanting for a fun material that could foster some take-home skills in this area!

It is wonderful how We Can Make It Better perfectly compliments some of the programs I am using already with students, namely, of course, Story Grammar Marker and Social Thinking. In using the program over the past several weeks, I have found the narrative context in which stories are presented is motivating and amusing to my students, and it is very easy to weave in use of the SGM as we recap the presented stories, analyze the actions of characters, and develop an alternative story script and outcome. Many Social Thinking concepts, such as “Expected/Unexpected” behaviors, “guessing plans” and “smart guesses” are also natural targets within discussions of the stories.

The picture below illustrates a simple modification to the program- using the Mindwing Universal Magnet Set as a way to plan “Act it Out” activities that follow story presentation and discussion. The character, setting, action and wrap-up icons (though you could use more complex structures also) also fit well with activities in the program such as completing the “Not So Good Board,” in which kids brainstorm what went wrong in the story.

The program’s generous number of stories (and tips on how to write your own) make it ideally suited for classroom and group programming, and the accompanying CD-ROM with stories and forms in electronic format opens many possibilities. For example, I have been able to use an LCD projector to show the stories “writ large” on the wall, an attention-grabber for our students, and PDF files on the CD can be easily inserted into programs such as PowerPoint so I can annotate our group discussions (i.e. inserting text boxes to display alternative actions that kids suggest, then making the best choice, after discussion, appear in green font). Additionally, using a Flip Video camera to record the role-plays has been a great motivator for kids in the “Act it Out” portion, and provides great feedback on scripting, body language and other nonverbals.

Even if you are only in the early phases of using the SGM, I highly recommend We Can Make It Better as a great context for developing early learners’ storytelling and problem solving skills.

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MindWing’s Episode Organizer Poster – Explicit & Systematic

This is a MindWing Concepts Map of the components of a story taking into consideration “story grammar”. It is called “The SGM® Episode Organizer". The story grammar components, making up the beginning/middle/end of a story are shown as icons. The Character, Setting, Kick-off (problem or excitement), Feeling and Plan are in the beginning. The actions (attempts) to carry out the plan make up the middle and the Consequence and resolution make up the end.

Click  image to enlarge

Make the contrast between the traditional Beginning/Middle/End map and this one evident to the participants.

You may want to tell the participants that such an iconic map (and the three dimensional tool) are called “non-linguistic representations” of language.

Marzano in his classic text entitled Classroom Instruction that Works, notes that non-linguistic representations (along with compare/contrast, setting of objectives and provision of feedback), raise achievement when intentionally taught and used consistently.

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My previous post discussed the narrative element of setting and the tendency of students on the autism spectrum (or with other language disorders) to leave out details about setting, causing listener confusion. One way to explore the importance of setting is to plan interventions using books with an integral setting- where the setting is key to the motivations of the characters and understanding of the plot.

One of my favorites in this vein is Donald Crews’ Shortcut, the story of a group of cousins who find themselves in unexpected danger after taking a shortcut home. Not only does the book serve as an excellent example of building suspense around a small moment in a personal narrative (great for students working on memoir), it also lends itself to being mapped both on a Setting Map and a literal, visual map to develop storytelling skills.

Working on such a map has always been one of my favorite projects I repeated every year with 4th graders studying memoir. Besides touching on an oft-repeated writing unit, the activity also hits on many other skills: map reading and making, organization, the pragmatics of a shared task, spatial concepts, complex conjunctions and of course, story grammar. Loosely, the lesson plan would look like this:

1. Read the book interactively, with predictions etc, and focus on interesting teachable points such as freight vs. passenger trains, etc.
2. Use the SGM Setting icon magnet as a visual cue with a dry erase board to brainstorm all the important aspects of the setting of the story (tracks/shortcut, road, cutoff, path, home, etc).
3. Scaffold students to create an actual map that includes all these elements.
4. Use the map for retelling practice, using the SGM throughout the process and focusing on complex sentences using conjunctions such as because, so, and when.

You can see an example of a project I created with students below, using PowerPoint.

This project could be just as easily completed with chart paper and markers, but if you are interested in going the tech route, check out my screencast on how to execute this project with PowerPoint. Enjoy!

What other books do you like to use to explore the concept of setting?

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