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During National Autism Awareness Month, we have been using text and illustrations of the picture book Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch to enhance our teaching of feelings using the SGM heart icon, Feelings mini poster, and newly created maps. This is the final post of the Mr. Hatch series.

After completing these activities, older students may enjoy using the same Feelings template we began this blog with and a You Tube presentation of The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan. Click here to watch The Lost Thing...

While in NYC about a year ago providing a workshop, Maryellen displayed a group of books to use with the Story Grammar Marker^®. Three of the books were picture books and were written by Jacqueline Woodson. One of the participants came to Maryellen after the workshop to point out those books and especially the one entitled Each Kindness. The others on display were The Rope and The Other Side. Each Kindness is particularly well suited to this time of year with Valentine’s Day coming up and with the Celebration of Black History Month during February...

Making the world a better place for children. That’s what an Easthampton woman has done through her work in helping children solve problems. Maryellen Rooney Moreau is a speech and language pathologist. She was a professor at American International College and twenty years ago founded MindWing Concepts, a business that creates tools to help children communicate better to solve problems and resolve conflict. Maryellen says, “The tools that I’ve created over the past many years, 20 years, that I’ve been a speech and language pathologist for over 35 years, and the focus has always been to help children who maybe have ideas in their head, but can’t get the ideas out. So to foster that in areas of reading and writing, but especially in the area of social communication.”...

I can vividly remember trying to get my two young children up and ready for the day, gathering all needed belongings, buckling each into their car seat, driving to our daycare provider, and then rushing off to spend a day teaching kindergarten! Those were the days! Luckily for me, Michael and Mary were so cooperative and loved to go to their sitter. It was (some days!) actually fun! As spring got closer, we would play a game on the way to and from home looking for signs of spring. We had a song… Spring is coming, Spring is coming, How do you think I know? I saw a (the sign of spring said here, a pussy willow, a forsythia bush, a little robin, a daffodil, etc.) I know it must be so.

Here in Western Massachusetts, we just had a Thanksgiving weekend storm that dropped 2 FEET of snow in our backyards! It reminded us to share with you links to our past blog posts that contain winter-themed lessons and downloads. Also, we included a comprehensive list of favorite winter-themed books. At left is Maryellen and granddaughter Casey (aged 5) with their snowman.

Today, I came across a book with a Thanksgiving theme that I would like to share with you. Also, at the end of this blog, you will find a list of additional resources for Thanksgiving that may be of interest to you. This book would be ideal to use with the setting icon as we follow the firefighters throughout their Thanksgiving Day. The book is presented in rhyme and the acrylic painting illustrations enhance the story of being thankful and joining together to show appreciation. After reading the selection, I reviewed the firefighters' day with my small group of students with my magnetic whiteboard and Story Grammar Marker Icon Magnets. I used the setting icon to emphasize that a setting is not only a place, but also time as well as the action icons for the sequence of events...

The Day You Begin, by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez, is a beautiful, nonlinear story to share with children, especially at the beginning of the school year. It encourages children to think about their feelings when entering new situations and creates an opportunity for teachers to provide a discussion with and to show support of children in such situations. Before sharing the selection, take a look at the following links for background information. This book is actually a story of a girl named Angelina, included with examples and guiding suggestions for fitting in, with which all of us can identify. Included below is also a link to the illustrator’s website, Rafael Lopez, discussing the development of the artwork for this book, which older students would find interesting...

Today I visited the Sixteen Acres Library in Springfield, MA. As I was browsing in the children’s section, I turned to find three youngsters reading a big book, “Big Red Barn,” written by Margaret Wise Brown. We have a farm-related blog on our website using this book that you can find here. The blog includes a wonderful downloadable activity you may be interested in sharing with your students about the farm. On a table of featured books, I then found “The Cow Who Climbed A Tree” by Gemma Merino. To continue with the farm theme, I checked out this book and thought you may enjoy sharing it with your students...

On a recent visit to Springfield’s Sixteen Acres Library, I was pleased to see a large display of books related to St. Patrick’s Day. One that caught my eye is The Leprechaun’s Gold written by Pamela Duncan Edwards and illustrated by Henry Cole. After reading The Leprechaun’s Gold, I immediately thought that this would make a great lesson to focus on how a change in the Setting signified a new episode, and how all three of the settings and episodes in this picture book overlap, as so often happens in chapter books. There are so many other aspects to this book also, such as character interactions and comparisons, and developing skills in identifying character traits. The book also lends itself to a quick project using a shamrock cut-out...

As you know, March 2nd is the birthday of Dr. Seuss. He was born right around the corner from our MIndWing office here in Springfield, MA. Yesterday, I visited the Springfield Library to get a copy of The Cat and The Hat so I could share a lesson suggestion related to feelings. Along with that book, I found a copy of Horton and the Kwuggerbugs and Other Lost Stories. These stories were originally published in Redbook magazine between 1950-1955. Charles Cohen, a collector of all things Seuss, put together four of these selections in this book. Following The Cat and The Hat activity is an SGM analysis of one of those stories: “Marco Comes Late”...

Valentine’s Day was always one of the most enjoyable days for students when I taught kindergarten, and Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama books were popular with this age group. Llama Llama Be My Valentine! is a Penguin Young Reader book based on an episode of Llama Llama’s animated Netflix television series. Below are some of the ways I used this selection recently with groups of kindergarten and first graders of varying skill levels. Modify as you wish, depending on your goals/objectives and students...

Last year, we got a lot of great feedback on our Groundhog Day blog, “6 Books and Activity for Groundhog Day.” Teachers seemed to especially like the last idea included in the blog, describing the groundhog’s burrow (from a List Map to a setting project, to sharing aloud). Check out last year’s blog if you haven’t seen it already! I came across another book presented in rhyme for Groundhog Day, Grumpy Groundhog written by Maureen Wright and illustrated by Amanda Haley. Below are a few ideas to use with this selection...

Activities that allow us to reflect on the past are helpful in establishing habits of reviewing what we have done well, what we enjoyed, and what we would like to change. We have included some suggested activities that use the SGM icons to add to your toolbox. Ask students to recall one day from 2018 that they especially remember. Give the students an SGM Writing form or a Student Marker to plan their story. Give students time to fill in notes on the sheet and/or practice with the student marker and then, students could orally share their stories with one another...

If you are looking for a lively read for Halloween, check out Room on the Broom, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Alex Scheffler. This book is presented in delightful rhyme, making it an ideal book for the younger set (Pre-K—Gr 2). It is a perfect selection to map out two Complete Episodes emphasizing a new Kick-Off. Below is the story mapped out from the witch’s perspective. Use Braidy the StoryBraid^® or the Story Grammar Marker^® to retell it to the students. At the end of this blog, we have also included a downloadable “Retelling Wheel” to be used by students to retell the story to one another...

As so often happens when I see a certain book or project, it reminds me of particular lessons that I taught while teaching at the former Juniper Park School in Westfield, MA. A recent display of books on spiders at our local library did just that. Below are some ideas on spider-related books that you may want to try this summer or tuck them away in your files for future use. In addition to other resources, several of the selections below are Anansi trickster tales which were first told by the Ashanti people in Ghana. We begin our lesson suggestions with one of the Anansi stories adapted and retold by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Janet Stevens. These were always popular with second and third graders. I liked to use them to reinforce the SGM^® complete and interactive episodes and character traits...

Maryellen recommended this book at a workshop I attended many years ago, and I found so many uses for it when our second, third, fourth, and fifth graders began to explore narrative and expository text structures. Using the picture book Alaska’s Three Bears shows the flexibility of the SGM^® for both narrative and expository texts. She shared lessons and activities for use with grades K-5 and noted that this book could be used with a variety of grade levels (2-5) as it helped to support a number of her goals and objectives as a Language Arts Teacher. There is both a story and expository information presented. The book is one that can be used with a variety of goals/objectives in mind, during whole-group and/or small-group instruction, and with a wide span of grade levels...

As a former teacher of 38 years, I know summer is a time for educators to catch some much-needed R&R with family and friends. It is also a time to reflect on the past school year; what we thought went well and what changes we can make in the upcoming school year to improve student learning. I am always on the lookout for new books/materials to add to my lessons and recently came across two books that may interest you...

Who doesn’t love chameleons? I remember when I saw this book in our school library many years ago! I couldn’t wait to use it with our second grade students featuring the SGM List Map and Descriptive Map. At the time, I travelled from class to class, K-2, and brought SGM Marker and Braidy the StoryBraid, narrative and expository elements, into the classrooms. This time around, I created an informational sheet for grade 2 from various sources to begin our lessons. Notice how the information could be easily entered on an SGM Descriptive Map using the categories Physical Appearance, Habitat, Food and Eating, Young, and Special Characteristics. We completed the project in three sessions...

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching! We have three terrific resources already on our website and here are two other titles to add to the fun of this upcoming special day. Leprechaun Tales is a delightful collection of six short leprechaun tales retold by Yvonne Carroll. It would be fun to start each day off next week reading one to your students. They lend themselves to retelling with the SGM. This book provides an easy way to review a complete episode. If you are looking for simple crafts for students to do, Crafts for St. Patrick’s Day is the book for you! There is a brief introduction about St. Patrick’s Day by the author and followed by twenty craft projects...

One of the novels that we explored in sixth grade was Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Our focus varied, depending on our students, and my task was always to provide the scaffolding using the SGM^® for classroom presentations—making the lessons accessible to all our students, including those with IEPs. Our elementary school used Braidy^®/SGM^® at all grade levels so that by the time students were in upper elementary, they were well-versed in using the icons for both narrative and expository texts. The beauty of the SGM^®, however, is that the icons are easily learned and students can successfully participate in lessons in a few introductory sessions...

After facing 27 heart breaking rejections, Dr. Seuss was heading back to his apartment to burn his first book. It was on his journey back that a chance encounter changed his future forever. As he was walking to his apartment along Madison Avenue he bumped into an old Dartmouth College friend, Mike McClintock. McClintock, by chance, had just started working that very morning at Vanguard Press children’s section as editor. A few hours later the two had signed a contract to publish Dr. Seuss’s first book, “And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” after it had been rejected 27 times...

February 2nd was always a pleasant day when I taught kindergarten. After exploring groundhogs, we were ready for Groundhog Day! It was always an enjoyable break from our daily routine, especially during the long winter months here in New England. During a recent trip to our local library in Springfield, MA, I was reminded of this time and checked out a few books to share with you. We can always count on Gail Gibbon’s books to inform students in an entertaining way. So it is with Groundhog Day. The book gives information on the celebration itself, groundhogs, and includes additional “Groundhog Facts”...

My father always told us to begin our essays with a clear definition of the topic. Thus, a promise to do something differently in the new year defines what many of us will be thinking of as 2018 rolls in! Several years ago, we presented a blog, “SGM is 25 Years Old & New Year’s Resolution Worksheet,” with a free downloadable for your classroom use. The worksheet, which would make an enjoyable group book for your classroom or with a few added touches, a bulletin board, has been updated and is available at right, modify as you wish...

If you are looking for a delightful book to go along with cold, snowy weather, check out one I came across the other day, Snowmen at Night, written by Caralyn Buehner and illustrated by Mark Buehner. After a little boy notices that the snowman he built the day before looks a bit different, he begins to wonder what snowmen actually do at night. That is the kick-off of this rhyming story. The story is presented as a series of actions of the many activities of snowmen at night! It would be an ideal selection to use with Braidy the StoryBraid Doll...

If you are looking for a quick lesson to review the Character and Setting icons with preschool and K students, check out the two versions of Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. In both versions, a mouse runs to many animals in search of a friend, asking, “Do you want to be my friend?” At the end of the story, he accomplishes his goal with an added surprise! For each animal the mouse asks, we are given a clue of seeing the animal’s tail and then the page turns to show the entire animal. The miniature version has text which follows the same format throughout…The mouse asks each animal, “Do you want to be my friend?”...

Llama Llama Mad At Mama by Anna Dewdney is an early elementary favorite. The lesson below is geared to ending first grade/second, but of course, can be changed/modified to meet your student needs. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® In Action! tool has been a huge success with students in K-8. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® (CTT) is the crux of the Story Grammar Marker^® methodology for students when working through their problems, comprehending stories presented in academic settings, or when formulating and expressing personal narratives...

I recently have read several articles in our local papers describing encounters between residents and wild turkeys within our state (Massachusetts). I was surprised to learn that wild turkeys once were extinct in our area. Not knowing many facts about wild turkeys, my nephew and I came across a book at our local library here in Springfield, Massachusetts, written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky, All About Turkeys. This book and the companion fact sheets referenced above would be ideal to use with the Expository “My Research” Cut–and-Fold Booklet found in our “Core” of the Core manual. After reading both, invite students to fill in the booklet with a partner and share their results...

“In the Jingle Jangle Jungle on a cold and rainy day, four little friends found a perfect place to stay.” Thus begins our journey with Zebra, Moose, Lion, Sheep and Bear! The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland is a delightful presentation in rhyme which will surely entertain Pre-K–Grade 1 students. I am reminded of my teaching mentor, Gail O’Connor. She was so skilled at taking stories and adding simple props, then letting students add their own touches to characters! Following are a few activities that may be presented; modify to meet the needs of your students...

I thought this would also be a great way to review SGM components, create centers for individuals and story specific centers, and/or send weekly tasks home to parents! With this in mind, I went on a hunt to find these albums, which are plastic, hold about 25 photos, and measure 4”x6”. In my day, we referred to them as “brag books” and would have them filled with recent photos of children, dogs, garden, etc., whatever we wanted to share (“brag about”) with family and friends! I found a few at our local dollar store and our CVS had a good number for about two dollars each. The following are a few examples of how I will be starting to use these along with MindWing’s STAMPede Stamp Set this year. This is a work in progress and one of which I am excited!...

It’s amazing how quickly summer flies by! I have mentioned many times that throughout my 38 years of teaching, I always appreciated the fact that each school year brought about new opportunities to improve my teaching techniques. Not all occupations offer one a chance to reflect on what worked and what could be refined, both in materials and delivery, with the overall goal of building upon children’s strengths. From our group at MindWing, we wish you a successful school year and hope you enjoy the following blog to help with ideas to “KICK-OFF” your school year!...

Recently, I saw a clever sound blending idea on Pinterest using rings and small cards. It reminded me of our very popular blog using popsicle sticks to teach story elements using the Story Grammar Marker®. With these thoughts in mind, here are two ideas that are simple to make and easy to transport from one site to another making them ideal for teachers/interventionists/therapists who move from class to class...

Maryellen recently received a very special package at her MindWing office in Springfield, MA. Inside was a lovely note along with a recently published children’s book, Narwhal Makes a Sandwich. This book is written by Laura Addington, a Speech Language Pathologist, and Aryn Franklin, an Occupational Therapist, and illustrated by Tara Put, also a Speech Language Pathologist. As written in the note, they used the Story Grammar Marker^® to scaffold their story! We thought you would enjoy this selection outlined as a Complete Episode...

I recently came across a book, Fireflies! written and illustrated by Jule Brinkloe, that I had used to demonstrate the concept of two episodes in a story: the first episode leading to a new Kick-Off, creating a second episode. Told in the first person, the beautiful pencil drawings compliment and enhance the story of a young boy learning a valuable lesson of letting go and doing the right thing. Following, we have analyzed the book in two episodes...

When my children were young, one of our favorite summer pastimes was a weekly trip to our local library here in Springfield, Massachusetts. A recent visit reminded me to check out the many interesting programs available for children as well as adults. We are so fortunate! I remember teaching in the classroom and having a much anticipated visit from our city’s librarian who went over the many options for summertime fun. During my days as camp counselor, a walk with the campers to our local library was always on the agenda! A friend of mine who will be teaching elementary school this summer and I visited our local branch library to check out books for her to use to review SGM components with her students. The following are a few of the choices we made...

A trip to a local dollar store is always an adventure for teachers as we keep an eye out for items to use in our classrooms. Today, I netted a package of 75 plastic multi-colored counting chips, an inch and a half in diameter. With summer approaching, I also found a child’s small sand pail. Back at my desk, I took out my set of MindWing's Icon STAMPede Rubber Stamp Set and stamped out a complete episode, one stamp per chip...

As I was reviewing blogs written last year at this time in May, I came across one (Magnetic Spinner Activity for Narrative Expository Text Questions) that used the Narrative/Expository Text-Based Question Cards from MindWing’s The “Core” of the Core manual (pages 171-182). This manual is chock-full of ideas for classroom use, both whole group and small group instruction. These narrative and expository questions may be used for both fiction and nonfiction. All you have to do is print them, laminate, and cut… then choose the ones which reinforce your student goals. The questions are easily paired with your current reading selections and with SGM maps. You may also add your own questions, modified for your students, but the ones presented will certainly get you started!...

To Maryellen: “Wishing you good luck and true friendship forever!”  This was the inscription that author Martin Nelson Burton wrote in November 2004, on Maryellen’s copy of Dear Mr. Leprechaun, Letters From My First Friendship. This is a delightful, true tale based upon the author’s childhood writings to his leprechaun friend. The original letters and the responses (written by the author’s father, aka The Leprechaun) are presented in the book. On each page, there is a leprechaun that younger children will enjoy searching for. The beautiful artwork of Clint Hansen was created with paper sculpture. The last page of the book gives a brief description of the sculpture process that children and adults will find fascinating...

Our baby cousin Avery
celebrating Dr. Seuss!

This week brings us to an exciting yearly event…

Read Across America Day, March 2nd, created in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Dr. Seuss—Theodor Seuss Geisel—was born here in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904 and grew up on Mulberry Street, just a short walk from our MindWing office. We are looking forward to the completion and opening of the Dr. Seuss Museum here in Springfield! It will be such an exciting destination for children as well as adults who grew up loving Dr. Seuss stories! “The more that you read the more things you will know. the more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” With this quote in mind, please enjoy reading and sharing the following links to Seuss-related information!...

Are you looking for a way to reinforce SGM icons with students in your small groups? Using the stamps from our Icon Stampede Stamp Activity Set and Post-It Filing Tabs, create a set of icons as shown below. I picked up a clipboard to store them in order. Notice how the set of Post-It notes are green, yellow, and red to correspond to the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Various sizes are available; you may also decide to cut the larger ones in half, depending on your needs. I like the 2 inch by 1½ inch size, as I found them easy to remove...

My daughter’s book club chose “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio and she recommended it to me. This is a book that would support discussions centering on feelings, living in a community and what it means, developing empathy towards others, and the acceptance of differences, to name a few. The format of the book definitely lends itself to teaching perspective taking. There are many ways to approach this book within classrooms or therapy settings. Of course, the deciding factor would be the goals and objectives for your particular students...

A recent posting shared on MindWing’s Facebook page (http://tinyurl.com/pierrewhitneyslp) showed a fantastic SGM^® lesson by Whitney Chitty Smith of “Let’s Talk with WhitneySLP,” related to the book, Pierre the Penguin, A True Story, written by Jean Marzollo and illustrated by Laura Regan. After viewing this terrific post (Thank You, Whitney!), I immediately went to the top drawer of my desk and pulled out the book. I had started a blog entry for this book back in November and had never completed it!...

With snow predicted in many locations and some areas already under a blanket of snow, check out our very popular blog post from last year: Reading Lessons and Blogs About the Winter Season.

Stay warm!

During Maryellen’s last two webinars, Story Grammar Marker: 2 Key Things That Set It Apart and 5 Elements of the Critical Thinking Triangle in Action!, she used a feeling-frame with the boys who participated in the lesson to highlight how characters were feeling and what they were thinking in the story, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boltz. The frames have been particularly motivating with students. They can be easily made using tongue depressors and popsicle sticks. Craft stores carry colorful ones in various sizes. We have found the easiest way to hold them together is with glue dots, also available in craft stores. These activities would go nicely with our new product, The Critical Thinking Triangle in Action! and are very adaptable to students and materials!

Students and I were recently discussing if anyone could really be “perfect.” I was reminded of Be A Perfect Person In Just Three Days! by Stephen Manes. This book was originally published in 1982 and remained a favorite read aloud of mine for many years. As I began to use the Story Grammar Marker^®, this selection provided a concrete example of using the SGM^® with a chapter book. It is the perfect match for a Complete Episode. From the very obvious Kick-Off to the lesson learned at the end, the book was an entertaining, fun read-aloud for students in grades 3 and 4. We have outlined the book as a Complete Episode— expand on it as you wish. Each Attempt could also be mapped out as a Complete Episode...

After receiving many positive comments regarding a recent post, Using Data Collection and Collaboration to Enhance Instruction, I wanted to share two other ideas that you may find helpful when first using the SGM^® in your school. If you are not using the SGM^® school-wide, then try working with a colleague as the SGM^® is the perfect vehicle to establish collaboration and a common language around student comprehension questions and the thought processes involved in answering those questions...

One of my favorite series of lessons which I taught at the former Juniper Park School in Westfield, Massachusetts, involved the folktale The Little Red Hen. I used three versions of this folktale; one retold by Paul Galdone, one by Margot Zemach and the third by Alan Garner. The use of these books supports the six CCSS standards listed in this blog...