Using Popular Books Like Harry Potter to Teach Context-Based Language Skills

In a “Language Development and Disorders” course I recently took at Gallaudet University with Professor Karen Garrido-Nag, we learned how to integrate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into sessions through context-based intervention (CBI). Our tools for captivating and motivating older children are popular books like the Harry Potter series or the book “Holes.” Garrido-Nag taught us to address a child’s language needs in the classroom by blending a standards-based approach with a context-based approach. We developed goals and activities by considering how the student will need to access the general curriculum—based on CCSS—while working with a text appropriate for the student’s language level and interests. This type of hybrid approach can benefit students who might achieve their annual goals but still not exhibit language skills at their expected grade level. To build our treatment approach of combining standards with popular literature, we first assessed the points where a child fails to access the curriculum. Next, we worked together as a class to generate a detailed profile of a student eligible to receive speech-language services in a school setting. For example, my class created “Emma,” a 10-year-old fourth-grader with a specific language impairment. We then determined areas of language we needed to target with Emma, such as vocabulary, figurative language and text comprehension. Next, we selected an age- and skill-appropriate ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Common Core State Standards Language Disorders literacy Schools Source Type: blogs