Sound Connections for R: Curriculum-Based Articulation Activities

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Materials Review

Sound Connections for R: Curriculum-Based Articulation Activities (2004). By Jane Urbelz and Linda R. Schreiber. Thinking Publications. Address for purchase of item: Thinking Publications, 424 Galloway Street, Eau Claire, WI 54702. Telephone Number for Purchase: 1-800-225-4769. Website address: www.ThinkingPublications.com. Cost: $18.00, includes one 84-page reproducible book. Reviewed by Kathy Nagle, Everett, WA.

Description:
Sound Connections for R is an 84-page soft cover book that attempts to link articulation activities to the curriculum of students in grades K-6. It does so using high-frequency words from various sources, including Spelling Sourcebook 1, The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists, the Dolch List and the Word Frequency Book. Most of the activities are designed for students with basic reading skills.

The book is divided into the following sections:
1. Introduction - addresses IDEA and the relevance of curriculum-based therapy.
2. Gearing Up - contains auditory discrimination, phonemic awareness and kinesthetic tasks.
3. Weekly Word Lists - contain language activities with words from the high-frequency words list in the appendix. There are 5 weeks' worth of initial R; 4 weeks of final R; 5 weeks of medial R (which includes vocalic R); and 5 weeks of R blends.
4. Classroom Connections - contains several pages of worksheets with questions about different subjects (reading, spelling, math, history, science, cafeteria, physical education). These are a basic way for the SLP to elicit curriculum vocabulary for use in speech therapy.
5. Communication Connections - includes conversation-level prompts.
6. Appendices - includes a list of high frequency words for R, letter to parents, suggestions for home practice. The word list is a useful reference for practitioners who want to target /r/ in specific word positions.

Critique:
This book attempts to target all levels of production of /r/, from isolation to conversation, within 84 pages. It would be most useful as a supplement to other materials, due to the differing levels of complexity of the tasks. I used it for homework assignments. Some of the activities could have been more useful if they'd been expanded into list form for the use of the SLP. For example, there are several pages of activities consisting of a direction to draw something or write the sound while practicing it, and a large blank space to do so. A list of these drawing activities or hints for practice would have been a better use of space in such a short book.

The Weekly Word Lists have interesting language activities, such as word searches and thinking of multiple meanings, but most of these contain directions to write the answer. Several tasks require the student to list items. I will modify most of these pages to require my students to tell a conversation partner the words they find and to orally answer the questions in complete sentences.

Sound Connections for R is a sampler of useful activities for students improving their production of R and/or language skills. Curriculum variability within even a single school is wide enough that SLPs should not expect this book to target specifically what their students are doing in class. This book is a jumping off point for SLPs who want to increase the relevance of their therapy.

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