
When we work with students, we ask them to identify items in categories,
such as animals, as well as sub-categories, such as farm animals,
insects, birds, reptiles, ocean animals, fish etc.
By working on
categories and sub-categories, we require students to use more
specificity in their storage. Metaphorically, rather than clothing being
all thrown into one giant "hamper", we are asking clothing to be put
into specific drawers. This helps with future recall of words, so that
children do not rely on "thing" or "stuff" when trying to retrieve words
in conversation.
Working on cross-referencing words is also key. Here is a picture of a chart/matrix my student completed today, cross-referencing words from a word box into Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables according to where they grow (i.e., Tree, Vine, Ground). Categorization is SO key for vocabulary development and retrieval!
Divya Bhakta is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Long Island University in 2010. She’s worked in schools, skilled nursing facilities, and now private practice, evaluating and treating children and adults with a wide variety of communication and swallowing disorders. Her special interests include pediatric language disorders.
Betsy Gerding is a nationally board certified speech-language pathologist in the Baltimore. She graduated with her Masters degree from Towson University and has worked in a number of private schools in the Baltimore-Washington area. She specializes in working with students who have language-based learning differences, and is particularly interested in how language impacts reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. In addition, Betsy’s experience includes working with preschool-age children through high school students with needs related to articulation and motor speech, social pragmatics, language of math, and non-verbal learning disability.
Ashley Clayman is a nationally board certified speech-language pathologist in the Columbia, MD area. She graduated with her Masters degree with a Deafness Specialty from Nazareth College of Rochester. She specializes in aural habilitation for cochlear implant and hearing aid users, articulation disorders, phonological disorders, and expressive/receptive language disorders. She has prior experience working in auditory only, Cued Speech, and Total Communication programs. In addition, she has experience working with a variety of articulation disorders and language disorders as a school-based speech pathologist.
Beth Lawrence is CEO and Co-Founder of Communication Apptitude Inc. A certified speech language pathologist, Beth has worked in this field for more than 24 years. She specializes in pediatric speech language therapy. Beth has led workshops in vocabulary instruction, written language, technology and language strategies. Deena Seifert and Beth are co-creators of Infercabulary, WordQuations and the Test of Semantic Reasoning.