School breaks are a great time to assign optional practice on fundamentals. As Boom Cards will play on devices from smartphones to desktops, they provide an equitable method for helping students, catch up, stay up or move ahead.

Today Belinda Givens of BVG SLP talks about the fundamental skill of sequencing. Check out our store for more ideas for sequencing fundamentals.

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Sequencing: Why It’s So Critical

by Belinda Vickers Givens, MA, CCC-SLP

The ability to put things into sequential order is an extremely important precursor to organizing thoughts, retelling stories, following directions, reading comprehension, problem solving, and so much more.  It is a vital common core standard from as early as Kindergarten, primarily because it will prepare students for future academic success.  The sooner children are exposed to, and able to demonstrate mastery of sequencing, the better equipped they are for higher level critical thinking.  From putting numbers in order, alphabetizing words, recognizing a pattern, following directions, and even following a schedule, students are taught to sequence in EVERY subject.

As a Speech Language Pathologist, I work with students daily on organizing their thoughts for more effective communication.  A large part of thought organization involves being able to mentally put your ideas in order, before speaking, to effectively get your point across in a logical way that can easily be understood by your communication partner.  I find that my youngest scholars are most successful when they are presented with a visual that they are able to manipulate as they learn this vital skill.  Physically interacting with the content and moving pictures around allows them to visually see and better comprehend this concept.  As they progress towards being able to visually sequence an event or story, the goal is to graduate to fading the visual supports and ultimately independence without the need for verbal or visual cues.

Presenting my students with picture cards for them to organize was very feasible as a face-to-face therapist, however, now that I’m working as a teletherapist (a service delivery model that allows Speech Language Pathologists to deliver therapy services remotely via the computer) gone are the days of tangible picture cards.  I love technology and embrace it with open arms as I have witnessed firsthand the enthusiasm and growth in my students when we are learning via a digital platform.  I have been very busy searching for and creating resources that capture my students’ attention to keep them engaged.

Boom Cards™ have been a HUGE hit with my students and I absolutely love the ease of use, interactive nature, and self-grading features of these digital task cards.  What I love most about them is that the cards I have created can easily be differentiated for use with all of my students regardless of their skill level.  With my lowest scholars, I can verbally provide them with increased cues or repetitions as necessary or scale back the cueing to provide less guidance as they gain independence.

 

I have started a series of Sequencing and Story Retell Boom Cards that are seasonal and timely to keep my students motivated and engaged all year long!

These cards include four complete short stories in each unit, multiple choice comprehension questions (to address story elements and answering “wh” questions), and interactive digital picture cards for students to sequence by dragging and dropping directly on the screen. I have also included visual cue cards with transition words to aid in story retell, as well as, an introduction to using context clues to address vocabulary by defining unfamiliar words.

My students have been very motivated by these lessons and are excited to manipulate the content directly on the screen.  I have found that I get the best outcomes for my students when they can interact with the material being presented.  They are not only engaged and enthused to actively participate, but they don’t require outside reinforcement to attend to the task and I can, therefore, maximize my time for increased trials.  They enjoy the ability to point and click their answer choices for immediate feedback and I really appreciate the fact that the Boom Cards are self-grading which saves me a substantial amount of time with data collection and progress monitoring.

I currently have a Fall and Winter themed unit available for purchase and will be releasing a Spring and Summer Sequencing and Story Retell unit very soon.  To find more of my digital interactive lessons, please visit my Boom Learning store HERE.

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Belinda has been an American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Certified Speech Language Pathologist for 11 years.  She is licensed in FL, CA, WA, and VT and is a member of ASHA’s Special Interest Group 18 for Telepractice.  She currently works as a teletherapist serving PK – 12th grade students.  She holds her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Education from Florida State University and her M.A. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from the University of Central Florida.  She also earned an endorsement in Reading from UCF.

She is the co-owner of Infinity Rehabilitation, LLC with her husband who is an Occupational Therapist.  She is also the creator and owner of BVG SLP, which specializes in creating No- Prep, No-Print digital therapy materials that are great for use within teletherapy platforms or face to face therapy.  She is passionate about literacy and has written a children’s book (The Adventures of DemDem the Garbage Truck: Watch Out for the Bumps).  She tries to incorporate literacy into the majority of her therapy sessions. In addition to her Boom Cards store, you can find products from her at her Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Belinda is the mother to three amazing young boys and enjoys taking road trips, reading, crafting, and exploring.  She has been married for 15 years and resides with her family in Central Florida. Connect with her on Facebook and Pinterest

 

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