Tag Archives: language development

Dr. Marion Blank’s Language Levels

I was bowled over the day I came upon this work and it underpinned my practice in speech and language therapy thereafter. I have written before about it and I think all the links still work. For background information and … Continue reading

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Any day now…

Here we are in April already and facing a whole new set of rules for life. I know there must be many people trying to provide input at home which is normally done elsewhere by someone else. So I have … Continue reading

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December calendar & worksheet

The next calendar and worksheet are available from https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/calendars-and-worksheets-6145231 This will be the last of the monthly calendars. I have been making them since January 2012 I think and there have been 25579 downloads to date! Both my first desktop … Continue reading

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Up and running again

I have put in hours of work to correct the out of date links on my blog and I hope now they are working properly! Sorry I hadn’t noticed there were heaps of errors. Trust the majority have got sorted … Continue reading

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Well done!

Congratulations to Pip Harrison (New Zealand writer and teacher) for coming first in this year’s Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards 2015 (Open Short Story). Pip contributed the stories for older children to the 8 Traditional Tales posted in TES last … Continue reading

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Pronouns

Further to a query on a forum on TES, I have picked out some of my resources which are particularly aimed at working on pronouns. Hope you find this helpful. See the Pronouns listing in the sidebar. Have also made … Continue reading

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How did you get on?

I hope you were able to join in the Kids’ Art Week fun. My posts (see links below) include my own efforts at each activity plus a mini language lesson based on the videos etc.   The art sessions are still … Continue reading

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Modigliani portraits

Here are my examples from lesson 6. Good vocabulary possibilities: Yesterday the page was divided down the middle. Today the background space is divided by lines drawn down and then across. The rectangles are fairly random. A coloured line is … Continue reading

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Oil pastel and paint people

Here are my examples from lesson 5. I didn’t have enough black paper to make the expected size and I made them much too small so could not add the suggested extra decorations. I also had to use Cray-Pas as … Continue reading

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Nature faces

Here are my faces made from a few things I picked up in the garden or saw on my table. It was fun to see how spacing the eyes differently changed the face a lot. Vocabulary about the faces: naming … Continue reading

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Leaf printing

  Here are my tags decorated with leaf prints in lesson 3. I made some prints into birds and others into bugs as suggested. Good vocabulary possibilities: Birds: talk again about how we know they are birds – refer back … Continue reading

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Night sky

Here are my night sky pictures from lesson 2. Good vocabulary possibilities: Adjectives: you may have a copy of The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark which is often read in school. It contains many ‘wow words’ which are … Continue reading

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Picasso dog

Here is my Picasso dog. Did you make some? Good vocabulary possibilities: Eye, nose, ear, tongue, paw, tail, (learning to name the parts of things is really important for clarity – see http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Naming-of-parts-6224211/ ) Talk about what’s missing from this … Continue reading

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Crazy birds

Here are my crazy birds. Did you make some? Good vocabulary possibilities: bird   beak   tail   claws   wings   feathers   two legs (learning to name the parts of things is really important for clarity – see http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Naming-of-parts-6224211/ ) colour names and … Continue reading

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It’s dinner time!

A 5-year-old lad had a nasty fall off his bike, ripped a fingernail and went to A&E to be patched up. In spite of this traumatic series of events, he suggested to his mum that they ask the doctor home … Continue reading

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Dr. Marion Blank

The language style used by adults to children in the preschool and early school years is critical. (Post reissued)

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The Lady and the Lion

I am proud to announce (with sound of trumpets) that Pip Harrison and I have got to the end of The Year of the Fairy Tale. The last set of resources based on two similar stories by the Brothers Grimm … Continue reading

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Cinderella

Pip Harrison, New Zealand writer, has rewritten the well-known tale from the Fairy Godmother’s point of view. The RA is approx. 11y for older children, or to be read aloud. ‘…Amidst it all, the prince and Cinderella gazed at each … Continue reading

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The Twelve Brothers

“…As the young men pushed open the gate, she picked the twelve flowers. With each snip one young man after the other rose up from the garden, arms turning to great black wings, noses to beaks, legs to claws – … Continue reading

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Little Red Riding Hood

“Shall I walk with you?” said the wolf. “Oh, no, sir, thank you. I can quite well walk by myself and I expect you have wolf things to be getting on with.”  “Well, there is one wolf thing I could … Continue reading

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The real princess AKA The princess and the pea

“Pea of destiny, pea of delight, We need your help, we seek insight. Is this princess the real deal? Will she sleep or will she feel Your bumpy presence in her bed, Making her toss and turn instead?…” Find the … Continue reading

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Blondine, Bonne-Biche & Beau-Minon

Another Traditional Tale has been uploaded to TES. If you do not get your resources from TES, you can find the ‘long and short of it’ versions (as above) here. The original story – from a book of Old French … Continue reading

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Can you see what I mean?

This post is to highlight a published resource I designed but cannot put on TES (although I have a section of free resources there which you can find described on the page Read for Meaning/Inference in the list on the … Continue reading

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Citroen alert!

‘Don’t like Citroen!’ ‘You don’t like Citroens? Why’s that?’ ‘Citroen run me down.’ The grandfather’s chuckle as he replied led me to believe that Citroens have not shown an evil disposition to attack his grandson. Indeed, it seemed unlikely from … Continue reading

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Choose your martyrdom

Would you rather be pressed like St. Margaret Clitherow or hanged like St. Anne Line? How does your school inform small children of their fate? Will the Head tell a 6 year old he is going to be put in … Continue reading

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That’s very funny!

The child’s voice rang out, all consonants crystal clear.   Probably every adult in the surrounding pews had to resist the urge to turn round and engage with the little girl at the carol service. Communicating with attractive children who make … Continue reading

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