Use Newspapers!

One of my FAVORITE activities to do in therapy is working on nonfiction text. I specifically enjoy reading articles that I think my students would find engaging. I'll definitely share many nonfiction sources, but today I want to put the spotlight on something you can easily use tomorrow: the newspaper.

Newspapers are awesome for many reasons, but one really stands out: ONE PAPER CAN TARGET MULTIPLE GOALS & ACROSS SESSIONS!

In NYC, we have a free newspapers called AM New York . I usually read it on my train ride to or from work. It's short, simple, and to the point. In the past, I've grabbed several copies to use in the my sessions. However, any local newspaper will do!

Here are some ideas on how you can use a newspaper to target different goals:

Receptive/Expressive language:

* Choose a high-interest article and read it aloud. You should read the article in advance and write out some questions. Some kids might be working on WH questions while others might be ready for higher-level type of questions. You can either give them questions afterwards, or just ask them as you go along.

* Fill out a KWL chart. This also lets you see how much students know or don't know about a particular subject before you read it.

* If it's a hot topic, engage in a debate. For large groups, it's great if they can argue againts each other :)

* Ask students their opinions about the topic. Not everything has to be structured.

Vocabulary:

* Underline unfamiliar words or use context clues to figure out the meaning. I bet you'll find plenty in one article.

* Prefixes/Suffixes: Make it interactive by having students cut out prefixes and suffixes from titles (since it's big enough).

* Synonyms: Have students do a synonym search for words they've learned (i.e., synonyms for happy, sad, etc...)

Social Skills:

*I've never actually tried this because I don't have a social group, but I'm sure you can practice skills such as turn-taking, asking/answering questions after reading, and discussing and article. Maybe you can pick an article where there are behaviors you can discuss as a group

Writing:

* Students can outline, draft, and/or write a claim/evidence paragraph

* I shared this on my IG page, but my FAVORITE activity was cutting out different puncutation marks in titles/ads and putting them on construction paper.

* Have students create grammatically correct sentences by cutting out words and connecting them.

Articulation:

- I don't work on articulation with any of my kids, but you can totally find target sounds in your articles...in all positions!

These are just some ideas I've used, but I'm sure you can come up with more! You can mix/match what you want to target. You can also easily do this over two session. I really like to keep things simple, use what's already out there, and modify as needed.

How have you used newspapers? Let me know!