Why Should We Use Nonfiction Texts in Speech Therapy?

We want to incorporate more literacy-based activities in our speech sessions but should we pick fiction or nonfiction texts?

There is a ton of evidence to back up the reason behind using nonfiction texts in speech.

Reading nonfiction helps students develop their background knowledge (Marzano, 2000).

Background knowledge becomes more crucial in the later elementary grades, as students begin to read more content-specific textbooks (Young, Moss, & Cornwell, 2007).

Another benefit of nonfiction reading: the potential to motivate young children to read by tapping into their interests (Caswell & Duke, 1998).

So where to begin as SLPs when working with nonfiction texts?

You can find free nonfiction articles that are extremely motivating to students on these websites:

NewsELA

TweenTribune

I also recommend this fun app, the News-O-Matic App!

I also love using Mystery Doug in speech!  CLICK HERE to learn about it!

There are also tons of books available that you can use to work on a variety of speech goals:

You can even find TONS of nonfiction books on Epic Books app!  CLICK HERE to learn about it!

So what are some goals you can easily address with nonfiction texts?

We can build vocabulary.  Use the Expanding Expression Tool.  What facts did they learn?

We can work on summarizing.  It is different than with fictional texts.  We need to teach our students how and what is a relevant fact and what is not.  CLICK HERE to learn more about my Nonfiction Summarizing Pack.

We can also address articulation (read about something that has our sound), answer WH questions, inferencing/predicting and other critical thinking skills, social skills, and so much more!  You can take any text and work on so many goals!  That is why I created this Nonfiction Stories for Mixed Groups pack.  You can use it to work on any goal with any group!  It is also no prep!

CLICK HERE to check it out!

 

How will you incorporate more nonfiction texts into your speech room!?