Language for Thinking: A Structured Approach for Young Children, The Colour Edition

While most children develop verbal reasoning skills with relative ease, others find it more challenging. Verbal reasoning is particularly difficult for children who are recognised as having delayed language skills, specific language impairment, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's Syndrome), pragmatic language impairment or moderate learning difficulties. Children with less obvious oral language difficulties may begin to struggle when they start to read.

This photocopiable resource provides a clear structure to assist teachers, SENCOs, learning support assistants and speech language therapists in developing children's language from the concrete to the abstract. It is based on fifty picture and verbal scenarios that can be used flexibly with a wide range of ages and abilities. • Quick, practical and easy to use in the classroom, this programme can be used with individual children, in small groups or can form the basis of a literacy lesson or speech language therapy session. • Question sheets are carefully structured to promote children's development of inference, verbal reasoning and thinking skills. • The three parallel assessments of spoken and written language can be used to assess each child's starting level and then to monitor progress; score forms and worksheets for each lesson are included.

The book is particularly useful for children who are recognised as having delayed language skills, specific language impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's Syndrome), pragmatic language impairment or moderate learning difficulties.

The second edition is now in full colour throughout and has been updated with a simplified introduction. All illustrations and worksheets will now be available online.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• How to use this resource
• Assessment pictures record sheets
• Assessment texts
• Scenarios
• Scenario texts
• Tracker sheets
• Worksheets
• Question symbols
• Frequently asked questions
• Assessment sample answers
• Assessment scoring guides
• Bibliography

"Teachers will find this book very useful. It provides practical ideas that they can use in the classroom to develop children”s speaking and listening skills in a structured way."
- Carolyn Maples, Headteacher  Ofsted Inspector

"This resource is useful and relevant in clinics and schools...value for money...versatile and practical."
- Zoe Duckett and Carolyn Angell, SLTs Speech and Language Therapy in Practice

"The recently published Language for Thinking: A structured approach for young children (The colour edition) is a great practical resource for busy clinicians working with primary school-aged children... Each scenario has more appealing colourful pictures, instead of the previous black and white pictures. It is suitable to use with a class, small groups or individually, and can easily be adapted as a school/home program. The book contains a choice of two different assessments with accompanying record sheets for establishing a baseline and later reviewing progress. The clear structure enables progress to be easily monitored. There are examples of individual targets and how these can be applied across the curriculum. Worksheet templates are also included. The 50 pictures/scenarios are presented with a range of questions at 3 language levels (A, B and C). These levels correspond with Blanks Levels, 2, 3 and 4... Each scenario also has a short story for children to read, allowing the task to also be used for reading comprehension (with or without the picture). Activities require little preparation and can be used for social communication groups. In summary, this is an excellent practical resource based on Blanks Levels, targeting both spoken and written comprehension."
- Claire Bolton van Weert, Speech & Language Therapist

"The resource is quick and easy to use and can be used with an individual child up to a whole class of children. Worksheets can easily be photocopied or printed off from the disc that accompanies the book and there is the added bonus of supporting materials online. Progress can also be measured with the three parallel assessments that are provided, which is key to current practice in both schools and therapy practices.
It is a key resource for differentiation across groups of children and provides a scaffold for less experienced practitioners to be able to differentiate through the simple levels presented."
- Jodi Lea-Trowman, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Director of ‘Love to Communicate’