Wemberly Worried (Plus Freebies!)

Welcome back to Wild About Books Wednesday! Each Wednesday, I discuss a specific book and how it can be used in speech/language therapy. Books open up a realm of possibilities for therapy and I absolutely love them! If you're a blogger, you can join in on the fun by linking up with a new or recent blog post with your own ideas.. just use the picture below!

It's back to school season and I'm a little worried. What if my caseload becomes astronomical? What if I drown in a sea of paperwork? What if a medicaid log gives me a paper cut? haha.. I can definitely relate to another little worrier - Wemberly. Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes is such a wonderful book for the beginning of the school year. Teachers, SLPs, and students alike can make text-to-self connections with Wemberly.

Wemberly is an endearing little creature who worries about everything under the sun! As the first day of kindergarten approaches, Wemberly becomes more anxious that ever! She's worried that she won't make any friends, that her teacher might be mean, and even worries about crying in front of her classmates. On her first day, her teacher introduces her to someone who is very similar to her! There are endless ways to use this book in speech/language therapy.

1) Comparing/Contrasting: I love making venn diagrams with my students! It's such a great visual. Students can make Venn Diagrams and compare/contrast themselves with Wemberly or they can compare Wemberly to her new friend Jewel.

2) Inferencing: Wemberly is such a predictable character... which is a wonderful thing for students who have trouble making inferences. We know that Wemberly worries all day, everyday. You can ask students how they think Wemberly might feel in a variety of scenarios. The answer will almost always be, "she will feel anxious or worried, because she worries about everything!" What a great way to ease students into inferencing with some guided repetitions!

3) WH ?s: This book is great for practicing simple WH ?s. I made a cute reinforcer page for this skill! Each time a student answers a WH ? about the book, they get to color a mouse!

 

4) Fluency: This is a great book to share with primary students who are stuttering. Oftentimes, children who stutter feel anxiety in the classroom, because they're afraid they'll stutter in front of their peers. A huge part of stuttering therapy can be dealing with emotions and anxieties. This book will springboard a great discussion about worrying and how it can be conquered. After reading the book, students can also practice their easy starts (easy onsets) using vocabulary from the book! 

If you would like to grab these little freebies, just click HERE.

Have you read this book? What are some of your favorite activities to go along with Wemberly Worried?

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EDIT: August 22, 2014
I'm linking up with Speechie Freebies for Friday FreeBEES! It's the beginning of the school year, so I wanted to share these freebies for a great back to school book!