Room on the Broom

Yay! It's Wild About Books Wednesday AKA Hump Day! Each Wednesday, I discuss how you can use a specific book in therapy. Books are such versatile therapy tools! I often use the same book for all of my language groups, because I can find ways to target nearly any goal. I can never promote literature-based therapy enough! If you're a blogger, I'd love if you would join the Wild About Books Linky! I'm always on the hunt for new books and fresh ideas! Just use the picture at the bottom of the post to link back to me.

This week I'm featuring one of my favorite Halloween-themed books, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson. I love this book so much that I absolutely had to make a book companion to compliment my therapy sessions.

 

First, if you have never read this book... hop on your broom and fly to the library immediately! haha.. It's a precious story of a sweet little witch and how she becomes friends with a dog, a bird, and a frog. She soars through the sky and the pesky wind keeps blowing away her belongings. First, she loses her hat and stops to find it. Then out pops a dog, who has found her hat, and asks if she has room on her broom for him. He joins the witch and her cat.. then she loses her bow and wand. The little witch accumulates so many new friends that her broom snaps in half! Then the story gets super real... Her new found friends save the day and rescue her from a hungry dragon.

You can find my Room on the Broom: Book Companion in my TPT Store by clicking HERE. First, here's a little preview:

Comprehension: This companion includes 24 cards that are designed to assess comprehension of the story and inferential thinking! 

Retelling: This book is absolutely perfect for sequencing. It has very clear cut events (1. loses hat and meets the dog, 2. loses bow and meets a bird, etc), making it a must for children with sequencing goals! I included two activities to work on sequencing. A story map that contains pictures to provide students with visual cues as they retell the story. This map is also provided in black and white - I plan on giving students a black and white copy for homework! They will be instructed to retell the story to their family members and friends. 

Sequencing: I have also provided another option for retelling with a sequencing map. Print out the map, cut out the picture tiles, and students can sequence the events by placing the pictures on the correct tile (first, second, etc). You can place velcro on the map, if desired. Typically, I give this activity to the student who is waiting for their turn to retell so that they can be engaged and actively thinking about the events of the story. 

Here's a sneak peek:

Temporal Directions: Almost all of my students with receptive language difficulties struggle with before and after concepts. This card game is a fun way for students to practice! A student draws a card and if they follow the direction correctly they get to keep the card. If they draw a dragon, they'll  lose all their cards!

Witches N' Wizards: Another cute card game that addresses pronouns (he, she, they, and it)! Students draw a card and fill in the blank with the correct pronoun. If students find a card that says "the frog found your wand," they get an extra turn!

Here's a peek:

Potions N' Spells: This game was designed to foster receptive vocabulary. Student draws a card and has to solve the riddle to figure out what the spell or potion will turn them into! If student solves the riddle they get to keep the card and if the wind blows away their hat, they'll lose all their cards! Student with the most cards wins!

 

Oh, did I mention that each card is color-coded so that they're easier to keep organized! Sometimes my cards get jumbled together, so I started decorating them with bunting so that I can identify all the cards that belong together super quick! Also, I just like bunting and they make the cards cuter. haha! 

But, wait! I'm not done! This companion also contains a wide variety of NO PREP activities! Just print n' go to address categories, plurals, pronouns, prepositions, blends (articulation), and there are also five reinforcement pages that are inspired by the book! 

Additional Ideas:

- Bring props and allow students to re-enact the story! A broom, hat, bow, wand, and some beanie babies would do the trick.

- Problem Solving: Before showing students the new and improved broom at the end, have students try to problem solve how to prevent the broom from breaking again. I'm huge on problem solving, although I don't currently have any students with this goal... but if you do, this is a great book to address it! 

- Emotions: This poor little witch is on an emotion roller coaster! She's happy, worried, annoyed, thrilled, scared, relieved, etc! 

Have you used this book? What are your ideas?

Have a wonderful Wednesday and please consider linking up!