ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

write sentences, etc., it seems amiss to have examples that contain such errors. This is of particular concern if children were encouraged to use the book independently (as suggested by the authors) as it introduces the risk of incorrect practices being accepted as correct because that’s “what the book says”. I would encourage the authors to undertake a revision and to return The Story Maker to the market as soon as possible as it has the potential to be a very valuable clinical resource. Reilly, S. & Love, E. (2008). FLIPS: Fun language interactions to prepare for school success . Camberwell, Victoria: Love and Reilly Speech and Language Products; $36.50; www.loveandreilly.com.au

used by preparatory and year 1 teachers/teacher aides and childcare workers for language stimulation tasks.

Crosbie, S., & Wandschneider, S. (2008). Sea words: Vocabulary . Springwood, Qld: Grow Words; pp. 104; A$60. www.growwords.com.au Katherine Osborne This black-and-white reproducible resource book contains pictures and activities for building vocabulary related to the sea and the beach. It is intended for use with children, although no age range is specifically stated. The activities target both receptive and expressive language skills, and

range in difficulty from simple bingo games, to classification card games, to making Venn diagrams. The vocabulary complexity also progresses from easy to difficult. For example, there is relatively straightforward classification vocabulary (e.g., zoo, farm, sea) suitable for prep level; more sophisticated classification vocabulary (e.g., vertebrates and invertebrates) suitable for mid primary; and quite complex classification vocabulary that extends to upper primary level (e.g., ectothermic reptiles). With this type of topic-specific vocabulary, the resource would be most helpful for school project work. Teachers, teacher aides and school-based speech pathologists would find this resource very useful.

Nicole Watts Pappas

As the name of this resource cleverly indicates, FLIPS is a flip book of 100 language activities and tips that target oral language skills required for school. Each page incorporates a different language stimulation activity.

Activities can be randomly flipped to, or used in order. The A5-size book has a built in stand to allow it to be propped up for easy viewing. The activities vary in focus and include key language areas entitled: “active listening”, “vocabulary”, “questions”, “extended turns to talk”, “thinking”, “imagination”, “talking about language”, “developing memory skills” and “what do I know?”. For example, one flip page suggests holding a “B” day in which the child listens for and practises saying “b” words, makes a mobile of items starting with the “b” sound and has a snack of food starting with “b”. The activity suggests using the sound “buh” rather than the letter name during these activities. Another activity is focused around the concept of “floating” and suggests gathering household items and investigating whether they will float in the bath. The activity page provides ideas for questions that could be used to stimulate the child’s thinking and language around this topic – for example “Which do you think would sink first, the soap or the brush?”. An occasional page also contains a “Flip Tip” which gives general ideas for language stimulation (for example, tips for questions to ask when reading a story to a child). The activities are explained in a simple, easy-to- understand fashion, and contain ideas to extend learning. Some of the pages contain a short explanation outlining the importance of the skill targeted to school readiness. A strength of the resource is the large variety of ideas provided and the number of language skills which are included. However, the incorporation of ideas to vary the difficulty level of each activity according to the child’s age and language abilities would have been useful. Colour printing and the inclusion of more pictures may also have made this resource more appealing to parents. This resource would be useful for parents to use at home to prepare their child for school or to use with their school- aged child who is struggling with language. The fun and hands-on nature of the activities means that parents and children may be more likely to engage in them then in a more formal home program. SLPs may wish to purchase this resource to provide ideas to parents for fun home activities to engage in with their children. The ideas could also be

The activities are based on developing two types of relationships – intrinsic (shared features such as colour, category) and associative. Other semantic relationships, such as sequential, spatial are not developed and there is no reference to the theoretical underpinning for developing the two relationships chosen. Nevertheless, semantic linking is comprehensively achieved through the provision of a wide variety of activities for developing vocabulary related to synonyms, classification, parts/whole, similarities and differences. The resource has four types of record forms for monitoring progress of individuals, groups or whole classes. There are no record-form examples. Should the activity game sheets be used in a school setting by people other than speech pathologists, there is no explicit labelling on each activity as to which relationship is being targeted e.g., receptive ability- habitat classification. Activities are labelled in the contents page only. The positive features of this resource include the clear, unambiguous black-and-white pictures, extensive semantic linking through a wide variety of activities, activity directions being clearly explained, and all activities being photocopiable. It represents good value for money and is priced well compared with similar vocabulary resources that are currently available. Those working in a school setting could recommend that the school purchase this resource as a source of activities for developing vocabulary related to the sea/beach. Activities are suitable for whole class learning, small group and individual sessions with a teacher aide or parent helper. Record forms ensure progress can be monitored. For a sole therapist, this resource may be too specific in terms of the sea/beach theme, but most of the activities could be easily used for other purposes, such as articulation therapy for /s/ and /ch/, or for developing level 2 language skills (Marion Blank).

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ACQ Volume 11, Number 2 2009

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