Ma Dear's Aprons
Author, Patricia C. McKissack
Illustrator, Floyd Cooper
1997, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Div.
Adapted by Camille Lancaster, CCC-SLP
WH- Questions - After reading the book to your students, ask them to recall information to answer questions such as:
How does David Earl know what day of the week it is?
What color was Ma Dear's Monday apron?
What did Ma Dear do on Wednesdays?
How does Ma Dear do laundry?
How is that different than how your family does laundry?
How is taking a bath now different from how they took a bath?
Who did Ma Dear clean house for?
When did Ma Dear not wear an apron?
Where did David Earl see a chandelier?
Why does David Earl like the green apron?
Temporal Orientation - "What day comes after Tuesday?"
"If today is Friday, what was yesterday?"
Sequencing - have the students sequence school activities based on the days they occur.
For example, if their class has computer on Mon, PE on Tues and Fri, Art on Wed, and Music on Thurs, give them index cards
with Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri written on them.
Then give them another set with computer, art, music, PE, and PE written on them. Have them put these cards together in the correct order in which they would occur during a typical week.
graphic expression and organization - Have your students "write out" their week.
By thinking about the week ahead or the week just passing, they can target their writing and cognition organizational goals by writing down
every activity they will be participating in during the week by day and time. For example, Monday -
get to school, 8:15, eat breakfast...etc. Depending on the level of each student, you could start by providing them with a partially completed timeline and increase the difficulty of the task by having them write out a detailed chart from scratch.
Tongue Twisters - have the children repeat the tongue twister that David Earl and Ma Dear said while he was taking a bath.
- For a language activity, have the children come up with their own tongue twisters.
Depending on their goals, this task could target rhyming skills and vocabulary building. Give them a list of words that must be in their tongue twister. Or, provide them with part of the rhyme and have them complete it.
- For articulation practice, have them create tongue twisters that contain their target sounds. For example, if they are working on initial /s/, they could say
Oral-Motor Practice - Several passages in this book give reference to activities you can do with your students to target oral-motor skills. As you read through the book, practice these activities when you come to them:
- Blowing Bubbles - using a store-bought or homemade bubble solution and wand,
have your students blow bubbles of various sizes to practice breathing skills and lip rounding. You can also add food coloring or powdered paint to the solution and blow bubbles toward a sheet of white paper lying on the table or taped to a wall to create "Bubble Art".
- Facial Stimulation - for students who need facial stim due to weak musculature or decreased facial sensitivity, use a cold rag and simulate Ma Dear wiping David Earl's face with the edge of her apron. Talk about how the cold feels and how it would have felt to David Earl.
- Peppermint Sticks - Give each of your students a peppermint stick.
Practice lip rounding by having the children round their lips and slide the stick in and out.
You can also practice various tongue movements with this by having the children lick the stick, move the stick
laterally with their tongue, and stick their tongue out and balance the stick on the end. For labial strengthening, have the children hold the stick with their lips while you try to pull it free.
- Humming - have the children practice lip approximation by humming.
You can have them hum a single sound or hum a tune.
This can also be used for pitch variation and as a vocal cord strengthening (push/pull) exercise.
- Speaking Rate - have the children repeat the "inch along, inch along, like a poor inchworm" phrase. Have them vary the rate at which they say it, reminding them to use clear pronunciation with each speed. This activity is good with students who exhibit oral apraxia.
