More Internet Gold for SLPs

by Judith Maginnis Kuster - Minnesota State University, Mankato (judith.kuster@mnsu.edu).

Many school districts and hospitals are cutting budgets. Clinicians are looking for ways to stretch dollars for equipment and supplies. For those clinicians that have a computer with Internet access, numerous sites provide wonderful materials that can be adapted for therapy or suggested to clients for extra practice. In August 2000, this column featured "Internet Gold for School-Based SLPs." In the past year many more materials have come online. Additional treasures for clinicians and clients are highlighted here and will be highlighted further in my December column. Several of the sites listed below may require a Java-capable web-browser and additional plug-ins such as "shockwave."

• FakeOut is a game of word definitions
• Wild World of Word Challenges provides spelling, decoding, word building and vocabulary activities.
• Spell Check has 20 sets of four words to check spelling skills.
• Blaster asks clients to place words in groups of three that make the most sense.
• Wuzie Games includes a vocabulary generator, sentence Bingo games, basic English board game, letters to words.
• What's My Meaning provides a vocabulary activity with nouns, adjectives and verbs.
• Online Activities from PBS includies concentration, a hidden word search called Guess the Word (a variation of hangman), words search, crossword puzzles.
• Learning Planet provides numerous activities at various difficulty levels including a memory games, word search puzzles, crossword puzzles, and "Rats," an activity for identifying nouns and verbs, common and proper nouns, adverbs and adjectives,
• Digby Mole has several word games.
• Leap into Language provides learning activities.
• The Petting Zoo lets you hear the animal sound and see how the word is spelled.
• Two Way Words is an activity for producing compound words.
• The Merrian-Webster site has a box on the first page where you can enter a word. That will take you to a page where your computer will let you hear how the word is pronounced in "General American" accent.
• Flashcard exchange PDA Download - A PDA is a Palm Pilot or Windows CE device.
• Webster Comnet Guide to Grammar and Writing is an information treasure.
• Nursery Rhyme pictures features pages that children can print out and color.
• Picture Dictionary has nearly 2000 entries, and suggested activities for early readers and grades 2-3
• Rhyme pages from Enchanted Learning has sequencing cards, tongue twisters, and more.
• Online version of Twenty Questions offers an online version of the popular game.
• Animal Game is an easier type of 20 questions for younger children. (Warning: I am told there may be some obscene language possible on this activity. Report anything you find to the authors of the activity. Their email address is on the site).
• Tracy Gefroh Boyd created several word/language games, sequencing games and articulation games on QUIA
• The Sears Storybook Station provides opportunity for for speech and reading practice and word recall.
• Fun School has many interactive activities
• Puzzlemaker allows kids to make crossword puzzles online.
• ABC Teach has free Printable activity sheets and project helpers and online games.
• Parentstalk Games has Hangman, brain teasers, crossword puzzles, find what's different, and more.
• Kids Games has a wide variety of interesting activities.
• Cyberkids features many games and activities.
• Awesome Library's links to interactive online activities are worth exploring.

Judith Kuster is in the department of communication disorders at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Contact her by email at judith.kuster@mnsu.edu.