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~Prep Positions!~
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Easy to use, Prep Positions by Smarty Ears apps is an engaging way to teach and rein force the use of prepositions. Designed by a knowledgeable and certified speech-language pathologist, Prep Positions is a fabulous tool to help school-aged children, English Language Learners, and thers who may benefit from additional language support.
Prep Position is a single or multi-player app designed to improve the language skills in children and adults.
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~Curriculum Support~
Prepositions show the relationship between the preposition and the object of a sentence and are necessary, and sometimes confusing, lessons for students to learn. Nearly 30% of writing consists of prepositional phrases (Pennington). However, it can be challenging for many students to learn the more than 50 common prepositions we use in speaking and writing. Prep Position helps reinforce those skills learned in the classroom to create grammatically correct sentences.
Finding material that is appropriate for older elementary and middle school students can be challenging. Prep Positions is a great way to help supplement and support the classroom lessons. Common Core State Standards calls for prepositions to be address as early as 4th grade (CCSS). In middle school, students are required to understand and explain various phrases (CCSS). Prep Positions, allows the student to work independently or with direct instruction to reinforce those classroom lessons.
~Practice Makes Perfect~
One of the benefits Prep Position offers is not only the ability to complete sentences containing prepositions, but to record the player speaking those same sentences. This provides the player not only the visual feedback, but also the oral and auditory feedback of speaking and hearing those same sentences. This optional feature can be turned on or off in the settings area from each screen.
~Climbing the Ladder of Success~
Every player has the possibility of climbing the ladder of success with Prep Positions! This multiple level activity allows customization for each student. In addition to customizing the settings to allow/disallow specific sentences within a preposition category, it is possible to tailor the individual level of a student.
Multiple skill levels within a therapy group? That’s not a problem with Prep Positions. The sentences displayed will be set to the individual skill level of each player.
Simply tap the “modify” button at the bottom of the student’s ladder and slide the selection bar to the desired level.
~Teaching Individual Prepositions~
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Individual Customization has never been easier. Teaching a specific preposition for an individual player is done with the “MODIFY” button at the bottom of the student’s ladder.
Once the level has been selected, simply choose which two of the prepositions from that level will be used. The app requires at least two prepositions from each level. The small circle next to the preposition will be filled to indicate which prepositions are selected. The default position is that ALL positions within a level are targeted.
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~Group vs Solo Play~
Smarty Ears recognizes that busy SLPs and teachers cannot always see people on a private basis. That is why Prep Positions can be used as a single-player activity OR a group activity.
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Multi-Player
If more than one player is selected, the app will automatically be in multi-player mode. Each individual student will work on his/her selected level. At the side of the screen, the student avatars are displayed. The avatar that is at the top of the screen is the active player. The visual reward system will change with the avatar for each player.
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Single Player
If a single player is selected, the screen will display his/her avatar and name at the top of the screen. All questions will be from that student’s playing level. A visual reward system is displayed at the top of the screen to show how many sentences were created correctly.
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Up to 5 Players can be selected per session.
~How to Use the App~
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The Main Screen
From the main screen, the user has the option of going to the Support Screen by tapping on the question mark in the upper right corner, the Select Player Screen, or the Report Cards. The Support area provides information about the app, a Contact Support button, and a link to Smarty Ear’s Facebook page.
No More Lost Data!
The Support area also provides the link to backup to iTunes or to restore student data from iTunes.
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Settings
The Settings menu is accessed by tapping on the gear icon in the top-right corner on the Select Player screen. In this area, the professional can choose to have the app play audio for the sentences, play audio for the answer, and play video for the correct answer once the player has completed the sentence.
The professional can also change the background from the circus theme to a neutral background, increase level with prompts, auto progress through the levels, and prompt to record the player repeating the sentences.
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A tap to the “Modify” button at the bottom of the settings menu will bring up the sentence list.
In this area, the questions within each area are listed.
A green check mark means the sentence will be used.
Tap to deselect a sentence.
Finally, the professional can also change settings for the included motivating game.
The changes to the settings in this area are comprehensive and will be same for every player.
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~Students Profiles~
Student Profiles are found in the “Select Student” area of the app.
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Adding Students
To add a new student simply tap on the “Add Player” icon. A new pop-up window will display.
Tap on the Add Image button to add a photo or stock image avatar.
Add the player’s name and tap the check mark to save. A tap on the x will delete the profile.
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~Levels of Play~
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Prep Positions has 3 groups and 15 levels of play. Groups include: Group 1, levels 1-5; Group 2, levels 6-12; and Group 3 Complex Prepositions includes levels 13-15.
Level 1 targets At, Up, Down, On, and By. Level 15 players have progressed to completing sentences with Because of, Close to, Depending on, Thanks to, and Up to. Within each level, the professional can select which prepositions will be targeted.
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~Students Profiles~
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[/one_fourth_last]~Reports~
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Regardless of the level of play (single or multi-player), Prep Position provides individual data compilation over time. Each player will have a report card. The report card includes the following information: I
n the left-hand column: student name, date of first session, current level, and prepositions currently being targeted. I
n the center column are three tabs.
By Level: is a compilation of data and provides a quick visual to show-at-a-glance if a player has mastered a particular level, which prepositions have been targeted, and the player’s overall accuracy.
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By Session: provides a breakdown of the player’s performance by session date including the prepositions being targeted during that session, accuracy, and whether or not the player used hints.
The Therapy Report Center
The Therapy Report Center (TRC) is a free Smarty Ears app designed specifically for data compilation and progress monitoring. Exporting reports to TRC helps the busy professional with progress monitoring and report writing. All Smarty Ears apps are compatible with TRC.
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By Preposition: provides a breakdown of each preposition, accuracy, and status (practicing, mastered, not played).
A tap to the “Share” button on the top right-hand corner and reports can be printed, emailed, or exported to the Therapy Report Center.
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~Watch out for flying circus balls!~
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What circus or fair is complete without playing a few games? With each sentence, the players earn their way toward “balls” to use in the game. Balls rewarded are random, and each one has a different reaction when played.
The number of sentences required to earn a ball can be customized in the settings menu.
In the settings menu, the professional can also select if the game starts when the session is complete or when a player has earned 5 balls.
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~How far will your ball fly?~
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Watch the velocity meter. A tap on the “fire” button will make the ball fly out of the canon.
Adjust the canon tilt as needed.
Watch out for various traps and boosts. A ball hitting a trampoline will give it an additional boost…while a box will cause it to stop.
eware the water traps!
Different styles of balls have different physical properties. Some balls will fly a long way, others are heavy and only fly a little way unless they hit a trampoline.
A distance meter at the top of the screen shows the high score!
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~Features~
Prep Position has the following features:
– High-quality images
– Voice guided set up for ease of use
– A unique interactive game for motivation
– Comprehensive Data collection by session, preposition, and level
– Literacy enhancement through visual print
– Individual data collection
– Compatibility with Therapy Report Center for easy report writing and progress monitoring
– A recording feature to reinforce the skills grammatical skills learned
Customization:
– Specific prepositions can be targeted per individual
– Recording prompts can be removed
– Audio for sentences can be turned off
– Game reinforcement can be tailored to fit needs
– An optional background for those who need less visual distractions
~Reviews~
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Maureen
“If you work on prepositions and concepts this is a great app to have, especially for those older, school-aged children…Students get tons of practice and can see their progress on the screen. The game is simple, but fun and motivating.” http://www.thespeechbubbleslp.com/about
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~Sources~
Common Core State Standards Initiative http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/4/
Common Core State Standards Initiative http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/7/
Pennington, M. (2014), How to Teach Prepositional Phrases, Pennington Publishing,
http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-teach-prepositional-phrases-2/
http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-teach-prepositional-phrases-2/
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