The Unique Benefits of Having an SLP Lead Our Library
An SLP-led library gives Odyssey’s students expert support with language and reading skills.
Each day, our library media specialist, Ms. Kate Campbell, M.S., CCC- SLP, brings unique expertise to the library beyond simply encouraging a love of books. Her background as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) ensures that each child who browses the stacks of Odyssey’s library receives expert support in language and reading. Through read-alouds, targeted instruction, and interactive activities, our library program helps students build crucial language, reading, and comprehension skills.
Here are some of the key benefits of having an SLP at the helm of our library:
Fluency
Read-alouds model appropriate pacing, prosody, expression, and natural pauses that support understanding. With her background as an SLP, Mrs. Campbell expertly models these fluency skills, which students can then apply to their reading.
Comprehension
Our library media specialist provides ample opportunities for students to pause and check for understanding, and to practice retelling and summarizing skills. Whether during read-alouds or independent reading time, the stories they engage with strengthen their ability to grasp key concepts and ideas.
Vocabulary Development
Books expose children to a wide variety of vocabulary in various contexts to help them gain a nuanced understanding of new words. Read-alouds allow students to model pausing at unfamiliar words and examining context to determine possible meaning. They also enable the reader to give cues such as more familiar synonyms, and physical cues like gestures and facial expressions.
Phonological Awareness Skills
Phonological awareness skills are not just for the tutoring or language classroom! In library class, students are invited to find rhyming words in stories and poems, identify alliteration, count syllables, and segment words into individual sounds.
Word Study
Word study goes beyond spelling; it is about making connections between words and their meanings. Our library helps students explore the structure and meaning of words.
Executive Function Skills
Finally, the library is an ideal environment to support the development of skills such as organization, time management, attention, and problem-solving. Our SLP librarian integrates strategies that help students establish skills that are essential for success both in and out of the classroom.
Having an SLP lead our library program ensures that the time students spend in the library helps foster a love of reading while growing their overall literacy skills in a structured, meaningful way.
“An SLP librarian! Just when I thought The Odyssey School couldn't get any more phenomenal than it already is. This is perfect. As fellow SLP Ellen McSpadden, MA, CCC-SLP, CAS once said, ‘If we're not reading and writing language, what are we reading and writing?’” - Jan Wasowicz PhD, President & CEO of SPELL-Links, Learning by Design, Inc.