I am super excited to share this newly released book by Jenny Simmons called I Can Say No. This book navigates through various scenarios while teaching kids the power of using the word “NO.”
As simple as the word is, saying “no” can be a tricky concept for kids to understand & learn how to use it appropriately. This book really teaches kids how to use their voice & stand up for themselves as well as others.
This book shows realistic situations/scenarios that kids may encounter on a daily basis making it very relatable & powerful!
Now let’s take look at what speech & language goals you can target using this amazing book during sessions.
Synonyms/Antonyms
While reading the book you will notice many obvious “opposites” such as big vs. small, yes vs. no, etc. You can discuss how these concepts are different & to take it a step further, ask your students or clients to come up with their own synonyms & antonyms using vocabulary words from the book.
Vocabulary & Definitions
I love that this book is filled with not only simple words but also some “challenging” ones which is the perfect opportunity to work on definitions, grammar, synonyms, etc. Some examples include, “authority”, “invincible”, and “utter”. Students can define these words, use them in sentences, name a synonym, etc.
Role-Play/Social Skills
This book is FILLED with various scenarios that children may encounter throughout their days at home, in school, at a park, etc. Using those same scenarios, have students do some role-playing! Reading about them is great but using social skills & acting them out is even better. It allows students to use a multimodal approach.
WH Questions
While reading the book or after, ask your students questions like, “What did you learn from the scenario?” or “When have you had to say “no” to someone?” You can either approach this on a personal level or just stick to questions that relate directly to the book.
I absolutely love the way this book addresses the many nice ways to say “no.” Here are just a few examples: “No, thanks”, “No, another time”, “Please respect me”, “I choose to be brave”, & “I’m not comfortable with that”. It’s SO important to teach children that there are respectful ways to say no & that it’s OKAY to say NO!
My favorite pages in the book are shown here. The quotes and images are SUPER powerful!
“I can use my words if someone looks down on me, for the color of my skin, or makeup of my family. “I can say “NO! There is no room here for hate, injustice, unkindness, or fear.”
I hope you all enjoyed this review! I want to send a huge thank you to The National Center for Youth Issues for allowing me to review this book AND sending me additional copies to GIVE AWAY! If you are interested in entering to win 1 of 2 copies just head over to my Instagram page by clicking HERE.
If you would like to purchase this book (which you TOTALLY should), just click HERE or the image below to purchase from Amazon.
*I am an amazon affiliate meaning I get a small percentage if purchased using my link*
To learn more about this book check out ICanSayNo.com & ncyi.org.
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