TELL ME, Too focuses on high-frequency vocabulary and infuses AAC learning throughout the school day. It blends information from special education and speech-language pathology to integrate language and literacy learning into planned lessons, classroom activities, and daily routines. While the original TELL ME program was designed for preschool classrooms, this version was created to address the needs of students in elementary and middle school. Both TELL ME programs were developed for multilevel instruction so that teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can adjust their instruction and intervention to the specific needs of each student.
TELL ME, Too helps teams who are relatively new to supporting robust AAC by guiding them through planned lessons and activities that become a regular part of the classroom routine. It includes daily opportunities to focus on Language and English Language Arts benchmark standards. Areas addressed in this program that frequently appear in benchmark standards include early literacy skills, such as concepts of print, letter recognition, and letter-sound association, as well as more advanced reading and writing skills (e.g., main idea, story retelling, writing to express ideas). Additional skills targeted in this program relate to vocabulary, language comprehension, and verbal expression.
This program is based on repeated readings of carefully chosen story books and focuses on a new book every two weeks. Each book includes ten shared reading and writing lessons that last two weeks. A model script is provided in Book 1 for those who want detailed information on how to build core word use. During each two-week period, the program proposes numerous reading and writing activities related to the book. Many other activities, such as art, cooking, classroom jobs, meals/snacks, gardening, and yoga, use the target words and key concepts from each book.
One book is included with the program - That Is NOT a Good Idea! - and nine other book packets are provided for nine popular, readily available books. These titles include Yo! Yes!, I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Charlotte and the Quiet Place, Journey, Get Out of Bed, Miss Nelson is Missing!, What Do You Do with a Problem?, and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes.
Every Book Packet includes ten days' worth of activities covering the full school day. Book Packets contain:
- A Book-at-a-Glance table
- Ten Read Aloud Lab lessons
- Ten Writing Lab lessons
- Information on at least 15 additional activities related to the book and/or target words
- Two packets of Home Extension Activities (one for each week)
- Printable templates used in the activities for the book Drama Lab script
- Relevant templates for art projects
- Visual steps for art and cooking activities
- Visual Schedules
- Materials for the Leisure Lab and Vocabulary Builder activities
Book Packet 1 includes the most detailed explanation of how to implement these activities. It serves as a resource for teachers as they implement the TELL ME, Too approach with the remaining books.
The TELL ME, Too program includes 1 Program Guide, 1 detailed Book Packet for That Is NOT a Good Idea! with forms and templates, the That is NOT a Good Idea! storybook, and nine additional digital book packets.
| Subject | Speech and Language |
|---|---|
| Age Group | Elementary |
| Author | Carole Zangari, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Lori Wise, MS |
| Copyright | 2025 |
| Grade Range | 2-6 |
