Skip to main content
TALES

Teaching, Adventure, Learning, and Exploration with Stories

Updated over 6 months ago

Focus Areas: Narrative Language, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Literacy

You may read this article in its entirety or use the links below to quickly jump to your desired section!

Program Overview - Brief description of the Program

Evidence In Action - Reviews the evidence supporting the Program

Scope & Sequence - Suggests recommended learning paths

Story Reference - Describes Stories in Depth

TALES Program Manual - Indicates where to locate the Program Manual in Amplio

Program Overview

The Teaching, Adventure, Learning and Exploration with Stories (TALES) program is designed for students in K through 5th. This program contains a broad range of stories and other literature, e.g., poems, to support educators and students during speech therapy.

TALES offers a rich collection of stories tailored for young minds, from kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade. Each story includes activities for a variety of skills, including text comprehension, vocabulary, speech sound production, and more.

Evidence In Action

Using stories during speech/language therapy offers a rich, context-driven approach that enhances linguistic and speech sound development. Literature provides diverse language models and stimulates imagination, aiding in vocabulary acquisition, syntax, and narrative skills. It also creates engaging and relatable contexts for students to practice communication, promoting motivation and participation, supporting the holistic development of skills.

Evidence

Expression in Program

SLPs choose stories for therapy based on both personal and caseload factors (Harris, S., & Owen Van Horne, A., 2021), and those stories allow students to both see themselves and experience other viewpoints (Bishop, 1990).

Stories are created with a diverse cast of characters and situations to represent a wide range of students.

A thematic instructional model, which could accommodate different learning styles and reading abilities was more effective than conventional instruction. (Nurlaela L., Samani M., Asto I. G. P., Wibawa S. C., 2018)

Stories are created across multiple literary themes to account for multiple learning styles and student preference.

Incorporating narratives addresses a wide range of academic skills, such as vocabulary, grammar development, reading, and writing (Spencer, et al., 2020).

Stories are included with a traditional narrative structure.

Evidence-based Program Use

Use the available activities within each lesson as appropriate to your student’s goals.

Read through the story at the beginning of each therapy session to emphasize the context.

Use the expressive language activities in each lesson to target expressive language skills.

The principles in the evidence used to create this Program can be used across a variety of therapy sessions. Presenting students with multiple opportunities to interact with the same words and concepts. Similarly, giving students the opportunity to deliver their answers receptively as well as expressively allows them to develop a greater depth of knowledge.

Scope & Sequence

TALES is designed to be customizable to the needs of the educator during group therapy. Each story targets multiple question types, allowing the same story to be used with multiple students.

To practice speech skills, choose a literature style and story that appeals to your students and is of an appropriate level. Assign the activities that will target your students’ goals, and continue with other stories in the same style, or more to other styles, as needed.

Story Reference

To expand the collapsible sections below, simply click the arrow to the left of the category!

Friendship Fables

New Friends at the Playground

This fictional children's story set in Greenwood Elementary highlights Chloe's decision to include Emily, a new student, in a playground game called "Octopus Tag." Facing peer pressure and recalling her own experiences of exclusion, Chloe advocates for inclusivity, transforming a routine school day into a lesson about empathy and friendship. The narrative fosters themes of kindness and acceptance.

The Lunch Line Choice

This fictional children's story follows Thomas, a young student faced with a moral dilemma in the school cafeteria when he sees his friend Danny take extra pudding without paying. The narrative explores themes of integrity, honesty, and peer influence. Thomas decides to adhere to his principles and later discusses the importance of honesty with Danny, leading to a positive resolution. The story highlights the value of making ethical choices and the impact of personal integrity.

The Lost Game

This fictional story follows Alex, a young student who faces a moral dilemma after finding a gaming console on the bus. Tempted to keep it but reminded of his own loss, he decides to turn it into the lost and found, guided by his principles and his mother's advice. The narrative emphasizes the values of honesty and integrity, illustrating the internal and external rewards of doing the right thing.

The Viral Video Temptation

This fictional narrative follows Marcus, a student who faces a moral choice after recording his classmate Jamie's embarrassing fall in the school cafeteria. Initially tempted to share the video for social media popularity, Marcus recalls his own similar humiliation and opts for empathy. He deletes the video, helps Jamie clean up, and strengthens their friendship. The story highlights themes of empathy, respect, and the importance of treating others kindly.

Poetry

Seasons Haiku

This is a collection of seasonal haikus that capture the essence of each part of the year. Each haiku uses vivid imagery to convey the atmosphere and activities characteristic of its respective season, encapsulating the cyclical beauty of nature in a poetic form.

Emotions Haiku (PK-K)

This collection of haiku explores different emotional states—happiness, sadness, friendliness, and anger—through child-friendly imagery and situations. Each poem uses simple language and relatable scenarios to depict how these emotions are experienced and managed, offering both a reflection of feelings and coping strategies.

Emotions Haiku (1-2)

This collection of haiku delves into various emotional experiences—love, loneliness, pride, and frustration—through evocative and relatable imagery. Each poem captures the essence of its respective emotion, from the warmth of love to the challenge of overcoming frustration.

Emotions Haiku (3-5)

This collection of poems explores complex human emotions such as achievement, envy, curiosity, and fear through the concise and evocative form of haiku. Each poem encapsulates a distinct emotional landscape, offering insights into personal growth and emotional resilience. The verses employ vivid imagery to illustrate both the challenges and triumphs associated with each feeling, making it a reflective and educational read for exploring emotions.

Limericks One (PK-K)

This collection of limericks introduces whimsical characters engaged in playful activities. A red fox joyfully bounces on a trampoline, a mouse constructs and consumes a house made of cheese, and a well-read turtle treasures and shares stories. Each limerick employs a rhythmic structure and rhyme scheme characteristic of the form, offering a humorous and engaging portrayal of each animal's adventures. The text creatively combines humor with imaginative storytelling.

Limericks One (1-2)

This collection of limericks features charming anthropomorphic characters, each engaging in amusing and whimsical activities. The verses tell the stories of a bear learning to write, a singing dog with rock star dreams, and a stylish cat wearing a hat as large as itself. Each limerick follows a traditional five-line rhyming format, offering playful and imaginative insights into the characters' adventures, effectively blending humor with whimsy.

Limericks One (3-5)

This collection of limericks features inventive characters engaging in fantastical activities. The poems introduce a young coder creating a magical game, a chef whose dishes delight dragons, and an artist who paints the stars with aspirations of displaying her work on Mars. Each limerick follows a traditional rhyming structure, offering imaginative and playful scenarios that blend creativity with elements of fantasy, appealing to readers' sense of adventure and wonder.

Limericks Two (PK-K)

This text comprises a series of limericks featuring whimsical animal characters engaging in playful activities. Each poem narrates a simple, joyful story: a bee exploring from high in a tree, a pig dancing joyfully, and a cat finding and wearing a cap to much acclaim.

Limericks Two (1-2)

This collection of limericks feature anthropomorphic animals engaging in adventurous and creative activities. A space-loving dog, a math-savvy owl, and a musically inclined frog each follow their passions, leading to exciting outcomes. The verses blend humor, science, and the arts, effectively capturing young readers' imaginations and encouraging them to explore diverse interests through these whimsical and inspiring animal characters.

Limericks Two (3-5)

This collection of limericks introduces a vibrant cast of characters engaging in fantastical activities. The poems feature a knight playfully battling a dragon, a dedicated gardener cultivating unique plants, and a wizard concocting magical potions. Each limerick uses a traditional five-line format with a playful and whimsical tone, highlighting humorous and imaginative scenarios that appeal to both children and adults.

Fiction

Anna and the Enchanted Labyrinth

This fictional narrative follows Anna, the golden fairy, as she navigates a magical, ever-changing labyrinth in El Dorado to rescue a lost explorer. The story intertwines themes of discovery and heritage, revealing the labyrinth's purpose as a guardian of the city's ancient secrets. This fantasy tale highlights the importance of understanding one's past to navigate the present.

Teamwork in Camelot

This fictional tale from the Arthurian era features Sir Aaron, a knight from Camelot, who embarks on a quest to find a hidden treasure in an enchanted forest. Alongside Ember, a friendly dragon, Sir Aaron learns the importance of teamwork and cooperation. The story, set within a fantasy framework, illustrates themes of friendship, perseverance, and mutual aid, making it an engaging narrative for exploring character development and moral lessons.

The Mystery of the Vanishing Playground

This fictional narrative follows a group of elementary school students in Oakwood who form a detective club to solve the mystery of disappearing playground equipment. Upon discovering a local developer's plans to replace their school playground with a shopping mall, they mobilize the community to resist the change. The story, characterized by mystery and community activism, highlights the importance of teamwork and civic engagement.

The Haunted Library

This fictional narrative unfolds in Middleton School's supposedly haunted library, where student Ella and her friends embark on an overnight quest to uncover the truth behind the ghostly tales. Their adventure leads them to discover the forgotten story of Agnes Miller, the library's former head librarian. By acknowledging Agnes's dedication, they restore peace to her spirit and the library. The story blends mystery with a heartwarming resolution, emphasizing historical connection and remembrance.

The Secret Witch Society

This fictional story unfolds in Everbrook, where a group of young witches, led by Zoe, secretly practice magic in an abandoned subway station. The arrival of a new student, Lucas, challenges their secrecy, leading to his eventual inclusion in the group after proving his trustworthiness. Together, they undertake a magical environmental cleanup, strengthening their bond and impact on the community. The narrative blends elements of mystery, fantasy, and friendship.

Nonfiction

Seeds on the Move: How Plants Travel

This nonfiction text explores the fascinating ways seeds travel to new environments, employing natural elements like wind, water, and animals, including humans. Highlighting mechanisms like the dandelion's parachute and the coconut’s buoyant shell, the story talks about seeds' strategies for dispersal.

The Journey of a Water Drop

This nonfiction text offers an educational journey through the water cycle, detailing each stage from evaporation to precipitation and collection. Aimed at young readers, it explains complex processes like condensation, infiltration, and percolation in an engaging way. The narrative personifies a water drop to illustrate how water continuously recycles on Earth, emphasizing the cycle's importance to all life forms and encouraging appreciation for Earth’s natural resources.

Stars and Constellations

This nonfiction text explores the concept of stars and constellations, explaining their scientific nature and cultural significance throughout history. It details how constellations have been used for navigation, agriculture, and storytelling, providing examples like Orion and Leo. The narrative encourages readers to engage with stargazing as a link to ancient traditions and a way to understand the universe, emphasizing the accessibility and educational value of observing the night sky.

A Butterfly’s Life Cycle

This nonfiction text describes the lifecycle of a butterfly, from the initial egg stage on a leaf through to the emergence of the adult butterfly. Detailing each phase—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—the narrative highlights the transformational processes and ecological significance of butterflies. The description underscores the intricacies and dependencies of each stage, portraying the butterfly's development as one of nature’s most fascinating and complex phenomena.

The Story of a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

This nonfiction recount details the historic event of August 28, 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Highlighting King's vision of equality and brotherhood, the narrative captures the essence of his speech and its profound impact on the civil rights movement, continuing to inspire global efforts towards justice and unity.

Sound Saturated Stories

The Secret Garden of Sounds

This fictional tale centers around Sam, a boy with extraordinary hearing, who discovers a magical garden where plants and animals speak and sing. When a mysterious silence threatens this vibrant world, Sam embarks on a quest to restore the garden's voices. The story, blending adventure and fantasy, illustrates themes of empathy and bravery. It is loaded with words beginning with the /s/ sound.

Rosie’s Rainbow Race

This fictional story follows Rosie and her friend RamĂłn as they participate in the thrilling annual race to Rainbow's End, a mystical spot rumored to hold a special reward. The narrative vividly describes their journey through diverse landscapes and their strategic use of local knowledge. Culminating at the rainbow, the story emphasizes the joy of the journey over the destination, celebrating friendship and the spirit of adventure. It is loaded with words that begin with the /r/ sound.

Lulu’s Magical Library

This fictional story unfolds in the Larkspur Library where Lulu, a librarian, discovers a magical book titled "The Legend of the Lost Lagoon." The tale captures the enchantment of the library as words come to life, creating real-world adventures for visiting children based on their imaginations. The story emphasizes the power of books to transport readers to fantastical worlds and ignite a lifelong love of reading. It is loaded with words that begin with the /l/ sound.

Skyler’s Space Adventure

This fictional narrative follows Skyler, an aspiring astronaut, as she embarks on her maiden voyage aboard the spaceship Starlight Sprinter to explore the Starry Belt. During her adventure, she encounters a storm on Saturn, a sparkling comet, and a stranded alien named Spark, whom she assists. The story, rich with themes of exploration and friendship, concludes with Skyler returning to Earth, enriched by her spacefaring experiences and new friendships. The story is loaded with words that begin with /s/-blends.

Basic Concepts

The Colorful Day

This fictional children's story takes place in a sunny town where young bears experience a day filled with vibrant colors. Each bear interacts with different colors in their daily activities, from eating colorful foods to playing with crayons. The narrative highlights the joy and beauty of colors in everyday life, culminating in a reflective moment with Luna watching the sunset. This engaging tale teaches children about colors and the simple pleasures of daily routines.

The Shape Farm

This fictional children's story unfolds on a picturesque farm, where a curious cat discovers various shapes in her everyday environment. From the circular sun and oval eggs to the rectangular barn door and star-shaped flowers, the narrative introduces young readers to basic geometric shapes through vivid farm imagery. The tale combines learning with a charming farm setting, enhancing early shape recognition skills while engaging children with the rhythms of farm life.

Robots Everywhere

This fictional children's story involves a group of playful characters—Rusty, Gigi, Zap, Zip, Bolt, Beep, and Buzz—each interacting with different elements of their environment. The narrative uses simple prepositions to describe the actions and locations of the characters, such as flying over a tree, scooting under a bridge, and hiding behind a house. The story effectively teaches spatial concepts, enhancing young readers' understanding of prepositional phrases and spatial relationships.

Bus Stop Contrasts

This fictional children's story centers around a group of animals meeting at a bus stop on the first day of school, where they compare their physical characteristics such as height, size, and appearance. Characters like a hippo, giraffe, lion, tiger, and others highlight diversity through their unique features. The narrative conveys a message of friendship and acceptance, celebrating differences and promoting inclusivity among the animal friends.

Decodable Stories

The Big Red Hen

This decodable story centers on Sam and his big red hen. The narrative follows a simple, repetitive structure to facilitate early reading skills, detailing how the hen finds a friend and discovers ten eggs in a den. The story emphasizes basic phonics through rhyming words and controlled vocabulary, making it suitable for beginning readers.

Pirate Pat’s Treasure Hunt

This decodable story follows Pat, a pirate, as he embarks on a treasure hunt guided by a map marked with a big red X. The narrative is crafted to support early reading development, employing a controlled vocabulary and repetitive sentence structures. Pat's adventure leads him to discover a box filled with hats and mats, adding a playful twist to the conventional treasure trope. The story is ideal for beginning readers learning phonics and simple sentence construction.

Dino Learns to Read

This decodable story features a group of children who help a big, blue dinosaur return home by reading aloud words that rhyme. Each successfully read set of rhyming words causes the dinosaur to gradually disappear until he joyfully vanishes. The narrative employs simple, repetitive phonics to support early reading skills, combining fantasy elements with educational content.

The Lost Puppy

This decodable story follows Emma as she searches for her lost puppy, Spot, guided by a note and a trail of paw prints. The narrative uses simple sentence structures and repetitive patterns ideal for early readers. As Emma checks various landmarks, she finally discovers Spot by a barn. The story concludes with a joyful reunion, providing a positive and engaging reading experience for beginning readers to practice their skills.

Pick-a-Path

The Cookie Thief

This fictional children's story revolves around Elijah, who, upon finding the cookie jar empty, embarks on a detective journey within his home to solve the mystery of the missing cookies. With the aid of a clue and his sister Amara, they navigate various challenges, learning valuable lessons about teamwork, honesty, and sharing. This engaging narrative highlights the importance of cooperation and communication, and allows students to choose the direction of the plot at various key points.

TALES Program Manual

You may access this information and MORE in the TALES Program Manual - located in the Program Library on the platform. Once you're in TALES, simply select the "i" beside the program name. This will open the manual for your review!

Did this answer your question?