- Elementary (K-4)
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About Teachers

Phone:
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education K-6 Bemidji State University, Special Education License Academic and Behavioral Strategist Southwest Minnesota State University.
Ms. Briese
Special Education Teacher
I chose to teach special education because it is important to me to help advocate for students whose voices may need extra support. Building a relationships with students, and their families is of the utmost importance to me. Having the opportunity to watch the students grow and excel is a truly wonderful experience.

Phone: 952-492-2336
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor of Science from Minnesota State University-Mankato in Communication Disorders. Master of Science from Minnesota State University - Mankato in Communication Disorders.
Mrs. Buthe
Speech/Language Pathologist
I come from a family of educators. The passion of making a difference in the lives of children was instilled in me by my father. I love being a Speech/Language Pathologist. I enjoy seeing the growth and progress in my students in one of the most important aspects of their lives - their ability to communicate
Mrs. Buthe's Links
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Articulation for Grades 3-5
Articulation for Grades 3-5
- Create a "challenge list" with your child. This list should contain 10 words with your child's sound in them that he/she wants to work on. The words can be anything that he/she feels motivated to say better, (friend's names, a favorite TV show or book, words that he/she says frequently, etc.) Have your child say them alone at first and then in sentences as he/she improves.
- Play a board game or card game with your child. He/She should say a word with his/her sound in it for each turn he/she takes. You can say words on your turn as well to provide a good model. The game is just something fun to do while you're working on articulation. (Again, you can move to sentences as your child's articulation improves.)
- Weather permitting: play catch or basketball and have your child say a word with his/her sound in it for each throw or basket.
- Play "Concentration" and think of words with your child's sound in them. This is an old game in which you slap your knees, then clap, then snap right fingers, and then left fingers in a steady rhythm.
- You pick a category (words with your child's sound in them), and think of something in that category by the time you've snapped your left fingers. Each player does the movements in the same rhythm.
- Have your child create a book in which the main character's names have his/her sound (or sounds) in them. You can use colored construction paper or plain white paper. He/She can illustrate it and you can help him/her write the story below the picture. After each page is finished, have him/her count the words with his/her sound in them on that page and underline them. When the book is finished, he/she can read it aloud and practice the underlined words. This can become a keepsake as his/her "Speech Book."
- While driving in the car, have a contest to see who can find the most things that have your child's sound in them. As you find them, have your child put them in a sentence. You can also look for words on road signs, billboards, etc.
- Have your child read aloud to you for 10-15 minutes a day and remind him/her to think about his/her sound. You can have him/her look at the page before he/she reads it and underline the words with his/her sound in them. Increase the reading time as his/her articulation improves. This activity is for children whose articulation has improved beyond the sentence level.
- Designate a 10-15 minute period during the day when you ask your child to concentrate on making his/her sound while he/she tells you about his/her day, a favorite movie, book, etc. You can increase this time as your child improves. This activity is for children who need work at the conversational level.
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Fluency
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Fluency
Ideas for promoting fluency at home:
Communication involves more than one person. Therefore, stuttering (a communicative disorder) involves more than the person who is doing the stuttering. It involves the family or those who are with the person. Stuttering is the result of the interaction of many things: the child, environmental factors, stress and tension.You can help your dysfluent child by doing the following:
- Talk in a calmer, slower and more relaxed way. Pause about 2 seconds after your child finishes speaking before responding. This slows down the conversation rate.
- Use comments instead of questions: "Remember, we saw the zebra at the zoo." Not, "What did you see? What color was it?" If questions are asked, give your child time to answer.
- Give your child time to talk. If you are on the phone and your child wants to say something to you, say "I'm talking to_______. Go get your Dr. Suess book and when you get back I'll be able to talk." (When he/she returns, be sure to talk to him/her!)
- Give time to each child, "Remember Sarah, we had our time, but now it's Judy's time."
Reduce verbal competition.
- Decrease interruptions. Allow children to finish their thoughts and stay tuned to the content. The message we should be giving children is "I care what you are saying to me (the child's message) not how you are saying it."
- Try to reduce pressures and demands placed on your child in their daily lives.
- Try to have a quiet time each day for reading, coloring or going for a walk.
- Keep conversation to a minimum and eliminate as many questions as possible.
- Maintaining eye contact with your child shows that you are listening. Be a tolerant listener.
Remember most kids have a period of dysfluency.
Avoid telling your child to:
Slow down
Relax
Take a deep breath
Stop and start over
Stop and think before speakingAlso avoid:
Finishing your child's sentences
Interrupting your child
Speaking rapidly to your child
Making your child give little speeches, plays or read aloud to visiting friends, relatives or neighbors
A hectic lifestyle within the homePlease remember that it is not your fault that your child is dysfluent; but you can choose to make some changes that will help your child. As parents we do the best we can.
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Language Activities for Grades 6-9
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Language Activities for Grades 6-9
- Develop verbal problem skills by evaluating, analyzing, predicting and generating solutions for possible problems as they occur at home.
- Practice social communication skills (for example, turn-taking in conversation, eye contact, maintaining topic of conversation) in planned 3-minute conversations working on one skill at a time. Evaluate your skills.
- Strengthen passage comprehension by reading between the lines as you piece together segments of information in order to answer questions requiring inference. Strengthen comprehension and memory of facts by answering comprehension questions from material read.
- Practice creative storytelling by presenting story starters of imaginary characters.
- Develop vocabulary by keeping a 'vocabulary notebook' to include new vocabulary heard in school and at home. Define and use the vocabulary word correctly in a sentence. Enrich meanings of words by defining multiple-meaning words, idioms, metaphors in context of stories read.
- Practice functional communication skills (i.e. clear articulation, voice quality, pitch, volume, rate) in 3-minute monologues and evaluate.
- Strengthen oral communication by expressing a personal opinion on issues.
- Develop interviewing skills by answering self-identification questions in mock interviews.
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Language Activities for K-2
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Language Activities for Kindergarten - Grade 2
Choose books of interest to read to your child and each page or paragraph (depending on the age of your child) ask comprehension questions, such as who, what, when, where, why, and how. If they have difficulty with answers teach them by modeling what a "where" answer sounds like; add information to your child's answers.
Ask your child to re-tell books or chapters by saying "now you tell me the story in your own words." if this is too much for your child, chunk the book or chapter and every couple of pages ask them, "tell me what's happened so far." Read a variety of both fiction and non-fiction books to your child. This will help in intermediate grades when they will be reading textbooks in science and social studies, when they begin reading for factual information as well as when they begin to do research.
Practice:
- opposites
- synonyms
- paraphrasing
- multiple meaning words
Play categorization games with your child, ex. Name as many animals, sports, colors, etc. (in one minute) as you can. For a more advanced twist to the game, give them a letter: their list may only contain items that start with that letter. Teach your child what to do and say if they don't know an answer. Start by asking them what they do know if they answer, "I don't know."
Play same/different games with your child. State two items, ex. popsicle and ice cream cone, ask how the two items are the same and different.
If your child uses incorrect grammar structures, "I gotted a A on my project," model the correct grammar by saying, "Oh, you got an A on your project."
if your child uses non-specific words during stories or explanations, ex. "We went there and got the stuff for the thing," label the non-specific words as "garbage words" that don't tell us anything. Model for them how to be more specific, ex. "Your class went to the library to get books for the read-a-thon," now you tell me again.
Practice sequencing with your child. A couple of different ways: cut out cartoons after you read them to your child and have your child put them in the correct order and tell the story, ask them to re-tell a story, encourage them to use terms such as, first, second, third, and then, next, last; use a real life situation such as, "tell me how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
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Language Activities for Pre-School
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Language Activities for Pre-school
- Listen to environmental sounds with your child (water running, doorbell, airplanes, traffic). Have fun labeling what made the sound, imitate the sounds, and play guessing games about what made a particular sound.
- Imitate what your child says and expand his/her comment by adding one piece of information. For example, child says, "Doggie"; adult says, "Doggie. Yes. The dog says woof, woof." Child says, "Bird flying," adult says, "The bird is flying. Birds have wings."
- Read repetitive, rhythmic and rhyming books with your child. For example, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "Inside a Barn in the Country", "Cat in the Hat", and "Dinosaur Roar".
- Practice taking turns in a variety of activities, motor imitation, sound making, and "conversation."
- Be a good listening and turn-taking model for your child.
- Play "treasure hunt" with your child. Hide something, then give clues to where it can be found.
- Play listening and remembering games. For example, go pretend grocery shopping. Give your child a basket and instructions on what to buy. "We need bread and apples," or "Get grapes, hot dogs, and ice-cream".
- Let your child help with household tasks, talking your way through the task. For example: "To set the table we need plates, cups, forks, spoons, and knives..."
- Let your child help you sort and categorize common objects. For example, folding and putting laundry away. "Socks go in this drawer, pants go in this drawer."
- Talk about the past, the present and the future. "This morning we ate pancakes for breakfast. Now we'll take a nap. Tomorrow we'll go to the zoo."
- Give your child verbal warnings of upcoming transitions.
- Show pleasure in listening to your child. Take time out daily to talk and listen to him/her.
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Oral Motor Excercises
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Oral Motor Exercises
- Pucker, hold, smile, hold. Repeat this alternating movement several times.
- Close your lips tightly and press together. Relax and repeat.
- Stick out your tongue and move it slowly from corner to corner of your lips. Hold in each corner, relax and repeat several times. Be sure your tongue actually touches each corner each time.
- Stick out your tongue. Pretend to lick a sucker moving the tongue tip from down by chin to up by nose. Go slowly and use as much movement as you can. Relax, repeat.
- Stick your tongue out and pull it back, then repeat as many times as you can and as quickly as you can. Rest. Repeat.
- Move tongue from corner to corner as quickly as you can. Rest. Relax.
- Say LA-LA-LA-LA as quickly and accurately as you can. Rest, repeat.
- Say KA-KA-KA-KA as quickly and accurately as you can. Rest, repeat.
- Say KALA-KALA-KALA as quickly and accurately as you can. Rest, repeat.
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Quick Links
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Role of SLP
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What is the Role of the SLP?
The Role of an E-SLP (Educational Speech Language Pathologist) is to work with identified speech-language disorders, assess students with whom teachers or parents have a special speech or language concern and to consult with parents and regular education teachers about speech-language development and how disorders may affect academic progress.
Below is a list of common speech and language disorders with a brief explanation of each:
Speech Disorders
• Articulation - the way we say our speech sounds
• Phonology - the speech patterns we use
• Apraxia - difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds
• Fluency - stuttering
• Voice - problems with the way the voice soundsLanguage Disorders
• Receptive Language - difficulty understanding language
• Expressive Language - difficulty using language
• Pragmatic Language - social communication; the way we speak to each otherOther Disorders
• Deafness/Hearing Loss - loss of hearing; therapy includes developing lip-reading, speech,
and/or alternative communication systems
• Oral-Motor Disorders - weak tongue and/or lip muscles
• Swallowing/Feeding Disorders - difficulty chewing and/or swallowing
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Voice Conservation
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Voice Conservation
- Avoid excessive loud or strained voice use such as screaming, yelling, shouting, loud crying, etc.
- Use a whistle, clap your hands, or move closer to the source you wish to gain attention to eliminate vocal misuse.
- Avoid yelling from room to room or over noise. Walk to the person you wish to speak to and avoid unnecessary vocal strain.
- Avoid speaking with noise in the background. Turn off competing noises such as TV's, radios, stereos, video games, etc.
- Avoid vocal abuse by eliminating coughing and constant throat clearing. If needed, to so in a gentle manner and with ease.
- Maintain adequate hydration by drinking water.
- Avoid making loud noises such as animal sounds, character voices or sounds, car sounds or other toy making sounds.
- Avoid talking for long periods of time or just excessive talking. Remember the importance of being a good listener and taking turns in conversation.
- Avoid using a voice too high or low. Encourage talking with normal voice. use a voice level that is comfortable and doesn't cause stress or strain.
- Avoid talking too loudly. Use an appropriate voice quality in all situations.
- Avoid singing too much. Humming simple songs using a gentle hum without pushing is a good alternative.
- Avoid whispering when you have a cold. Vocal rest is helpful during this time.
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Phone:
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Ms. Chromy
Special Education Teacher
A valued Jordan staff member since 2022

Phone: 952-492-2336
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor's Degree in Developmental Cognitive Disabilities from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Masters Degree in Autism Spectrum Disorders from Minnesota State University, Mankato
Mrs. Flicek
Special Education Teacher - ASD
I enjoy being able to make relationships with students and help them grow throughout their Elementary school years.
Mrs. Flicek's Links
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Quick Links

Phone: 952-492-2336
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Master's Degree in Communication Disorders from Mankato State University
Mrs. McDonald
Special Education Teacher
I love working with kids and love seeing how excited they get when they realize they have learned something new!!!
Mrs. McDonald's Links
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Assistive Technologies (AT)
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Assistive Technology (AT)
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Educators are required to consider assistive technology for all children with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), (§34 C.F.R 300.346.2.(v)), and to provide assistive technology for students who require it for Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (§34 C.F.R. 300.6 (b)).Low-tech Examples
- pencil grips
- specialty paper
- highlighting pens and tape
- planners
- Adapt textbooks to meet needs of students by highlighting information in the book
- Permit oral examinations, taped responses or provide a reader or scribe
- Allow student to use math calculators, use talking calculators, word processors, dictionaries and spell checkers during examinations
- Give student option to write exam in quiet room if needed
- Provide extra time for student to complete test
- Vary test format (e.g. Multiple choice or short answers)
- NCR or non-carbon paper for making a copy of notes
- If student has difficulty copying from the board eliminate board copying
- Provide a photocopy of assignment
- Provide copy of homework assignment
- Have designated spot on board where assignments are noted well before the end of school day
- Ask a fast writer to be student's homework assignment secretary
Mid to Hi-tech Examples
- tape recorders
- talking calculators
- portable keyboards
- electronic spell checkers and dictionaries
- reading systems that use a computer, scanner, and software to read scanned book pages out loud
- speech recognition software that allows a computer to operate by speaking to it
- mind mapping / outlining software
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Language Activities for Practice at Home
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Language Activities for Practice at Home
Language
- Create a mystery box. Place items in a pillowcase or cardboard box with a cut out big enough for the child to reach into. Have the child reach in, choose one item, and try to guess what it is. You may have the child close his eyes for this game to rely only on the way the item feels. Once a guess has been made, you can talk about why the child made his particular guess.
- Encourage your child to “read” the pictures in a book to you. Prompt by asking some open - ended questions about what is happening and what may happen next.It may be helpful to restate a child’s statement to correct a grammatical mistake (“Him go” “He goes”) or model another appropriate word (“The boy in the bath.”“He is in the bath”).
Vocabulary
- Reading aloud to your child allows your child to hear new and less common words
- Have the child find a particular picture within a larger picture to work on understanding new words
- When you are teaching a new word, provide information about that word. Tell what it does, when you use it, who would use it, where it would be found, etc.
Basic Concepts
- For teaching basic concept vocabulary, choose one word within a basic concept. For example, you could choose “in”. Then find all the things you can that are “in” something else. This can be a game like “I Spy”
- Another way to teach or reinforce basic concepts is to identify the concepts in the natural environment. For example, point to bird in the tree or a cat hiding behind a couch.
- During snack time, put different numbers of small snack foods into different piles to teach quantity concepts of more, less, equal, etc.
Listening
- Have your child help with the shopping. You can ask your child to remember certain items that are needed in the store
- Play a following directions game by giving your child a direction then watching to see if he does it correctly. Ask him to move to different places within a room or act out a movement to keep interest. Once the child understands the game, he can start to give you some directions to follow. If you give this game a crazy name the child will be more interested. Start with one - step or one element and increase as the child becomes more skilled.
- Ask questions about a story that has been read or about a shared activity
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Role of SLP
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What is the Role of the SLP?
The Role of an E-SLP (Educational Speech Language Pathologist) is to work with identified speech-language disorders, assess students with whom teachers or parents have a special speech or language concern and to consult with parents and regular education teachers about speech-language development and how disorders may affect academic progress.
Below is a list of common speech and language disorders with a brief explanation of each:
Speech Disorders
• Articulation - the way we say our speech sounds
• Phonology - the speech patterns we use
• Apraxia - difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds
• Fluency - stuttering
• Voice - problems with the way the voice soundsLanguage Disorders
• Receptive Language - difficulty understanding language
• Expressive Language - difficulty using language
• Pragmatic Language - social communication; the way we speak to each otherOther Disorders
• Deafness/Hearing Loss - loss of hearing; therapy includes developing lip-reading, speech,
and/or alternative communication systems
• Oral-Motor Disorders - weak tongue and/or lip muscles
• Swallowing/Feeding Disorders - difficulty chewing and/or swallowing
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Speech Activities for Practice at Home
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Speech Activities for Practice at Home
- When riding in the car, find things with your special sound
- When looking at books or magazines, find pictures with your special sounds
- At the grocery store, see how many foods you can find with your special sounds
- How many animals, foods, kinds of cars, sports, famous people, TV shows, etc can you think of that have your special sound?
- Cut out pictures in old magazines that have your sound
- When assisting with cooking, find ingredients with your speech sound
- Tell someone about a TV show using your sound
- Read aloud to someone using your sound
- Re-tell a story or something that happened during the day using your sound
- Have a special time of day to practice such as bedtime or bath time, etc. Sometimes sound practice may feel a bit stressful for your child. Mealtime is a good time for some children to practice, but is a bad time for other children. Having other people present for speech practice is not always a good idea.
- Have your parents fill a box full of objects that contain your speech sound. You have to feel around without peeking to guess what the object is.
- Play guessing games by giving clues/ descriptions about an item that contains the special sound
- Play “I Spy” where your child finds objects in the room based on clues you give
- Play “Bag of Cards”. Put pairs of cards with the special sound in a bag. Take turns picking cards out of the bag, trying to get pairs
- Suitcase Game (no cards needed). “I’m going on a trip and in my suitcase I’ll take (word with special sound). Next player repeats sentence with the first item and adds new item for the suitcase. Continue adding on and repeating in order!
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Phone:
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor's Degree - UND - Secondary Social Studies Education; Master's Degree - Special Education: Visual Impairment; Licensure - BSU - Emotional/Behavioral Disorder & Learning Disabilities, Hamline - Autism Spectrum Disorder
Ms. Seurer
Special Education Teacher
During multiple long-term substitute positions my first year out of college I discovered a passion for teaching students who work hard to overcome a variety unique challenges. I returned to school to pursue special education licensure immediately that summer. After working 17 years for one district, I am thrilled to be joining the special education team at Jordan Elementary for my 18th year in education. My goal is to help students build their confidence while learning new skills.

Phone: 952-492-2336
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor's Degree - UW-Oshkosh - Special Education; Master's Degree - St. Mary's University - Teaching and Learning; Orton-Gillingham Levels 1 and 2; PRESS Trained - Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites- University of Minnesota; K-12 Reading Licensure - St. Mary's University - December, 2017
Miss Weber
Special Education Teacher
I choose the field of education because of the great teachers that I had when I was younger. I enjoy teaching reading to students that are struggling. The excitement that builds when they start understanding and breaking the code of reading is my favorite part. Every day I get the chance to help a child feel better about reading and let them see that with hard work, the skills will come. I feel very lucky to be working at Jordan Elementary School because of the staff, students, and parents
Miss Weber's Links
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Parent Support