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Raise your hand if you start the year strong with organization, and by the end of September, you find yourself scouring through piles of speech therapy resources and worksheets. I know I can’t be the only one out there! That’s when I decided to get serious about how to organize speech therapy materials for themed units.
Below, I’m sharing simple ways to organize themed therapy materials so you’re not constantly thinking, “I swear I put those language book companion printables in this folder…” These organization systems work especially well if you plan therapy by themes, rotate materials seasonally, or reuse units year after year.
One thing I invested in to organize my speech therapy materials for themed units is file storage crates and they have been a total game-changer. You can find these crates at Staples, Target, Walmart, or Amazon.
When choosing a crate, make sure it fits hanging file folders in both legal and letter sizes. I personally use legal-sized folders because they’re wider and can fit books and larger materials more easily.
As shown in the figure, each crate contains a single theme, and I label the hanging file folders within the crate by skill area or material type. For example, books, grammar worksheets, visual supports, speech sounds, vocabulary, AAC, etc. You label each folder based on your caseload needs!
When I’m looking for a specific themed activity, I know exactly where to look, which saves me a ton of time. This system works especially well for organizing themed therapy materials when I’m planning for a whole month or rotating themes for push-in and classroom services.
For example, if the monthly theme is apples, everything that I add to the crate is related to that theme. Apple books go in the book tab, vocabulary visuals or worksheets go in the vocabulary section and so on. This way, all my themed materials stay together, but I can still grab exactly what I need based on the goal I’m targeting.
In my SLP work planner, I block out 20-30 minutes to collect all my themed materials to put in my crate. Then, my crate stays near my desk so I can grab what I need. Using a crate also makes it easy to transport materials between sites if I want to use the same materials or if I need to push-in, I can either grab what I need or bring the whole crate to the room.
When I first started organizing with crates, I quickly realized the hanging file folders were essential. Without them, my materials just turned into another pile—this time inside a crate instead of on my desk!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by piles of themed worksheets, printables, and activities, I put together a free How to Organize Speech Therapy Materials Guide to help you create a system that actually works.
Inside the guide, you’ll find:
Download the free Speech Therapy Materials Organization Guide HERE.
If you love using themed units but feel overwhelmed deciding what materials to plan and how to organize them, this is exactly why I created the Themed Therapy SLP Membership.
Inside the membership, you’ll find done-for-you themed lesson plans, visuals, book companions, games, Google Slides with links to YouTube songs, book read alouds, videos, crafts, speech sound flashcards and WAY more! You don’t have to stress about WHAT you will plan because I have done the leg work for you. Plus, you get editable labels for organizing materials and a training video for tips about creating organizational systems!
You still set up the system that works best for your space and caseload, but you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Learn more about the Themed Therapy SLP Membership here.
If you love keeping all your themed materials together but don’t have time to organize everything perfectly every day, learning how to organize speech therapy materials functionally is key, especially when you just need to clean up quickly after a long day. How to organize speech therapy materials with full-page printables and cut out pieces is with zipper pouches!
I use file pouches from Dollar Tree or zipper pouches from Amazon (affiliate link included), and like the crates, they’re easy to find and a great organizational investment. These zipper pouches work especially well for themed speech therapy activities with lots of components.
For example, they’re perfect for storing craft pieces, worksheets, sensory bin printables, books, sentence strips, and visuals all in one place. I love that I can grab a pouch and easily transport speech therapy materials around campus for push-in or classroom services.
Quick tip: If you’re buying zipper pouches, I recommend choosing more durable plastic ones. They help prevent materials from bending or creasing and don’t “flop” as much, which makes them easier to store and stack.
Suppose you love having all your themed materials together but don’t have time to organize them every day perfectly. In that case, you need to learn how to organize speech therapy materials functionally so you can quickly clean up after a long day!
Scrapbook boxes are a great tool for organizing literacy-based themed speech therapy materials and lesson plans. These boxes are wide and deep enough to store theme-related books along with their companion activities.
The best place to find scrapbook boxes is at Michaels, and I love them because they’re sturdy, easy to label, and hold a lot.
I use scrapbook boxes to store the books I want to use for a theme, the related activities, any zipper pouches with loose cards or materials, craft examples, and all of my visual supports. Everything stays together in one place, which makes it easy to grab, use, and reorganize at the end of the day.
Since switching to scrapbook boxes, I’ve cut down so much time on planning and organizing my themed materials. Check out my video on Facebook or Instagram to see what my scrapbook box and pouch organizational systems look like using an ocean theme!
Binders are a great way to store your theme’s word lists, lesson plan notes, speech therapy worksheets, visual supports, and flashcards all in one place. We provide all those supports and materials in the Themed Therapy SLP membership.
One of my favorite office supply finds is binder envelope pouches. They make it easy to store flashcards, sentence strips, and task cards inside a binder without worrying about loose pieces falling out.
Because we work with different ages and skill levels, keeping graphic organizers and task cards together in a themed binder can be incredibly helpful. If you’re looking for binder-friendly organization supplies, you can find all of my go-to options in my Amazon storefront.
To keep everything easy to find, you can use Avery tab dividers to organize materials by skill area, such as articulation, receptive language, vocabulary, and grammar. Another option is to organize activities by grade level or activity type, like PreK–1st, 2nd–3rd, open-ended games, or visual supports.
One thing I love to incorporate into my therapy is themed sensory bins. However, these sensory bins and the loose materials I put in them can get super messy and time-consuming to organize. Using zipper pouches and a storage bin has helped keep my sensory bin materials neat. First, I store the loose cards or small toys in smaller zipper pouches. Then, I store the “sensory” materials in their zipper pouch. You can then place the sensory bin filler, smaller items, and materials all in one larger zipper pouch. Then, when it’s time for you to assemble your sensory bin, you can grab the zipper pouch and all the contents are together. If you are a fan of themed sensory bins, use my year-long organization system for your sensory bins easy to manage.
Looking for even more ways to organize your speech therapy materials and office space? Here are a few additional posts that dive deeper into specific organization systems:
There’s no one “right” way to organize. What matters most is finding systems that fit your caseload, space, and planning style.
I also love seeing how other SLPs stay organized! Share your favorite organization tip in the comments below. I’m always looking for new ideas to try.
And if you’d like support planning themed units and creating organization systems that work, the Themed Therapy SLP Membership includes themed lesson plans, materials, labels, and training to help you stay organized all year long.
