Spring Speech and Language Activities Prek-5th

Spring Speech and Language Activities Prek-5th

by | Mar 20, 2023 | Themed Speech Therapy

If you work with preschool through 5th grade, you are gonna love this blog post! Today, I am sharing spring speech and language activities you can use with your entire elementary caseload. This will help you plan more efficiently for your spring speech therapy lesson plans.

Amazon affiliate links are provided for your convenience in this blog post. When you click on a link, I earn a small commission at no additional cost. 

Spring Books for Speech Therapy

Use spring books in your speech therapy sessions

If you love using literacy to cover speech and language goals, here are some of great spring speech therapy books organized by age range:

Prek-1st Grade

 

2nd-3rd Grade

 

4th-5th Grade

Many of these books included have book cheat sheets and visual story maps in the Themed Therapy SLP membership. Sign up for monthly or annual plans; don’t stress about themed therapy planning. You can read more about shared book reading strategies with these spring-themed speech therapy books.

Spring Toys and Games

spring-toys-speech-therapy

During the spring season, bugs are everywhere, and flowers begin to bloom. You can do a spring bug pretend play activity with these bug figurines. Or, you can make a garden dramatic play activity or flower shop dramatic play with items from your local Dollar Tree. Check out this blog post to read more about spring play-based speech therapy activities. There is also a Real Talk SLP podcast episode 81 on play themes for spring too. If you are on the hunt for some spring speech therapy games, here are some fun ones:

 

Spring Songs and YouTube Videos

Using a spring song to get some movement can help kids stay engaged when planning your lessons. Here are a few spring songs that would be fun to use in your push-in or small groups:

 

 

When planning for your upper elementary students, using spring-themed videos can be a low-prep activity that easily covers speech and language goals. Here are some of my fave spring YouTube videos.

 

 

Plan spring speech and language activities for your prek-5th grade caseload!

If you need a FREE Google Slide presentation of all the best spring videos, click the pink button below. 

Get Your Free Spring YouTube Google Slides

Sensory Bins for the Spring Season

 

The Themed Therapy SLP membership also has a spring sensory bin and cheat sheet lesson plan. 

Spring Crafts for Speech Therapy

There are so many great simple crafts for spring! If you want spring-themed crafts with articulation and language targets, check out this How to Grow a Flower craft.

Make in the Tall Tall Grass crafts and pair them with the book! Simply Speech has free printables for this craft. 

You can also check out some other spring speech therapy crafts on this blog post. 

Arty Crafty Kids also has some really easy spring crafts for preschool that would pair well with your books for an engaging small group or whole class lesson!

Receptive and Expressive Language Activities for Younger Students

In spring, talking about flowers and insects is a great theme smash! For SLPs who love the book, In the Tall Tall Grass by Denise Fleming then get this free Tall tall grass digital lesson plan for teletherapy.

 

For more themed therapy ideas to do in spring, this blog post has 5 themes you can use!

Take spring speech and language activities outside, check out this bubbles toy blog post with a free toy companion cheat sheet guide to give you LOTS of articulation and language goals targets.

 

You can take your students outside on an I Spy hunt with their DIY binoculars to make it even more engaging. Make the binoculars first in your session, and then head out for I spy hunts using these free I spy game mats. 

Spring Language Activities for Prek-2nd Grades

If you have a lot of different language goals or need resources for push-in and small groups, check out these spring language activities:

 

Spring Speech and Language Activities for Older Students

When looking for spring speech therapy activities for your older students, consider looking for articles or YouTube videos on their topic of interest that align with this season. For example, you could use a non-fiction article from Wonderopolis on baseball. Or, find a cool science experiment from Mystery Doug like this one about Why Do Birds Lay Eggs in Spring? 

 

Another great way to cover a lot of articulation and language goals is using real photos of spring activities. Search spring photos online or on free sites and add them to a Google Slide. Talk about wh-questions, using their words in a sentence, identifying emotions, perspective taking, inference, and sentence structures. Use the spring inference picture task cards if you don’t have time to search for spring photos! For spring and vocabulary Boom Cards, check out these. 

 

Need short stories with questions that are no prep and use spring vocabulary? Check out this set in my TPT store that is scaffolded for different levels. There are also short stories like this in the themed therapy SLP membership too!

The free Google Slides also organize several spring YouTube videos for older students to address these goals! And we have 4th-5th grade themed activities in the Themed Therapy SLP membership.

Get Your Free Spring YouTube Google Slides
spring-themed-speech-therapy-unit

Using Spring STEM and Science with Older Students

Plan some spring-themed STEM activities to perk your older student’s interests. I love teaching tier II vocabulary and using these activities to give them a practical application of the words. Plus, you can target wh-questions, explain what happened, etc. The Educators Spin on It has a fun plastic eggs stem challenge. 

Stem Education Guide also has some great spring STEM activities that are not too difficult or costly!

Talking about a flower life cycle is a great unit to plan in spring, and I cover all the videos, goals, and activities you can do HERE. 

What Are Your Favorite Spring Speech and Language Therapy Activities?

What are some of your go-to spring speech therapy activities you use with students on your caseload? I would love to know a favorite book, fun DIY activity, game, website or resource you use with your spring-themed activities. Share in the comments or tag me on social media @themedtherapyslp 

January Speech Therapy Themes

January Speech Therapy Themes

by | Jan 18, 2023 | Themed Speech Therapy, Uncategorized

When planning by themes for your elementary speech therapy caseload, knowing which theme to use can cause indecisiveness. When we are trying to decide which way to go with themes, it leaves us wasting time and procrastinating therapy planning. So, I am sharing a GIANT list of January speech therapy themes you can use with your caseload. And, if you still need to narrow down a theme for January, check out this blog post with tips for choosing a theme. 

One Thing to Remember with Theme-Based Therapy

As SLPs with high caseloads, remember that you DON’T have to use a theme for only one week. It can be time-consuming to plan when you constantly prepare for a new themed unit each week. You will lead yourself to burn out FAST switching materials each. We want to stay energized from lesson planning, so when you pick a theme, use the mindset that you will use this theme for 2-4 weeks of therapy. I talk all about that on the Real Talk SLP podcast episode 45. 

SLP Planner for the Year

Use my free-themed therapy yearly SLP planner to help you plan what themes you want to use for the year. It gives you ideas for what to prepare and has an editable lesson plan template to keep notes on what you did with a theme. When you have notes for your themed units, it will job your memory when you pull out the January speech therapy activities the following year. Click the pink button to download. 

Get Your Free Themed Therapy SLP Planner

January Speech Therapy Themes With Animals

Plan units around winter animals using books, non-fiction passages, sensory bins, and YouTube videos. If you focus on antarctic animals, break down the theme to learn about one animal a week. Here are some other winter themes with animals:

 

Arctic animals

Yeti’s (are they real or a myth)

Penguins

Hibernation

Get Your Free Themed Therapy SLP Planner

January Themes Focusing on Winter

The winter season is something that most kids experience in the United States and around the world. Although some places like Florida don’t experience snow, many kids live in colder climates. Or, they can quickly drive to snowy places in the wintertime.

Using winter themes in January is a great way to build background knowledge around the seasons and teach vocabulary and language skills around those themes.

One way to break down a broad theme like winter is to plan mini-themes related to the season. For example, you can plan to do a winter season theme for the entire month of January. Each week you can focus on a different aspect of winter, such as winter clothes, winter weather, winter activities, and winter sports.

Or, you can pick one of those winter topics and focus on one mini topic each week. If you choose winter sports, you can focus on ice skating, snowboarding, hockey, and the luge. For more winter-themed speech therapy ideas, check out this blog post. 

January-speech-therapy-ideas

More Winter Theme Ideas

  1. Snow Day – you can read the book Snow Day by Lester L. Laminack to talk about what kids do when it snows, and their school is canceled. 
  2. Snowmen – I have LOTS of blog posts with ideas for a snowman theme you can check out on the blog. 
  3. Snowflakes – you can find good articles on ReadWorks or Wonderopolis. I also will look on YouTube for snowflake videos. Plus, there are LOTS of excellent snowflake science experiments and activities you can work on for speech and language goals. Check out this idea from The Sprinkle Topped Teacher. 
  4. Hot Chocolate – who doesn’t love talking about hot chocolate? And it’s full of speech and language opportunities. I have a bunch in my store if you need some activities for a hot chocolate theme. Live Love Speech has some visual recipes for your co-teaching lessons.
  5. Winter Tools and Vehicles – this is the ultimate theme smash where you can pair winter weather with transportation. If you need a snowplow sensory bin, check out this one! 

If you need more January speech therapy ideas, check out this post from Busy Bee Speech.

January speech therapy activities

Check out the Themed Therapy SLP membership if you love using themes for your speech therapy caseload but struggle to find the time and energy to plan your lessons. The membership is for busy school-based SLPs who serve Prek-5th grade students and want to streamline their therapy planning process.

When you become an SLP themester, you can access three themed therapy units a month!

The January speech therapy themes are arctic animals, penguins, and outer space. An annual membership gives you access to over 24 theme

Themes Based on National Holidays

So many meaningful and fun national holidays would make for great themes to plan in January!

Here are some January speech therapy themes for national days:

Martin Luther King Jr. (this is an excellent kick-off for Black History month, which starts in February)

January 1st – New Years Day: focus on healthy habits, creating goals, and new changes

January 4th- Spaghetti Day

You can theme smash yetis and spaghetti with the game! I have a cheat sheet for the Yeti in my Spaghetti game in my TPT store. 

January 8-14th – National Pizza Week

Check out this blog post with ways to use a pizza speech therapy toy in your sessions. 

January 18th – Winnie the Pooh Day

January 18th – Hot and Spicy Foods – January 18th

What theme-based units do you plan in January?

Let me know in the comments what theme-based speech therapy lessons you plan for your elementary caseload. Tag me @themedtherapyslp with your themed activity, and I will share it in my stories!

Christmas Tree Craft for Speech Therapy

Christmas Tree Craft for Speech Therapy

by | Nov 19, 2022 | craftivities, Themed Speech Therapy, Uncategorized

In December, pulling out some festive activities with your speech therapy groups is fun. If your students celebrate Christmas and need mixed group holiday activities, you will love this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy. It’s easy to make and can be sent home as a functional decor that will remind your students to practice their speech and language skills.

If your students don’t celebrate Christmas, you can adapt this craft to be winter trees.

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post for your convenience. When you use my affiliate link, I earn a small commission.

Christmas Tree Craft Supplies You Need

Make mixed group planning easier in December with this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy!

To make this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy sessions, you will need the following supplies:

Cardstock (you can print on regular paper, but it will be a little lighter. For a sturdy tree, the cardstock works best)

Colored pencils or crayons

Dot markers (optional)

Scissors

Glue

String or ribbon if you want to put a hole punch and create an ornament

Christmas tree craft templates

Assembling the Christmas Tree Craft

To make your 3D Christmas tree craft, you must fold each tree in half with the ornament side touching each other. Then, you will add glue to one half of the Christmas tree and glue that to another half of a different tree. Once all sides of your tree are glued together, your Christmas tree craft can stand up independently.

Make mixed group planning easier in December with this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy!

How to Use the Christmas Tree Craft for Speech Therapy

When you print out the templates, you can either pre-cut the trees or have students do it.

Your students can practice their speech and language targets with the printouts in the first session and covering with magnetic chips or erasers on the stimulus items. For ideas using magnetic wands, this post has ideas for you!

Then, in the next session, have students color or use dot markers with their trees. As each child is coloring, you can work on their goals.

After everyone is finished coloring, you can help students assemble their crafts.

You can keep your Christmas trees in your room for warm-up practice or progress monitoring. Plus, you can send it home as homework for students to use for practice until Christmas!

Make a Speech Therapy Bulletin Board with Your Christmas Tree Craft

If you have a bulletin board area in the hallway or your room, you can glue their Christmas tree crafts to colorful construction paper and hang them on the wall.

Or, you can punch a hole at the top of the tree and tie string or ribbon to make an ornament that they can hang on their tree at home.

With the Christmas tree language templates, there are mini homework directions to send home to help parents know how to use the stimulus items at home.

Make mixed group planning easier in December with this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy!

Need more Themed Crafts to Use in Speech Therapy?

Make mixed group planning easier in December with this Christmas tree craft for speech therapy!

Using themed crafts can be a great way to switch things up in your mixed groups when you need a break from worksheets and flashcards.

And themed crafts can help you plan literacy-based lessons for small groups and co-teaching sessions. The Themed Therapy SLP membership provides low-prep-themed crafts and visual supports for those crafts. You can also check out these blog posts for more ideas:

 

Easy Christmas Crafts for Speech Therapy

Ideas for Winter Crafts to Use in Speech Therapy

Easy Summer Crafts for Speech Therapy

Spring Crafts for Speech Therapy

3 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Speech Therapy

4 Squirrel Toys You Need for Speech Therapy

4 Squirrel Toys You Need for Speech Therapy

by | Nov 10, 2022 | Play-Based Therapy, Themed Speech Therapy, Uncategorized

You are seriously missing out if you still need to plan a squirrel theme for your elementary caseload. Squirrels are the funniest creatures, and kids love talking about them.

This theme allows you to ditch your worksheets and easily target speech and language goals with toys and props. This blog post will teach you about four squirrel toys for speech therapy.

This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links which means when you use the link to purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Squirrel Toys Speech Therapy Must-Haves

Squirrel toy props for your speech therapy sessions that will increase engagement with your students!

Not only is the game Sneaky Snacky Squirrel for targeting speech sound goals, but it also has fabulous game pieces to add to sensory bins. In particular, this game is excellent for targeting s-blends. You can see all my favorite games for s-blends HERE.

The game itself provides opportunities for teaching colors, turn-taking, functional communication, commenting, and verb actions.

Plus, you can use the acorns to teach more, less, all, none, and for pretend play with squirrel figurines.

If you need a toy companion cheat sheet for this game, head to my store to snag the resource that gives you 45 cheat sheets for your most used toys and games.

Want to see how you can use a toy cheat sheet for your therapy groups? Try the bubbles toy cheat sheet for free in this blog post. 

Squirrel Dog Toys for Teaching Language Skills

One of my go-to places to find themed props is the dog section in stores or on Amazon.

There are always seasonal toys that can be used for your pretend play activities. Hands down, one of my favorite finds is the squirrel log dog toy.

You can target basic concepts, verb actions, answer yes/no questions, and grammar concepts, and hide other items inside the log. Put your acorns inside from sneaky snacky squirrel to work on plurals grammar markers, verbs (i.e., gather, find, carry, collect), and wh-questions.

For more ideas on where to find themed props, head to this blog post.

Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!

Join the Themed Therapy SLP Membership

If you are on the struggle bus with planning themed therapy for your Prek-5th grade caseload, let me take that off your plate!

You can use various printable and digital materials to plan a themed therapy unit without stress. When you join the annual membership, you can access over 24 themed units at once, like the squirrel theme!

Get the support you need to serve your students well.

Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!
Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!
Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!
Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!

Squirrel Figurines for Pretend Play and Sensory Bins

Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!

Another unexpected place to find mini-themed figurines is cake decorating store sections. I found these squirrel figurines on Amazon and knew they would be perfect for a sensory bin and play sets. If you own a treehouse toy or play house, check out how to make a squirrel takeover for play-based speech therapy in this blog post.

Squirrel Toy Speech Therapy Must-Have for High Trials

When working on speech sound goals, you always need props or activities that help make practice trials more fun. Use this squirrel ball popper to hit acorns with points you draw on the whiteboard. You can have students earn the balls after practicing their words several times. Set the flashcards for your language goals and have students try to hit a flashcard to practice.

Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!

What Squirrel Toys Have You Found for Your Caseload?

Squirrel toys speech therapy must-haves that will bring your sessions to life!

Have you found any fun squirrel toys you use with your elementary caseload? If so, share your finds in the comments of the blog post. For more squirrel lesson plan ideas, head to this blog post.

Squirrel Play-Based Speech Therapy Idea!

Squirrel Play-Based Speech Therapy Idea!

by | Nov 4, 2022 | Play-Based Therapy, Themed Speech Therapy, Uncategorized

One of the MOST fun themes ever includes squirrels! During the fall season, your students will see squirrels scampering about, darting, and scurrying around outside anywhere there are trees or plants.

They are some of the silliest creatures to watch, so why not incorporate squirrels into your play-based speech therapy sessions?

I want to share a fun squirrel play-based speech therapy activity that you can pair with your favorite squirrel book!

Many of my sessions are structured with a book and then a play-based activity to allow for direct teaching, incorporating literacy, and allowing the child to explore concepts while playing.

You will find Amazon affiliate links for your convenience in this blog post. When you use these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

What You Need For The Squirrel Play-Based Speech Therapy Activity

Change things up in your traditional speech therapy sessions by using this squirrel play-based speech therapy activity!

To have your squirrel take over, you need any toy set, but the one that would be best is the treehouse toy set from Fisher-Price. You can also use this fun treehouse from Calico Critters or Li’l Woodzeez. 

You need these mini squirrel figurines, and if you want verb and vocabulary flashcards related to squirrels, you can find those in the Themed Therapy SLP membership. The squirrel theme is part of the September month, but when you get an annual subscription, you have access to all the themes throughout the year, so you can pick the theme you need for your caseload!

Goals to Target with the Squirrel Play Therapy Activity

You can hide different verb and vocabulary flashcards throughout the play set when doing your squirrel takeaway.

Have your squirrels gather all the cards that are hidden around the set. As your student’s squirrels find cards, you can target speech and language goals.

You can also work on verb actions for the squirrels, target pretend play schemes such as preparing for winter, or work on basic concepts with the squirrels.

With your students working on speech sounds, give them words to practice related to squirrels that have their sounds. Or, have some sound-loaded phrases to use while playing.

Change things up in your traditional speech therapy sessions by using this squirrel play-based speech therapy activity!

For example, if you are working on s-blends, you can naturally target scamper, scurry, squirrel or snack. For students working on /l/, you can have them say “look” every time they find a squirrel or flashcard.

Or, if the squirrels are searching for acorns and nuts, they can “munch” or “chew.”

How would you use this squirrel-themed play-based speech therapy activity to cover goals on your caseload?

Need more Squirrel Speech Therapy Ideas?

Change things up in your traditional speech therapy sessions by using this squirrel play-based speech therapy activity!

If you are sold on using a squirrel theme with your entire caseload, you need to check out this blog post for more ideas!

This is a very underrated theme because every time I use it, kids LOVE it. To help you rock a squirrel theme longer than a week, check out this squirrel language lesson plan guide in my store!

You can also find a sneaky snacky squirrel toy cheat sheet in this resource. 

5 Fall Language Therapy Activities for SLPs

5 Fall Language Therapy Activities for SLPs

by | Nov 2, 2022 | Themed Speech Therapy

When implementing a theme-based approach, you want to ensure your speech therapy materials and activities include the theme’s vocabulary.

That’s why today, in this blog post, I will share 5 Fall language activities you can do that incorporate fall-themed vocabulary words and concepts.

Mixed Group Fall Language Therapy Activity

Learn about 5 fall language therapy activities you can use with your mixed groups in this blog post.

Sequencing with fall activities is a great way to work on various language goals.

You can cover grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, description, and more! This research article found that when therapy focused on a broad range of language skills, students reading comprehension improved.

Working on sequencing the steps for raking leaves, carving a pumpkin, making an apple pie, or a squirrel collecting acorns for the winter, you can work on lots of different language concepts.

You can even show your students YouTube videos with the process for these fall activities. And, if you want digital Boom Cards to work on fall sequencing, check out these different fall-themed sets in my TPT store.

Lervåg, A. , Hulme, C. and Melby‐Lervåg, M. (2017). Unpicking the developmental relationship between oral language skills and reading comprehension: It’s simple, but complex. Child Development. Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/cdev.12861

Work on Comparing and Contrasting with Fall Vocabulary

If you ask classroom teachers what skills they are working on in language arts, one skill that they often share they are teaching is comparison.

Teaching your students how to feature match to find similarities and differences will help them analyze characters from stories and similar items.

You can work on the compare/contrast skill using fall-themed vocabulary. Check out the word lists at Words To Use for some ideas. If you want to avoid thinking of similar items, grab these compare/contrast cards for fall in my TPT store.

Want a free graphic organizer for comparing and contrasting? Grab this one in my store!

Learn about 5 fall language therapy activities you can use with your mixed groups in this blog post.

Use Fall Photos to Build Inferencing Skills

Learn about 5 fall language therapy activities you can use with your mixed groups in this blog post.

You can cover many language goals using real photos from a theme, so why not use fall-related images to target inferencing skills?

One of the main benefits of a theme-based approach is that while you are working on the theme’s concepts, you can build background knowledge simultaneously.

While asking your student’s inferencing questions, you can also help build schema around the fall season. To find fall-themed photos, you can use Pixabay, Google Photos (don’t post this on the internet because you could be violating copyright), or any free, open-source photo site. But, if you want to save time, you can use the fall inferencing photos ready to go with questions and thought bubbles. 

Teach Comprehension With Short Stories

Often we have students on our caseloads with various language needs who struggle with comprehension because vocabulary and syntax are significant areas of need. On top of that, retaining all the components of a story can be difficult if the text is long.

So, I like having short stories to help break down the wh-questions, help build vocabulary, and work on retelling while also targeting syntax.

To help me follow a theme-based approach, I have made fall-themed short stories with fall concepts embedded in the story.

You can find my scaffolded fall short stories in my Themed Therapy SLP membership and the fall sequencing short stories. If you are still deciding whether to try out the membership, I also have a set of fall-scaffolded short stories in my TPT store.

Build Vocabulary with Fall Sensory Bins

Making a fall-themed sensory bin can be a great way to reinforce vocabulary while keeping your students engaged during the session.

A typical therapy plan for me is using a fall-themed book and pairing it with a sensory bin.

You can provide direct teaching with the book and allow the child to explore and use the fall sensory bin to target goals. If you need a fall-themed sensory bin companion, I have this set in my store!

Plus, I have sensory bin cheat sheets in the Themed Therapy SLP membership. For more fall-themed sensory bin ideas, check out this post.

What Fall Language Activities Do You Plan With Your Students?

Do you have any fall language activities that are a big hit with your students? How do you plan for your language goals using a fall theme? Share any books, websites, or resources you use for your speech therapy sessions in the comments. For more fall-themed therapy ideas, check out these blog posts.

 

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