Are you looking for some back to school theme therapy ideas for speech therapy? Do you use themes in speech therapy when you are planning? I love to use themes when planning for speech therapy sessions for many reasons:
- It saves time when you are planning.
- You can easily tie different themes to the curriculum.
- You can make it relevant to the student.
- You can use student interests to drive the chosen themes.
I have worked hard to compile a HUGE list of back to school theme therapy ideas for speech therapy to share with you. There are ideas for getting to know you activities, toys and games to use for pretend play, favorite songs for back to school, vocabulary ideas, progress monitoring ideas, low-prep crafts, boom cards, book companions, a freebie and MORE! All of the prep work is done for you so that you can simply download this Back to School Theme Therapy Resource and have a much easier start to the school year! (You all deserve that after last year!)
HOW TO ORGANIZE THEMES
When organizing themes for back to school, it’s best to think about what you need students to learn right away and what you need to learn about them. Start with your first session essentials and then make lists of different theme ideas you could use for back to school time:
- School Bus Theme (great to throw in some pretend play and songs plus this simple BACK-TO-SCHOOL BUS FLIPBOOK FREEBIE!
- All About Me Theme
- If You Take a Mouse to School (try this companion book with it!)
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Book (Lots of great activities to use here-over 30 different printables to use with this story! Plus check out these Old Lady Boom Cards that are part of the SCHOOL DAY BUNDLE BOOM CARDS.
FIRST SESSION ESSENTIALS
Think about some “first speech session essential activities” to get you started during the first week or two of school such as:
-Digital or printable
-Can use with students in preschool all the way to high school
-NO PREP!
-Perfect for a new case manager trying to get to know their students.
Learn about the parts of the body that are critical for communication. A print or Google Slides version of this resource includes a mini book, build with speech helpers, and two posters. This mini book and poster set is the perfect way to start speech therapy at the beginning of the year or with a new client.
This booklet explains the different speech helpers in our body. They include the brain, lungs, diaphragm, voice box/larynx, tongue, mouth, lips, ears. The text is explained in kid-friendly terminology. To make it work with each student, you can have further conversations about form and function or even simplify it. There are posters along with the booklet to put up in your room for students to look at.
This is no-prep progress monitoring! This activity is great for getting data during PLAY! It’s developed for preschool to second graders. Print out the play dough mats (6 different mats included). Place them in a sheet protector and give each student some play dough. Use the tracing outlines to create each image. All the shapes are made from long skinny rolls, meaning even kids with fine motor difficulties can have success tracing these dough shapes!
Facilitate the language and articulation therapy through play. Utilize the five different data probing sheets to target the following skills:
-Articulation (F/V, K/G, L, TH, R, S/Z, S blends, R blends, L blends)
-Vocabulary: Labeling, Concepts, Categories, Functions
-Phonological Awareness: Rhyming, Syllables, Blending, Initial Sounds
-Questions & Directions: Yes/No, Who, What, When, Where, Why, 1-step, Before/After, If/Then
-Grammar and Auditory Comprehension: Grammar Observations,
Functions of Language, Listening Comprehension Story and
Comprehension Questions.
BE PREPPED AND READY FOR BACK-TO-SCHOOL
Once you have “broken the ice” with your students and know some more about them using some “First session essentials,” then you can start digging into the other themes and activities. Boom Cards are always a hit with any students but especially those students that love technology. When I work on the school bus theme, I make sure to let students play the Feed the School Bus Articulation Boom Cards and work in some imaginative play with the Fisher Price Bus.
Did you know you can be prepped and ready to go for the first couple months of school with these Speech and Language Resources for The Back To School Season? Have your themes ready, materials printed and prepped, books ready to read and Boom Cards ready to play. You will be able to handle anything thrown your way this school year because you won’t be stressing over what to plan for your speech sessions!
Grab these Back to School Theme Therapy Speech and Language Resources NOW!
I want to know-What is your favorite back to school theme activity? Do you use themes in your speech therapy sessions?
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