As an SLP, do you use vocabulary bingo in speech therapy? I love using vocabulary bingo in my speech therapy sessions because I can target a multitude of skills while playing bingo with my students (plus have LOADS of fun with them!)
Vocabulary Bingo is a must-have resource and one that I use often. You can print and play different vocabulary-themed BINGO games to go with a certain season, theme or topic that you are working on with your students. In these “Color & Play” sets, your students will gain exposure to vocabulary while you target many other learning objectives as well.
Each set includes NO-PREP color and play BINGO boards all about the given topic. You can print a different board for each student and have the student color the board while discussing the pictures with them. Discuss different terms related to the vocabulary words. Take this opportunity to gather intervention data on any skills (including articulation, verbs, pronouns, sentence completion, etc.) The only prep needed besides printing is to simply cut apart the calling cards and place in a bowl. Pull the cards one at a time and call out the card. Each student can use a penny, bingo chips, or marker to cover the called image on their board. The first student with 5 in a row wins and shouts BINGO! Your students will be begging you to play again and again.
Here are 7 DIFFERENT ways to use vocabulary bingo in speech therapy:
- To Focus on Vocabulary
You can check for recognition of the vocabulary word and explicit understanding by the child while playing vocabulary bingo. Making sure that students understand what different vocabulary words mean is ESSENTIAL to their speech and language skills. While giving them the bingo board, talk about each picture and what the vocabulary word means as you have the students color them.
- To Focus on Articulation
Articulation is an easy skill to work on while playing vocabulary bingo in speech therapy. Try creating a carrier phrase before they use each vocab word, such as “I spy an airplane…” for s-blends or “I found a piece of pie” to target /f/.
Here are a few more options:
/g/ Give me…
/k/ Look for…
/s/ & “ch” Search for…
L blends Please color…
“ar” My card says…
“or” Your card says..
- Answer/Ask WH questions
Asking and answering who, what, where, when and why questions during speech therapy is an extremely important skill to practice and one that many students need extra help with. You may even already have this little gem, Super Duper Publications Ask and Answer WH Bingo Board Game in your speech therapy office that you can pair in conjunction with vocabulary bingo. (Amazon affiliate link)
- Utilize fluency-enhancing strategies for stuttering
Did you know that the more students are exposed to and practice saying different vocabulary words, the easier these words will eventually become for them to say? This game is perfect for utilizing fluency-enhancing strategies for any speech students that stutter. SLP Stephen has a great list of those techniques listed on his website if you need a refresh!
- Compare/Contrast two items
Comparing and contrasting two items is another great way to use Vocabulary Bingo in speech therapy. I especially love this for the vocabulary bingo game about leaves. Most of the pictures are leaves but they are all different types of leaves. Students can color them differently as you discuss the pictures before playing bingo and discuss characteristics of each leaf that makes them similar or different from each other.
- Create a sentence & target any grammatical concepts
Playing vocabulary bingo is perfect for targeting any grammatical concepts, such as pronouns, verbs, helping verbs, adjectives, etc. Try having students develop a simple sentence to practice the vocabulary word. For example, if you are playing the Farm-themed Vocabulary bingo, the student could say “I see a pink pig” or “The green tractor drives in a field.”
- Social Skills
Any type of game is great to play during speech therapy to work on many different social skills. Playing Vocabulary Bingo helps students with turn -taking as well as practicing on-topic conversations. Many students will have IEP goals for these social skills. Playing in a small group of up to 4 children usually works best. Everytime you play vocabulary bingo, pick a certain social skill to focus on (if you work on too many things at once, it becomes overwhelming). Just having students keep track of whose turn it is and practicing going around in a circle can be something easy to focus on the first few times(I let students help me with the card calling sometimes since Bingo isn’t really a turn-taking game) and then you can gradually add in other social skills after students begin to master that. Common goals for this could be turn taking, responding to a peer, initiating, or remaining on topic.
You can try this Ocean Bingo set for FREE from the growing bundle vocabulary bingo set to try one of the 7 ways above to use vocabulary bingo in speech therapy! (Perfect for an Ocean-theme during back to school time!)
What activities do you do with students to practice vocabulary?
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