Have you ever tried using wordless videos to target language skills during speech therapy sessions? There are so many reasons why using wordless videos is great for targeting language skills. Plus, using videos during speech therapy sessions can be very engaging for students.
You can easily target the following skills that students might have language goals for by using wordless videos:
- Building schema
- Making predictions/inferencing
Pause the video and ask students what might happen next or at the end of the video.
- Retelling/Sequencing
After watching the video, have the child tell you what happened in the video. Try using visual cues such as: first, next, last or have the child draw pictures.
- Describing
Have students describe what the characters are doing and tell you characteristics about what they see-characteristics of their clothes, location, etc.
- WH Questions
Working on receptive language skills with students is a huge goal as an SLP. Using wordless videos and asking the student who, what, where, when and why questions will help you to know how well they comprehended what was happening in the video. Try using this Super Duper Publications Ask and Answer WH Bingo Board Game or Vocabulary Bingo to get more practice on WH questions after watching the wordless video.
- Prediction or narrating
Pause the video to work on prediction and even narration. When the video gets to an exciting part, pause it to ask the student what they think will happen. Ask them to talk about what is happening in the video to have them help “narrate” the wordless video and use their language skills even more.
- Identifying emotions/ Reading body language
Using wordless videos is really great for helping students to identify the emotions of the characters. When the characters are not saying, “I’m mad or sad,” then the student has to rely on looking at their body cues and tune in to those social cues to understand what emotion they are feeling. This is a very important skill for children to make sense of.
- Cause/effect
Use the video to help students understand and organize cause and effect relationships. Ask questions such as, What would happen next if…? Why did that happen?
20 Wordless Videos to Use
There are so many other skills that you can work on such as many social skills, problem solving, empathy and even figurative language. If you want to try using wordless videos to target language skills during speech therapy sessions, here are 20 wordless videos you can use:
Simon’s Cat is an animated web cartoon and book series featuring a hungry cat who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get his owner to feed him. There are many different episodes of this show to choose from and you can watch it on Amazon Prime or search for it on YouTube.
This is a short film from Pixar (about 5 minutes) that would be great for upper elementary students or even middle schoolers. An elderly woman works hard to get her cookies out of the vending machine, only to have a teenager eat most of them at the train station…or so she thinks.
This is a short 4 minute film about a dog and his heroics.
This short film is only about 3 minutes about a young girl who must help a tiny boy pilot fly home before it’s too late.
Umbrella is an award-winning short film inspired by true events. The film follows the story of Joseph, a boy who lives in an orphanage and dreams of having a yellow umbrella, until he unexpectedly meets a little girl, who awakens his memories of the past. It is a great wordless video to help teach about empathy.
When the old fisherman tries to convince his donkey to climb the steep winding road of their Greek island, he finds Mariza to be very stubborn. But the old man knows that no one can resist Zorba’s dance.
This is set in Australia and is about a little girl who begins at a new school. She is terrified on her first day at her new school and wears a bunny mask. She ends up making a friend when the mask reveals what was behind it.
Ormie is a pig, in every sense of the word. He sees cookies. He wants the cookies. But they are out of reach…or are they?
This is a short by Disney Pixar films. Piper tells the story of a hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is, the food is buried beneath the sand where scary waves roll up onto the shore.
Shaun the sheep is a series so there are many different episodes to choose from(4 seasons to be exact.) Each episode is usually about 7 minutes long. Join Shaun The Sheep and his barnyard buddies, Bitzer, Shirley, Timmy, for mayhem in the meadow, chaos in the countryside, and pandemonium in the pasture. This series is from the Oscar-award winning creators of “Wallace and Gromit.”
Carrot Crazy is another short film by Disney Pixar. This wordless video is perfect for teaching emotions and social thinking-especially with the surprise ending!
Trouble in Paradise is an animated comedy following the daily adventures of Crabby, a small orange crab who lives on a tiny tropical island.
Set to the rousing music of Ben Charest (Triplets of Belleville), this animated short about a train takes you on a journey that is both funny and disastrous.
A solitary fox finds itself improvising fatherhood for a freshly hatched baby bird. Two paths cross and a family is formed, until fate reminds each of the life it is meant to lead.
Gus, a lonely and insecure gray cloud, sculpts dangerous babies to be delivered by Peck, his stork partner. As Gus’ creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck has to figure out a way to handle his cargo and his friend’s bad temperament. This is another Pixar short film.
The title pretty much sums up this short film-winter is coming to an end and signs of spring are appearing.
This wordless video is only about 2 minutes long. Watch a hunter and a deer battle each other in this silly short! film.
Yet another short film by Pixar. One by one, a flock of small birds perches on a telephone wire. Sitting close together has problems enough, and then comes along a large dopey bird who tries to join them. The birds of a feather can’t help but make fun of him — and the clique mentality proves embarrassing in the end.
“Coin Operated” is an award-winning 5 minute animated short film that spans 70 years in the life of one naive explorer.
Dust Buddies is an adorable short film about the solid friendship between two dust bunnies as they try to escape the clutches of a ruthless cleaning maid.
Have you tried using wordless videos to target language skills before? Which videos are your favorites?
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