Do you use wordless picture books for speech therapy? Wordless picture books are a powerful tool in developing literacy skills. I am a huge fan of using wordless picture books in order to develop speech and language. When there is no text to rely on, children truly have to use the pictures to interpret what is happening in the story. Reading a story without words promotes so many wonderful speech and language skills such as:
comprehension
vocabulary
listening skills
confidence
independence
verbal skills
cause and effect
emotions and story details in the illustrations
Favorite Wordless Picture Books
I have a HUGE list below for you of my all-time favorite wordless picture books for younger students. Let’s talk first about three of my favorites: Chalk, Wolf in the Snow and Flashlight.
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Chalk by: Bill Thomson
Chalk is the ultimate story of a wild imagination. Three children discover a magical bag of chalk on a rainy day and watch their illustrations come to life. This story is perfect for asking /wh/ questions and prediction. This wordless story can be used at anytime of the year or would pair great with a dinosaur theme. Do you need more ideas for how to use this story? Check out the Chalk Book Companion for tons of activities. This makes it easy to use this wordless picture book without having to create your own lesson plan. No prep besides cutting-simply print and teach!
A few activities included in the Chalk Book Companion Pack are:
Figurative Language Cards
Vocabulary Practice
Fluency
Articulation Word List
Coloring Pages
Craft activity
QR Codes
PLUS MANY MORE!
Wolf in the Snow by: Matthew Cordell
Another favorite all-time wordless picture book is Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell. A wolf cub and a girl are lost in a snow storm. The girl travels far to help the wolf cub and that kindness is repaid by the wolves. This story is perfect for working on:
-F and S blends
-verbs
-pronouns
-narratives
In addition, there is so much symbolism in this book. Luckily, this makes it easy to create activities to meet the needs of older students. I also like to use this complete Wolf in the Snow BOOK COMPANION with older students. It features a lot of higher level language activities and could easily by used with middle schoolers as well. The book companion is meant to give you an outline for instruction and structured practice. Clinicians should utilize their clinical skills to expand the lessons to meet each student’s specific goals. Finally, check out this blog post for more ideas to use with this story, including sensory bin ideas!
Flashlight by: Lizi Boyd
Another fabulous wordless picture book is Flashlight by Lizi Boyd. This book is perfect for upper elementary students such as 2nd-5th grades. This story is about a small child exploring the forest at night. Check out the entire Flashlight BOOK COMPANION for tons of ideas on how to use this book with students.
CHECK OUT ALL THE WORDLESS BOOK COMPANIONS AVAILABLE IN THE TpT STORE!
MORE Wordless Picture Books for Speech Therapy:
Below I have listed even MORE of my favorite wordless picture books for speech therapy. Check out the ULTIMATE LIST of wordless picture books for speech therapy:
The Snowman by: Raymond Briggs
Good Dog, Carl by: Alexandra Bay
Red Sled by: Lita Judge
Where’s Walrus by: Stephen Savage
Nope! by: Drew Sheneman
Skunk on a String by: Thao Lam
Pancakes for Breakfast by: Tomie dePaola
Journey by: Aaron Becker
I Got It! by: David Wiesner
Float by: Daniel Miyares
Wait by: Antoinette Portis
Uh-Oh! by: Shutta Crum
Tuesday by: David Wiesner
Where’s Walrus? And Penguin? by: Stephen Savage
Found by: Jeff Newman
A Ball for Daisy by: Chris Raschka
Inside Outside by: Lizi Boyd
Mr. Wuffles by: David Wiesner
Carl Goes Shopping by: Alexandra Day
Flotsam by: David Wiesner
Unspoken by: Henry Cole
The Lion and the Mouse by: Jerry Pinkney
Fossil by: Bill Thomson
Professional Crocodile by: Giovanna Zoboli
Mirror by: Jeannie Baker
Wave by: Suzy Lee
If you enjoy learning about picture books that you can use in speech therapy, follow my Instagram account @SpeechRoomLibrary. I post all my favorite books here and update it often!
Have you used any of the wordless picture books above during speech therapy sessions? Which are your favorites?
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