I got a touchscreen whiteboard…now what?! A lot of educators have touchscreen whiteboards in their classrooms. However, these amazing tools are sometimes still foreign to related service providers. Interactive Classroom Technology comes and goes so no matter if you have a large TV, SMARTboard, touch screen computer or another system, these boards can be used a lot of different ways. I was lucky enough to get a SMARTboard during my last few years as a speech therapist in the classroom. Whichever you have access to, here are some ideas for using your Interactive WhiteBoard for speech and language therapy with students.
Boom Cards
Boom Cards might be my favorite way to use my Interactive WhiteBoard. Not sure what boom cards are yet? Check out my past post, Boom Card Basics to learn all about them. Basically, you can assign a skill to students in game form. You can assign boom cards to students individually or you can use the ‘fastplay’ option to play as a group on an Interactive Touch Screen WhiteBoard. You can work on many different speech and language skills through Boom Cards including articulation, vocabulary and blends. Check out this list of different boom card games.
Google Interactive
Next, use your Interactive WhiteBoard for any Google Interactive Slides that you have bought or created yourself. I used these all the time in my speech and language therapy groups. Students can take turns coming up to complete an answer during the speech lesson. I love using these Laura Numeroff Mouse Book Companions during group lessons using the SMARTboard.
Interactive Games
Kids love playing games and sometimes even interactive/digital games can be fun during speech therapy time. Use your Interactive WhiteBoard with small groups or individual students to play interactive games together. I loved using BAAMBOOZLE on the interactive board in my room.
Speech Sprouts also came up with a list of 27 FREE Online Games for Speech Therapy!
Interactive PDF Websites
Next, you can use your board with PDFs easily. Simply pull up a static PDF (such as a worksheet or activity that you want to complete together) and you could use the interactive pens to complete the worksheet with students together on the board. For example, I might complete this interactive grammar book for irregular past tense verbs together as a group. Students would have their own copy in front of them and I would pull up the static PDF on the Interactive Touch Screen WhiteBoard.
Read Books on Epic
Have you tried using the website Epic yet? If not, you are honestly missing out. It is free for educators and lots of fun for kids. (Even the basic version for non-educators is free!)
Epic is a website that houses thousands of digital books. Some are the beloved stories we all know and love such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear,” while some stories are completely original content. There are different options depending on a student’s level such as:
- Read-To-Me books
- Audiobooks
- Graphic novels
Plus, most stories have quizzes that follow as well! Using Epic during speech and language time is a great opportunity to use a themed story or work on comprehension skills! Simply read it together on the SMARTboard and then answer questions or do the digital activities together following the story. You can also check and see what book companions are available in my store to go with some of the stories on Epic!
Watch Youtube to Help with Articulation
Using your Interactive WhiteBoard for watching videos is definitely helpful in the speech and language world. Try searching Peachie Speechie videos on Youtube for help with showing kids tongue placement for articulation.
Use these articulation posters around your room for visuals as well!
Whole Group Phonology Lessons
Finally, try using your Touchscreen WhiteBoard for whole group phonology lessons. This works really well for grades PreK-2nd. I loved to incorporate these phonology lessons into circle time when I pushed into the preschool classroom. Here are some whole group phonology lessons that I used below. You could also purchase them as a bundle to save money instead of buying each set separately.
What kinds of ways do you use your Interactive Whiteboard?
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