If you’re like me you’re probably thinking how in the world is it already time to go back to school? Whether you’re returning to school in person or continuing virtual learning there are plenty of activities to make your sessions fun and engaging.
One of my favorite books to ease my students into the school year is “There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books.” This series of books targets so many goals for children of all ages. Whether you want to work on articulation, sequencing, vocabulary, answering “wh” questions or describing, this book would be a perfect fit for your virtual or school classroom. I always print out and laminate pictures of the objects that the Old Lady swallowed. I then have the students feed a stuffed Old Lady doll. They always love doing this and it keeps them engaged the whole session.
Another back to school activity I love doing can be done with writing or speaking. I give my students a piece of paper with several question bubbles on it. If they are able to write, they can answer that way, but if not they can draw their answer. Although you may think you know your previous students well, a lot can change in one summer! I usually include questions asking their favorite food, summer memory, family members in their house, and something they want to know about me. My students always love sharing facts about themselves and it helps make them feel comfortable again in the speech room instead of jumping right into drills and data collection.
Lastly, a website/ resource I recently became hooked on is Boom Cards. During virtual learning I was able to share my screen with my students and complete so many activities on Boomlearning.com. I can’t forget to mention, lots of them are FREE! There is a category for special education and speech therapy. Once you select those you can search for activities based on whatever goal you are trying to target. I highly recommend this resource in and out of the classroom.
No matter what the future holds during these times there is one thing that will always be a constant, our never ending drive to love and provide the best education for our students. Good luck to everyone during this upcoming school year-we got this!
Author: Madison McMillan, M.S. CCC-SLP