"Supermarket Speech"

One of the lessons being taught in preschool right now is "Supermarket." Any time there is a new lesson or theme in preschool [or actually for any grade], I immediately think "What will my targets be? How can I increase speech-language skills with this theme? What are functional, age-appropriate vocabulary terms related to this theme?" So...with that being said, this is one activity I did to increase use of language, vocabulary and sorting skills. I utilized sentence strips to promote language ("I put ___ in the cart," "I see ____," "I like/don't like _____," etc.) and cut out food items from newspaper ads for the students to sort. This was a great way to categorize food into different categories as well as identify vocabulary. Some categories we sorted by were: Foods we liked/Foods we didn't like, Fruit/Vegetables, Sweet Foods/Salty Foods, Dinner Food/Desserts, etc. Also, it allowed opportunities to make connections between what they see/eat/like[don't like] to get from the store. Again, another easy, fun activity that kept the kiddos engaged.

"Apples & Pumpkins"

Since we are finally in the wonderful season of fall, I recently did a lesson on "Apples" and "Pumpkins." I chose the following books to read, sequence, retell and compare/contrast to help my speech students with their language skills. The books I read were the "The Apple Pie Tree" And "It's Pumpkin Time" Some of the targets/activities I did with these books were: Story retell, asking/answering questions about the books, compare/contrast the books (e.g., one thing my kiddos noticed was that they had the same author), sequencing (e.g., how to make an apple pie, how to grow an apple tree, how to grow a pumpkin), compare an apple/pumpkin.

Then we created "Apples" and "Pumpkins" with construction paper. We labeled the parts of the apple/pumpkin (i.e., apple, stem, leaf) and cut out words to describe our apple and/or pumpkin. We used adjectives to describe what apples/pumpkins look like, feel like, smell like, etc. We also talked about what you can do with apples/pumpkins (e.g., make pie, make applesauce, make a jack-a-lantern). It was great way to target language goals in a functional, fun, fall way! -Ksu.speechie

"Halloween Treat Bag"

I know I know, Halloween has come and past, but I thought I would post a little activity I did with some speech kiddos on Halloween. I purchased a cheap plastic Halloween treat bag (cost a buck) and filled it with various items that contained target speech sounds (/k/, /g/, /s/, /s/-blends, /r/). All of the items were objects I found around the speech room, home or items I found for a buck at Target. Some of them included: miniature box of cereal, candy corn, spider, marker, mask, acorns, leaf, etc.I utilized a sentence strip (i.e., I found ____ in the treat bag) to help students expand their language and allow for opportunities to describe objects by feature/function/category (e.g., What do you do with cereal? or What does a spider look like?), use target sounds and turn-taking skills. The activity was a hit and of course the kids loved it. They were engaged and eager to have their turn to find out what they'd find in the treat bag. Targets: Identify objects to increase use/knowledge of vocabulary, produce target speech sounds in words/sentences/conversation, Answer questions to identify objects by function/feature/category, turn-taking skills.