Speech Therapy Themes By Month
The ultimate idea list for themed therapy, plus a free speech therapy themes calendar!
For the longest time, I wasn’t one for themed therapy. I was impressed with SLPs who actually remembered and had time to organize and plan each month. BUT once I came up with a system, it is so easy, and now I love it! I can easily change my therapy plans, which keeps things new and exciting for both my students and me! First, I compiled a list of theme ideas by month. I don’t necessarily use all of these themes, but I’ve included at least 4 per month to provide different ideas and to give the option of scheduling one theme per week. (I typically use the same 2 themes all month long.)
Note: This list is based on American seasons, holidays, and when school typically begins. Be aware and considerate of the possibility that some families prefer you not incorporate certain holiday themes.
JANUARY
New Years Resolutions, Chinese New Year, Martin Luther King Jr, Space, Winter, 100th day of School
FEBRUARY
African-American History, Dental Health, Hearts, Valentine’s Day, Winter Clothing, Artic/Antarctic Animals
MARCH
St Patrick’s Day, Basketball, Weather, Spring
APRIL
Easter, Earth Day, Life Cycles, Recycling, Spring
MAY
Carnival, Zoo, Picnic, Park, Spring
JUNE
Ocean, Beach, Bugs, Transportation, Ice Cream, Summer
JULY
Camping, Forest Animals, Dinosaurs, Emotions, Summer
AUGUST
Back to School, Community Helpers, All About Me, Pets, Summer
SEPTEMBER
Pirates, Farm, Apples, Leaves, Football, Fall
OCTOBER
Fire Safety, Halloween, Bats, Pumpkins, Fall
NOVEMBER
Veterans, Sports, Thanksgiving, Turkeys, Fall
DECEMBER
Snow, Snowmen, Family, Music, Christmas, Winter
IDEA:
Have seasons or monthly tubs where you put the appropriate themed resources, books, and toys. Pull out that tub for the new season or month and you’re ready to go! If you have more resources, you may end up having a tub per holiday or specific theme (community helpers, farm, etc.)
HOW I DO IT:
I consider myself casual when it comes to themed therapy! I enjoy using my toy farm, as well as many other toys and resources I have all year. As stated above, I stick to 2-3 themes per month, usually the main seasons and holidays.
I primarily use these “language scenes” activities shown below for themed therapy. I have a binder for each season, so four binders total. They are easy to store and access! I use the printed versions or pull up the resource on my iPad to use it as a no print option. These are great for PreK and elementary students working on language and social language goals. The scenes keep the activity open-ended, but I use the additional activities to target specific goals, such as Wh questions, following directions, pronouns, expanding sentences, categories, and more. This system is how I stay organized and streamline themed therapy for minimal prep!
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Hopefully, this post gave you some new theme ideas or helped you envision how to incorporate themes into therapy. Do you do use speech therapy themes? How do you stay organized for themed therapy?
