So you’ve heard that literacy based therapy is the way to go? You’ve heard that it is one of the most evidence based ways to target a variety of language goals. You know it is what is best for your kiddos. But how the heck are you supposed to read a book when you can’t even keep your wiggly kindergarten bodies to stay at the table? I got you girl, check out my tried and true 5 steps to literacy based speech therapy sessions. In this post I am going to break down the 5 step to a successful… you read that right, SUCCESSFUL literacy based therapy session with your itty bitties.
1 Preteach Vocabulary
The first step to a literacy based speech therapy session is to preach that vocabulary. Give your students with language disorders a head start because they need it.
Here are some ways you can do that
- Do a book walk. Flip through the pages of the book and point out some of the salient vocabulary. If your kiddos don’t know what it is figure it out. Google it. Find an example in your room. Act it out. MAKE IT STICK
- Watch a YouTube video related to the theme or content. There are so many YouTube videos and songs that can walk you through museums, take you on virtual field trips, or put it to song. Just type your theme in the search bar and away you go!
- Use an interactive book or worksheet. If you have materials you plan to use AFTER you read, pull them out early for some direct teaching of story vocabulary. Or, if you own one of my book buddies, there is an interactive book included in each one SPECIFICALLY for this purpose. You can check out my book buddies HERE
2 Keep little hands busy during the story
If one of your big issues is kids attending to a story, keep there little hands (and minds) busy during the story. This could be as simple as giving them a fidget or a piece of play doh, having them help you turn the page, or acting out the story as you go
There are tons of TPT sellers who also sell interactive pieces to velcro into books. Some of my favorites are Made for Me Literacy and Mrs. D’s Corner
One of my favorite ways to keep little hands busy is with a story map. These are included in all of my BOOK BUDDIES in color and black and white. I have my kiddos color the pictures as we find them in the story.
BONUS: The story map highlights the important part of the story, serves as a visual to help them retell, AND can be sent home to show parents what we did in speech. WINNING!
3 Assess Comprehension (WITH VISUALS)
After you read the story, assess those kiddos comprehension girl, and USE VISUAL CHOICES. When I discovered visual choices it was a GAME CHANGER for me. My BOOK BUDDIES include task cards with two choices, worksheets with 3, and smash mats with tons! But there are tons of places to find free or cheap comprehension activities.
4 Extend Skills
Your kiddos likely have goals that are not WH questions and vocabulary, now is the time to target them IN THE CONTEXT OF THE STORY. You can describe pictures from the book, identify categories, find pictures that represent spatial concepts, etc.
If your kiddos need some more concrete practice, I have some activities in my BOOK BUDDIES to target following directions with spatial concepts and comparing and contrasting.
5 Create your own story
The last step is to create your own story.
- If you have toys to represent the story, pull them out!
- Have your students sit in the “teacher chair” and tell the story
- Use the story manipulative in my BOOK BUDDIES and act out the story
- Create your own version of the story, put yourselves in it!
Check out some valuable FREEBIES to enhance your literacy based session by signing up for my email list.
I hope you find these 5 steps to a literacy based speech therapy session helpful! Feel free to shoot me an email or find me on instagram if you have any questions!
