There are a number of ways to incorporate holidays and seasonal themes into speech therapy sessions. In this blog post, we will cover activities related to Memorial Day. These activities are great for targeting a number of skills, including:

  • Listening comprehension
  • Vocabulary (multiple meaning words, context clues)
  • WH- questions
  • Narrative and retell skills
  • Articulation (specifically high frequency words)
  • Stuttering and cluttering strategies
  • Perspective taking
  • Vocal hygiene

Below, find ways to target those skills (plus more!) in your speech therapy sessions. 

5 Speech Therapy Activities for Memorial Day

1. Watch Educational Videos

Learn about Memorial Day through YouTube videos! As you watch these videos, pause and discuss what is being spoken about. At the end, you may also ask comprehension questions about the videos (e.g., “Why was Memorial Day initially called Decoration Day?”). 

2. Read Memorial Day Books

It’s no secret that we love using books in our speech therapy sessions! They’re great for targeting many different goals, and questions about the books can be tailored to be more simple or more complex, depending on your clients’ abilities and goals. 

Find a few Memorial Day books below. And, if you are unable to get your hands on a hard copy, read-aloud versions are often available on YouTube. 

Looking for more seasonal books? Find other spring-themed books here! 

3. Read and Discuss Passages

Reading passages with accompanying comprehension questions are excellent for targeting receptive and expressive language goals while also learning about meaningful holidays. Inside our Premium Community, we have leveled fiction stories that discuss Memorial Day along with vocabulary and WH- questions about the stories. In addition to these stories, we have hundreds more resources that are perfect for your entire caseload. 

Memorial Day stories - plus hundreds more resources - are available in our Premium Community! Learn more here.

You can also find free articles on Readworks. Many passages also come with comprehension questions for further reinforcement of vocabulary and general understanding. 

4. Write a Letter or Draw a Picture for a Local Veterans’ Organization

Target functional communication and expressive language by sharing well wishes for Memorial Day. Clients can write short letters or draw pictures for veterans. Find organizations to share these creations with by searching “local veterans organizations + your city or area.” (Determining where to send creations or what to draw are also great opportunities for targeting problem solving and perspective taking, too.) 

5. Create a Memorial Day Brochure

After learning about Memorial Day through stories, passages, or articles, encourage clients to share what they learned by creating a brochure. Working together with one or two other clients is a great way for individuals to also work on problem solving, perspective taking, and self-advocacy skills. You can also target retelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills in this way. After the brochure is complete, clients can “present” it to you or to others, which is a great way to promote generalization of speech sounds or speaking strategies as well. 

Additional Speech Therapy Resources 

Looking for additional resources?

  1. Our Premium Community provides new resources regularly (over $1000 worth of materials) PLUS you can make requests for materials, ask questions, review recent research summaries, and more. For one low price, access everything instantly.
  2. Find spring-themed stories with accompanying WH- questions, along with other spring-themed speech therapy activities, in our spring blog post.
  3. Eliminate the stress of goal-writing when you utilize our goal creation resources (nearly every topic area covered!).

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