Holiday Activities for Speech Therapy
The holiday season can be BUSY. Between parties and shopping and travel and [sigh] work, it can be hard to check everything off your growing to-do list! For me, I know that this time of year always feels this way, regardless of whether my shopping is complete or not. I also know I have little bandwidth for creative session planning or doing a lot of prep as the season approaches. That being said, it’s nice to have engaging seasonal materials in my back pocket, should I find myself distracted with other holiday-related tasks…
My clients love completing holiday-themed activities and I don’t want to disappoint - so I organized some of my seasonal favorites. I know I will frequently turn to this in the weeks leading up to winter break!
1. Holiday Virtual Tours for Speech Therapy
I love virtual tours because they always seem to elicit great questions from my students. We may start by watching a virtual tour, then open a map to see where the video was recorded, and then go down another rabbit hole of looking up something else. I find myself with one too many tabs open searching Google for all the questions. These virtual tours cover various Christmas markets in Europe - and make me want to go there!
Video Links:
Bonus: follow these up with holiday articles or passages (mentioned below)!
Use these to target:
- New vocabulary
- Expanding utterances
- Making inferences
- Asking and answering wh- questions
- Speech/fluency strategies
- Speech sound generalization
2. Holiday Informational Videos for Speech Therapy
Learn about the history of some of the common December holidays. Follow-up or carryover activities like following directions or drawing a picture about the video are great, too!
Video Links:
Use these to target:
- New vocabulary
- Expanding utterances
- Asking and answering wh- questions
- Speech/fluency strategies
- Speech sound generalization
3. Holiday Stories for Speech Therapy
I love a good children’s book - and my clients do too! Many of these stories can be found on YouTube if you cannot obtain a hard copy yourself.
Children’s Books
- My First Kwanzaa and on YouTube
- L’il Rabbit’s Kwanzaa and on YouTube
- Turkey Claus and on YouTube
- How to Catch a Reindeer and on YouTube
- The Shortest Day and on YouTube
- Hanukkah Bear and on YouTube
- The Night Before Hanukkah and on YouTube
- Simonie and the Dance Contest (also on Epic books)
- Too Many Tamales and on YouTube
Passages and Articles
- Readworks: There are also a number of great fiction and nonfiction holiday-related passages on Readworks. It is free to make an account if you haven’t used it before! *Click "Find Content" then type "Christmas" or "Holidays" to find these passages! Use the filters on the left-hand side to narrow in a specific grade or type of passage.
- Dogo News: There are also a number of articles on Dogo news about different holiday celebrations. It is free to access as well. *Click "Search" then type in your desired search terms to find articles.
Use these to target:
- Making inferences
- Categories
- Object functions
- Expanding utterances
- Asking and answering wh- questions
- Identifying problems and solutions
- Exploring emotions/perspectives
4. Holiday Songs for Speech Therapy
I have been using more and more holiday songs and they have been a hit! Sometimes, I use them as a mini “brain break” between tasks but I also use the videos for targeting goals as well.
Song Titles and Links
- Christmas Songs | Nursery Rhymes Videos and Cartoons by Little Treehouse
- Hanukkah Songs by The Kiboomers
- QuaverMusic Song of the Month: Kwanzaa Celebration
Use these to target:
- Making requests
- Commenting
- Expanding utterances
- Making inferences
- Asking and answering wh- questions
5. Holiday Resources for Speech Therapy
Make a holiday card for a family member/teacher:
- Request different art supplies, work on greetings, formulating messages, and more
- Find markers, colored paper, fun stickers, and stencils!
Holiday following directions:
- Use the file below and complete a following direction activity by coloring in the images & adding to them (e.g. draw a candy cane on the table)
Christmas Mad Libs Activity (free!)
Christmas and Hanukkah Scavenger Hunts (free!)
Holiday Gift Guide that Promotes Speech and Language
We hope these activities are fun, engaging, and help you enjoy the holidays!
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