Using Centers in Your Speech Sessions
Hey speech friend! šš¼
Raise your hand if..
- Your speech sessions are FULL with students in big groups
- Those students have mixed goalsĀ
- Your ātherapyā feels more like managing the behavior of a small group and you're losing precious speech minutes because of it
- You wish you knew how to fix it instead of threatening to take away games, implement behavior charts, or do centers that aren't relevant to each child's goalsĀ
It's ok to feel overwhelmed with this; I can't tell you how many times I hear this exact same issue coming up with my SLP friends.Ā
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So I brainstormed for you and mapped out what I would do if I were in this similar position. Here's what I would do! šš¼
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CENTERS
Now hear me out, I know we talked earlier about how these centers don't always help out our students.Ā But theĀ center ideas below are focused on saving you time, keeping kids engaged, AND working in their intended area!
- Book Reading Station: We all have clients who have goals centered around reading a text and answering questions pertaining to itā¦and those same kids are the ones who can only fit into articulation groups. And when you have a large group, it can be hard to adjust them all to reading a book in the session. Set this child up with an orally read book through Vooks or YouTube while you work with other students and when it's their turn, they will already be familiar with the text so you can work through it together. Repeated exposure to the same text is ESSENTIAL for comprehension!
- Sensory Station: Making easy sensory stations is great to regulate and calm students before they start or after they do drill with you. Fill dollar store plastic pencil holders with water beads, beans, cut up plastic straws, or make holiday themed bins with dollar store supplies.
- Pro Tip: Have the student cover up pictures with their sounds on them from my Drill Cards with items found in the bin for practice!Ā
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Dot and Smash Sheets: These are perfect for articulation practice. Pair them with dot markers or play dough, and the student can smash or dot while they say their targeted sounds. A great way to practice, get repetitions in, and fun too!
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Like I said, centers can be a GREAT strategy to use in your speech room as long as you use them intentionally. I hope you love these three centers ideas!Ā
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Happy speeching!
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šš¼Ā Save this image to Pinterest so you can refer back to it later! šš¼
