Let's face it. Engaging our older speech therapy students is far from a walk in the park. On a similarly sarcastic note, SLPs don't exactly have loads of extra time to constantly hunt down novel activities as a last-ditch attempt to engage them.
If the same ol', same ol' speech therapy activities just aren't cutting it anymore, you need something quick and effective to prevent any more eye rolls from your students.
Speech Therapy Activities for Older Students
This list of unique speech therapy activities is worth browsing if you're spending countless hours in search of engaging middle and high school activities. There are probably at least a couple that your students have never done, and it just may bring back that therapy spark you've been searching for!
Poll Questions
Ask a poll question to get kids talking about high-interest topics! These 100+ questions are perfect for targeting nearly any goal at any time. These poll questions are especially useful for those exceptionally hard-to-plan-for mixed groups when you've used everything else in your bag of tricks!
Articulation Peg Game
This Articulation Peg Boom Card deck is loaded with articulation practice opportunities. Since the activity has components that engage older students (such as strategy and a game-like format) it's a hit for older students.
Articulation Ships
This Articulation Ships Game (in Google Slides) gets students thinking... while you scribble down the progress report data that you so desperately need! Your students already likely know the popular game, but now you've got articulation targets built in to make it more speech therapy-friendly!
Targeting students' articulation goals within a new context is a great way to change up the usual rourtine! These word puzzle brain teasers give students something to figure out while practicing their speech. The activities include both printable and Boom Cards versions to suit any setting.
Clearly I love utilizing logic in speech therapy activities to hook older students! These brain teasers (by Kiwi Speech) are loaded with speech targets to give students tons of opportunities to practice their sounds during a motivating activity.
Use this Google Slides™ Web Quest activity to target goals functionally! Students can complete pages about national parks in this digital guidebook using links to interesting websites and webcams. A great way to gear up for summer travel, too!
Mapping Out Language
These PDFs (by The Speech Serenade) are another way to explore the U.S. while targeting higher-level language goals such as inferences, time management, and reasoning. Perfect for executive functioning and other functional goals.
Virtual Field Trip for Language and Vocabulary
Using this resource by Creative Speech Lab, take a trip through The White House with this highly interactive activity. The videos, virtual walks, photos, and diagrams are sure to interest your students while you target language and vocabulary.
Target character traits with a fun video game feel, which obviously makes it appealing to the older crowd! This resource by My Teletherapy Room allows you to travel to each planet to complete missions that focus on character education, social language, problem-solving, vocabulary, description, and more!
After working with an older student caseload for months (and months), SLPs might run out of activity ideas. If students are getting a little antsy with the same activities, it may be time for something new! With just a couple of clicks, any one of the above activities will help you take the stress-free (and prep-free) route to more engaging sessions!
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