Themed therapy enthusiasts and pet lovers will agree– using our furry friends as a topic in speech therapy sessions is a great idea! The pet theme is guaranteed to be a favorite in your speech therapy room (or teletherapy platform) for younger and older students alike.
Why Use a Pet Theme in Speech Therapy
One thing is for sure– you won't have to work to engage students in activities about pets 😉 But beyond the fact that kids (and adults) are fond of pets, it's a very functional theme!
Most students have pets or neighbors, friends, or family with pets, so the theme is very relatable. Students are interested in pets and animals so it's natural for them to talk about them... they probably already are!
Plus, SLPs can do a lot to tailor the pet theme to each student's particular interests and experiences with having and caring for pets.
Pet Activities for Speech Therapy
There are so many ways to incorporate a pet theme in speech therapy. These activities require no prep but are sure to yield lots of excitement from students.
A Pet Show-and-Tell
Ask each student to bring a photo or short video of their pet (or a pet they know) to the session. Students take turns sharing about their pets, while you incorporate various goals by having students...
Describe their pet and/or answer questions about it.
Compare and contrast the pets in the group.
Tell a narrative or story about their pet.
Describe a problem caused by their pet and how they solved it.
A Pet-Themed PDF Download
This pet-themed PDF has multiple speech and language activities for elementary students. It can be downloaded on any device (tablet, computer, interactive whiteboard), and used to target everything from basic concepts and pet supply vocabulary to negation and making inferences.
Pet Website Activities
PBS Kids has a couple of pet games for children, including Rosie's Rules (where students help Rosie use a variety of supplies to care for pets) and Puppy Pet Care (where students interact with Elmo's pet puppy).
ABCYa has a game called Panic in Pet Paradise where players arrange pets in a pet hotel. There are 4 different levels so you can adapt it to a variety of students!
Highlights Kids has a few pet-themed pictures with hidden items, including Runaway Rabbit, Walking the Dogs, and Feeding Time. They also have this 7-question quiz called, "What is Your Dream Pet?" that is fun for students.
Find a picture of just about any pet under the sun for students to color (digitally or on paper) on thecolor.com.
Pet-Themed Game
If a game is right up your students' alley, this pet-themed guessing game promotes tons of language skills as players ask wh- or yes/no questions. There's a digital version (Google Slides) included, so you can use this in whatever setting.
Pet-Themed Boom Cards
This Boom Card deck uses the pet theme to target a variety of auditory and receptive language skills (get it here on Boom). There are even 3 open-ended cards that can be used to elicit language goals while creating a pet scene.
Pet Activities for Older Students
Chances are, none of the above will work for your older students. But that's ok– check out these more mature pet-themed activities to use with them in speech therapy.
A Fill-in-the-Blank Passage
A fill-in-the-blank story about a lesser-known pet (the rabbit) can be a fun way to get some laughs while learning something new. If you have older articulation students, consider using these sound-loaded word lists to help them choose their own target words.
A Pet Quiz and Articles
This "Which pet are you most like?" quiz from National Geographic Kids is also bound to elicit some laughs (and spark tons of conversation) from your students. I also highly recommend checking out their assortment of articles and photo galleries about funny pet topics.
Funny Pet Videos
Funny pet videos are always a hit and can incorporate lots of goals, such as telling narratives, using verb tenses, predicting, and inferring. Just search YouTube (and make sure to preview them first).
Pet Store Websites
You could also use a pet shop website for speech therapy with older students. For example, you could help them determine the supplies needed for a particular pet, identify item prices, and compare features. You might even do some role plays of customers and clerks at a pet store. There are so many options!
Want to take the pet theme even further? A dog theme is always a hit in speech therapy, so get ideas for this well-loved theme!
And there you have it– tons of ideas to get tails wagging and communication flowing! Your students will be all about these pet-themed activities, and you'll love how many ways you can incorporate their speech therapy goals at the same time.
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