The total solar eclipse (on April 8, 2024) is getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so since the U.S. won't witness another one until 2044. Celebrate the special occasion in speech therapy with solar eclipse activities that will wow your students!
Using themes in speech therapy is my jam, and this rare astronomical event is just what you need to build excitement with your students. Plus, these digital resources will help you teach (or reinforce) their understanding of the current event.
Solar Eclipse Boom Cards for Speech Therapy
Since the last total solar eclipse in the U.S. was many years ago, don't be surprised if your students don't have much background knowledge on the topic. Instead, spend some time pre-teaching solar eclipse vocabulary and concepts. Get some help from this Boom Cards deck that starts with an introductory reading passage about solar eclipses.
The deck also includes several speech therapy activities for goals such as answering comprehension questions, making inferences, identifying word meaning, and using past tense verbs.
Since no SLP has the time to find a solar eclipse-themed activity for articulation students either, the all-in-one Boom Cards deck covers that too! Students can even digitally make their own solar eclipse for each of the 10 words for their target sound.
Solar Eclipse Books for Speech Therapy
Search the following book titles/authors wherever you access hard copy or digital versions of books (your local library, YouTube, websites, online stores, etc.).
Solar Eclipse Books for Younger Kids
A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse by Kate Allen Fox
Total Solar Eclipse: A Stellar Friendship Story by Jayme Sandberg
Sun & Moon: A Giant Love Story by Lisa Desimini
ABC's of Solar Eclipse by Daniel Hallback
Solar Eclipse Books for Older Kids
What Is a Solar Eclipse? (part of the Who HQ Now series) by Dana Meachen
Totality!: An Eclipse Guide in Rhyme and Science by Jeffrey Bennett (better for older kids)
Solar Eclipse Videos for Speech Therapy
These videos can really supplement your activities, especially since a solar eclipse is a hard concept to teach with words alone!
This 5-minute National Geographic video demonstrates a solar eclipse.
This video from PBS is just over a minute and provides a simple animation of a total solar eclipse.
For another option, check out this downloadable NASA video about solar eclipses that's about 2 minutes long.
For a more specific– but very fascinating– take on the topic of eclipses, this video shares about NASA's "Eclipse Soundscapes Project", which aims to better understand the effect eclipses have on wildlife.
Solar Eclipse Website Activities for Speech Therapy
As you'd probably expect, the NASA website is a wealth of information on the topic of eclipses. Read eclipse viewing guidelines, find out the difference between the 4 types of solar eclipses, and learn how humans have interpreted eclipses throughout history.
The Eclipse2024.org website hosts an eclipse simulator where you can see what the eclipse will look like from places both in and outside the path of totality. Earth Space Lab also has an eclipse simulator that's fun to play around with!
This solar eclipse memory game from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research is a fun way to introduce or reinforce vocabulary. I especially love that you can choose from two difficulty levels.
Your students can color a picture of a solar eclipse (either digitally or printed) on thecolor.com. Use the picture to label vocabulary and elicit language about each word.
Scope out Baamboozle games that others have made on the theme of solar eclipses (or make your own). You can also check out this JeopardyLabs game about solar eclipses.
Other Solar Eclipse Speech Therapy Activities
The Totality app from Big Kid Science is a cool option for diving into what can be seen of the solar eclipse from various locations. Find more eclipse apps for iOS and Android.
These solar eclipse jokes from Scout Life are a great way to work on multiple-meaning words and carryover of articulation and fluency goals.
A Britannica article describes how people from 6 different cultures have explained eclipses. I think older students would find this pretty interesting to discuss!
Want to enjoy the solar eclipse theme without the prep? Get multiple activities to use with your upper elementary and middle school speech therapy students in one digital resource on TpT (or here on Boom Learning)!
The next total solar eclipse is more than just a rare astronomical event, it's your next jaw-dropping theme to use in speech therapy! Get more ideas on how to incorporate the topic of solar eclipses into the curriculum and use the theme with Spanish-speaking students, too!
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