Digital Thanksgiving Speech and Language Activities
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) might be scrambling to finish progress reports, complete evaluations, and hold IEP meetings before winter break. Not to mention maybe even planning the Thanksgiving menu or preparing to travel or host guests this holiday season. Either way, there is no time left to put together a lesson plan of any kind, let alone Thanksgiving-themed activities for speech therapy sessions.
But just like the food on the Thanksgiving dinner table, there are plenty of digital Turkey Day activities to go around. Take a look at this smorgasbord of in-person and platform-friendly materials that will make your November sessions as meaty as the turkey and as sweet as the pumpkin pie at a Thanksgiving feast!
THANKSGIVING SPEECH AND LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES
Look no further for tons of ways to create engaging communication opportunities while incorporating the Thanksgiving theme.
BOOM CARDS
Boom Cards are a powerful tool for themed speech therapy activities. Check out these activities that put a Thanksgiving twist on targeting speech and language skills.
Magic Flashlight
Students love the magic of using a digital flashlight to search sound-loaded Thanksgiving scenes. SLPs love the natural communication opportunities it creates! Articulation targets are built in, but this deck offers tons of flexibility for addressing language goals, too! Get it right here on Boom.
Following Directions
This Boom Card deck pretty much focuses on Thanksgiving foods (and who doesn't love that) while targeting goals such as concepts and following directions. This receptive language deck includes 10 cards for each concept type (quantity, sequence, negation, and spatial concepts) as students prepare the meal and fill their plates. Get it here on Boom!
Sequencing
This Thanksgiving sequencing Boom deck (get it here on Boom) is also full of language... and Thanksgiving foods! 😆 It incorporates tons of expressive language skills (such as noun and verb vocabulary) into one activity... perfect for groups!
Prepositions
For students working on spatial concepts, this prepositions deck targets (get it here on Boom) them receptively and expressively with Thanksgiving picture scenes. It also includes Thanksgiving food vocabulary cards, plus open-ended scenes to target so many other goals!
Articulation
This printable and digital articulation activity (get just the deck here on Boom) uses Thanksgiving words to target speech sounds. For each of the 16 specific sounds, there are 4 target words used throughout 5 different activities, including mazes, word searches, digital coloring, and more. The included printable version is a great way to encourage homework practice over Thanksgiving break.
PDF ACTIVITIES
A downloadable PDF also provides tons of versatility for working on multiple speech therapy goals using Thanksgiving vocabulary.
Mixed Group Activities
This resource has activities for comprehension, asking questions, description, figurative language, and more. Use it with your elementary students on a computer for teletherapy, or an iPad or interactive whiteboard for in-person therapy.
Picture Scene
The Thanksgiving busy scene inside this packet of other fall pictures is an easy way to work on following directions of all kinds (1-step, 2-step, and embedded concepts) using vocabulary and actions related to the holiday routine.
WEBSITE ACTIVITIES
I LOVE this Arthur Thanksgiving activity on PBS Kids. Actually, it's multiple activities in one! Students learn that everyone celebrates Thanksgiving differently, as they choose which Arthur character's home to visit (completing a unique activity in each house).
A digital coloring page is another fun Thanksgiving activity for students of various ages, and thecolor.com has several to choose from!
The sticker activity on the Toy Theater website is so versatile year-round, but there's a great kitchen background to use for Thanksgiving. Students can virtually cook their own meals using the food, kitchen, and people stickers on the site!
ACTIVITIES FOR OLDER STUDENTS
Middle and high school SLPs don't need to use childish Thanksgiving resources when there are several appropriate seasonal activities for their older students, too!
Origin of Thanksgiving Passage
In this Boom Card deck, students read a short passage about the origin of Thanksgiving, then complete multiple language activities. Using the passage as context, you can target goals such as comprehension, past-tense verbs, synonyms, and antonyms. Get it here on Boom.
Black Friday Passage
If your older students are into more current topics, who doesn't love learning about the craziness of Black Friday shopping? This resource (which includes 2 digital versions and a printable) has an informational passage and several language activities to go along with it.
Use this free video read-aloud of the passage to support students with reading or add extra visuals!
Conjunctions
Want to make grammar practice a little more exciting around Thanksgiving? This printable + digital resource (get just the digital version on Boom) uses sentences about fun seasonal topics like Thanksgiving food, family gatherings, and celebrations to work on coordinating conjunctions.
Free Thanksgiving Story
Bring out a fill-in-the-blank story about Thanksgiving dinner so students can create their own funny narrative. It's FREE and guaranteed to result in lots of laughs! Plus, you can use these sound-specific word lists to choose words for a particular target sound.
Websites for Older Students
This Thanksgiving-themed 'Would You Rather?' video is a great way to break the ice with older students (or even elementary-aged) or target lots of different speech, language, and conversation goals. The real photos and 30-second timer for each of the 10 questions engage students and keep the session moving.
There are several Simon's Cat Thanksgiving videos, including Things Simon is Thankful For and Fast Food. These are great for inferencing, narrating, and more!
This National Geographic Kids article discusses various Thanksgiving holiday traditions, including breaking the wishbone and watching the New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And just for fun– this personality quiz from Scout Life determines which Thanksgiving food you are based on answers to various random questions. Students will be curious to see if the quiz identifies their favorite Thanksgiving food, which is a super fun way to spark conversation and target social skills!
Need a bunch of Thanksgiving activities for your unique speech therapy caseload? This huge Thanksgiving bundle is the best value. You'll find something for each student, no matter their age or goal areas!
This Thanksgiving, you just might have more holiday activities than side dishes! These interactive resources are sure to make the last week or so of November fun and memorable in your (physical or virtual) speech therapy room. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your students!
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