The Christmas season is here, which probably means many of your speech therapy students are abuzz with excitement. This enthusiasm provides a wonderful opportunity to bring some festivity into your speech therapy sessions with these fun (and FREE) Christmas-themed activities.
1. Christmas Fill-in-the-Blanks Story
This Christmas-themed fill-in-the-blanks story is instant laughter. Students identify nouns, verbs, etc. that complete the narrative about Christmas gifts. Actually, the story isn't specific to Christmas gifts, so you can use it to discuss gift-giving for any holiday.
The activity is perfect for targeting language goals, and you can easily hone in on specific articulation targets with sound-loaded word lists.
2. Christmas Brain Teasers
Students use these word plexers to figure out each of the 12 Christmas song titles or lyrics. This speech therapy resource can be used digitally (get only the Boom version here) or printed.
This activity is great for using a Christmas theme with older students, a session warm-up, virtual or in-person therapy, and working on abstract language. You can even play a clip of each song once it's guessed and/or have students come up with some of their own.
3. Christmas Carol Articulation Find
Speaking of Christmas songs, you can also use lyrics to identify words with any target sound. Highlight the words or use digital annotation (if in teletherapy or using a device). Then have each student practice saying (or singing!) the words by themselves or in phrases or sentences.
4. Christmas Spin-Off Games
Bring the fun of a traditional game... Christmas style! Here are a few ideas:
Charades
Print Christmas charade cards (like these from One Simple Party) and have students act out activities like having a snowball fight or decorating a tree. And just because the game involves silent motions, doesn't mean there isn't language involved– use past tense and description to talk about what the person did!
Drawing Game
Similar to Pictionary, you can have students draw Christmas-themed items for others to guess. Create a list of holiday items (or use this list from The Game Gal) for students to choose from.
Describing Game
Use this list of "Taboo" style cards (from theholidayzone.com) to have students describe Christmas objects without saying specified words.
5. Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are one of my favorite speech therapy activities. They are so versatile for many ages and goal areas, and Christmastime is the perfect chance to do one!
Use this free Christmas lights scavenger hunt with any YouTube video, books, or pictures. You and your students will find so many language opportunities as you look for various lights and decorations.
6. Christmas Printable Activities
The Melissa and Doug website hosts several free Christmas activities that you can print and use to target many goals. Some of my favorites (that especially lend themselves to speech therapy) include a gift planning list, a Christmas tree picture search, and a Santa's toy shop coloring page.
7. Christmas Trivia
Baamboozle has a lot of pre-made Christmas trivia games, but you can also make your own! In fact, students may enjoy making a trivia game for their peers, including finding photos or gifs to go with each question.
8. Decorate for Christmas
Students can work cooperatively to decorate the speech room for Christmas. One easy way is to make paper chains with any speech or language target. For example, students could write an articulation word on each strip of paper.
Teletherapy SLPs don't have to miss out... there are lots of ways to use a Christmas theme in virtual sessions too! ABCYa has a couple of interactive activities, such as decorating a Christmas tree and a house with lights.
9. Christmas Videos
There are (probably literally) millions of Christmas videos on YouTube... just make sure you screen them first! A few ideas include...
Time-lapse videos, such as this Disneyland Christmas transformation.
Christmas commercials, such as this Coca-Cola advertisement.
Short films, such as "The Time Shop" by Chick-fil-A.
10. Christmas Books
Last but not least.... books! Search your bookshelf or library for a few children's Christmas books to share with your students and target nearly any speech or language goal. There are many to choose from, but here are a few suggestions:
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
A Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Mooseltoe by Margi Palatini
It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon
The Crayons' Christmas by Drew Daywalt
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
These engaging (and 100% free) Christmas-themed activities can be incorporated into speech therapy sessions to embrace the holiday spirit. From festive games to mind-boggling brain teasers, each one promotes speech and language development in a fun and meaningful way. Happy holidays and happy learning!
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