There are many teachers that teach about community helpers in their classroom. When kids learn about community helpers, they are learning about the people in our community who are there to help them. I enjoy doing speech therapy activities based on community helpers when my kids’ teachers do because it helps add additional supports where needed. If the kid is having difficulty with language, I can incorporate vocabulary or receptive language within this theme. If the kid is having difficulty with articulation, I can focus on words that fall within this theme that have their sound in them. It also helps keep their lessons for the week in the same theme for great carryover. I created a community helper speech therapy lesson plan in order to allow for carryover and consistency between the classroom and my speech room. Below are some ideas on how you can incorporate this theme into your sessions. Enjoy!
Books
Reading is always a great activity to do in therapy. You can work on articulation, inferencing, sequencing, answering questions, and so much more. One book that falls within this theme is The Berenstain Bears Jobs Around Town. This book talks about all the different people within our community and what they do. In my lesson plan, I include questions that can be asked after reading the story and a writing/drawing activity.
There are also plenty of other books that are based on community helpers, including When I Grow Up and Career Day. If you don’t own these books – no problem! You can search their titles on YouTube and more than likely find readings of them to use in your sessions.
Vocabulary Cards
Vocabulary cards can be used in many different ways in your therapy sessions. You can use them as a matching game or describing/guessing game. You can use them as normal vocabulary cards and have the kid tell you what is on the card. Or you could also use them for having the kid choose the card you say. There are so many other ways – the possibilities are endless. My plan on community helpers comes with 24 vocabulary cards to use however you see fit.
Toys, Puzzles, & Games
Of course, we cannot forget about the toys, puzzles, and games! There are a few that I enjoy that fall within this theme. It’s also no surprise that the kids love these as well. These are great when it comes to requesting, describing, and more. I’ve added the pictures of each one that I enjoy, and all are linked for convenience to Amazon.
Thank You Card
Another activity that I like to do is have my kids create a Thank You card for some of the community helpers in their life. It’s a fun activity that will allow them to be creative and you can target requesting or describing as you are working on it. You can also do drill exercises with any articulation kids for them to earn whatever supplies they need.
Community Helpers Speech Therapy Lesson Plan
If you are interested in one of the activities that is talked about above, my Community Helper Speech Therapy Lesson Plan is jam-packed with some of the items talked about above. This plan targets various language and articulation goals, including descriptions, plurals, and following directions. Check it out if you think it might work in your speech room. Enjoy!
Please note: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, and some links below will allow me to earn a commission if you choose to buy them. This doesn’t affect the cost of the items, either. 🙂