Do you need ideas on what themes you can do in August during your speech therapy sessions? With the summer season in full swing, it’s a great time to incorporate engaging and fun themes that will keep your kids motivated and excited. Below, you’ll find a list of my favorite August themes along with recommended books and some speech therapy activities to go along with each theme. Let’s dive in!
What themes can you do in August in your speech therapy sessions?
Some of my favorite themes to do during the month of August include:
- Back to School
- Toys
- Community Helpers
- Superheroes
- Dinosaurs
- Fairy Tales
- All About Me
Back to School
August often marks the return to school for many kids, making the back to school theme perfect for this time of year! Some of my favorite books for this theme include “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn, “First Day Jitters” by Julie Danneberg, and “The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!” by Mo Willems.
A fun activity that you can do is create a “First Day of School” memory book where each kid can write or draw about their favorite things and their goals for the upcoming year.
If you need some activities that cover various speech and language goals, check out my Back to School Lesson Plan.
Toys
Toys are always a hit with kids, making the toys theme a fun and engaging choice! You can use books like “Toys Go Out” by Emily Jenkins, “The Toy Story Collection” by Disney, or “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams Bianco.
For a fun activity, you can grab different toys that you have in your speech room and take turns describing them, practicing articulation while describing them, or creating a short story about each toy.
I have a great, no-prep lesson plan based all around toys that you can look into if you need something without any time to plan!
Community Helpers
I love doing a community helpers theme in my sessions! It’s not only educational, but also provides opportunities to discuss different occupations while promoting language development.
Some books for this theme include “Whose Hat is This?” by Sharon Katz Cooper, “Helpers in My Community” by Bobbie Kalman, and “When I Grow Up” by Al Yankovic.
For an activity, you can create a community helpers matching game where your kids can match pictures of community helpers with their corresponding tools. You can easily print out pictures online in order to do this for a fun and free activity!
I also have a community helpers lesson plan that you can grab for a no-prep option.
Superheroes
Who doesn’t love superheroes?! A superhero theme allows for creativity and imagination while targeting speech and language goals. You can use books like “Even Superheroes Have Bad Days” by Shelly Becker, “The Top Secret List to Becoming a Superhero” by Adisan Books, or “The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy” by David Soman and Jacky Davis.
You can have your kids create their own superhero characters and describe their powers or create a comic strip with speech bubbles that incorporate their speech sounds.
For a quick no-prep and printable option for this theme, check out my superhero lesson plan.
Dinosaurs
You can always transport your kids back in time with the dinosaur theme! So many of my kids love dinosaurs and it’s one of my go to themes. You can create a fun dinosaur themed sensory bin where kids can dig for their own dinosaur bones. You can also create a dinosaur habitat sensory bin with dinosaur toys and other materials from that time.
Books you can read during this theme include “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?” by Jane Yolen, “Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs” by Byron Barton, and “Dinosaurumpus!” by Tony Mitton.
My dinosaur lesson plan has been a hit with so many kids, so make sure to check it out for yourself!
Fairy Tales
I have many kids that love fairy tales, so I like to use this theme in my sessions. Of course there are so many different fairy tale books you can use. Some of the best classics in my opinion include “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” or “Little Red Riding Hood.”
For an activity, you can have your kids retell the stories using puppets or props or have them answer questions after reading them.
All About Me
The “All About Me” theme is a fantastic way to help get to know your kids at the beginning of the school year. You can start off by reading books like “I Like Myself!” by Karen Beaumont, “Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon” by Patty Lovell, or “The Skin You Live In” by Michael Tyler. You can then work on having the kids create a personal collage with pictures and words that represent themselves.
August Speech Therapy Lesson Plan Bundle
If you are wanting to incorporate more than one of the themes above into your therapy sessions, then take a look at my August Speech Therapy Bundle. There are 4 themes included with this bundle (Back to School, Superheroes, Community Helpers, and Toys), totaling to over 500 pages of materials.
Each one of these lesson plans includes book companion activities, a language scene, and activities for both language and articulation. For more information on my themed lesson plans, you can take a look at the guide here.
I hope these August themed ideas have helped to inspire you in planning your speech therapy sessions! Just remember to tailor these activities to suit the specific goals and needs of your kids. š
Enjoy!
