The ULTIMATE LIST of Themed Speech & Language Activities!

Written By Lucia Stone

There are SO many advantages to incorporating themes into therapy! Therefore, Holly Rosensweig of Spiffy Speech and I have teamed up once again to bring you the ULTIMATE list of themes and activities that are tailored to teletherapy! This post is packed with ideas for distance learning with ALL ages, including at least one green screen activity for every theme and tons of amazing free websites.

So without any further ado, please enjoy (and don’t forget to bookmark for later!)…

 
 

Back to School Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Back to School I Spy! This FREE Spot It Scene is great for the first few weeks of school. Students can practice describing, compare/contrast, listening comprehension, WH questions, and so much more! Click the photo/link above to download!

Activities for Older Students:

  • Virtual Interactive Folders by The Speech Express - editable folder templates using JamBoard (a Google Chrome extension) that includes an INTRO folder with tons of get-to-know-you prompts and activities (such as: Favorite meme, favorite joke, would you rather, describe a pet, two truths and a lie, and fun questionnaires)! In addition to tons of goal-specific activities and strategies, these folders can also be used to monitor progress, take data and attendance, as a parent communication log,, activities for mixed groups, independent activities, for homework, and more! Interested in learning more? Head to this blog post about using virtual, interactive folders in speech and language therapy!!

  • Girl Meets World School Dance Shuffle Game on Disney LOL - complete tasks to get ready for the school dance given a time limit, includes reading comprehension and provides an opportunity to practice executive functioning skills like time management

  • Back to School Jokes - great for explaining multiple meanings and sound-alike words

  • Back to School MadLibs online by Amy’s Wandering - includes many school-themed MadLibs and an About Me MadLib great for the first day

  • What’s Your School Personality? Personality Quiz on AllTheTests.Com

  • Dear Holly: Advice Column for Middle and High School Students - discuss scenarios and feelings with students, have students come up with their own advice for the kids who wrote in or explain why they agree/disagree

  • Two Truths and a Lie/Wish: This game is a common icebreaker activity in which students tell three facts about themselves - two true, and one false. Others must guess which statement is the lie. However, a fun spin on the activity is, instead of telling a lie, students describe a ‘wish,’ or something that has not happened yet. This is a great segue into talking about goals - both in speech/academics AND in life!

 
 

Beach/Summer Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to any photo of a beach bucket or a swimming pool. Using a green pocket or tube, “pull” household items or beach-themed pictures out of the bucket or toss them into the pool after having the student name them from a verbal description.

Activities for Older Students:

  • Summer Themed Mini Unit by The Speech Express - address all goals including artic, reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking, figurative language

  • Summer Reading Comprehension Paragraphs by Spiffy Speech - great for stating the purpose, stating main idea, writing intro/conclusion sentences, finding the evidence, answering “why” questions (available on TpT and Boom)

  • Beach Themed No-Print Language Cards by The Speech Express - target just about ANY language goal with these digital cards! They are perfect for pairing with any activity or game and can be used for ALL of your groups right in a row - no prep, no sweat!

  • Lego Stop Motion Beach video on YouTube - great for making inferences, narrating, answering critical-thinking questions

  • Funny Beach Jokes on YouTube - great for explaining multiple meanings, the difference between sound-alike words (ex: popsicle, possible), and word relationships

  • Beach Memory Game online on MEMOZOR

  • Summer MadLibs online on Amy’s Wandering

  • Swimming Pro Racing Game - great as a quick break between activities

  • Free Beach Sequencing Cards on TpT by The Spark Innovations - black and white so students can also color them in on screen

  • Make a summer bucket list of activities or projects you want to do this summer (type into the white board)

  • Pick a vacation destination and make packing list after researching activities, weather, etc. (type into the white board)



 
 

Pirate Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a pirate ship. SLP bonus points if you wear an eye patch or a pirate hat during this activity! Print/cut pirate-themed pictures that can be added to the ship (ex: pirates, eye patch, hat, parrot, sword) by sticking them onto your screen screen. Or, use household objects or pictures of items that the boat accidentally bumped into while sailing in the water. You can pretend to reach into the water over the side of the boat and pull things out or you can throw the objects overboard.

Activities for Older Students:



 
 

Lemonade Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a picture of a lemonade stand. Print/cut pictures of lemonade components (a pitcher, lemons, sugar, water). Stick each component onto the green screen as the student tells the steps to make lemonade. Role-play having a pretend play lemonade stand where the SLP and student (or multiple students in a social group) take turns being the seller or customer. 

Activities for Older Students:


 
 

Wizard Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a magical cauldron. Using a green tube or pocket, pretend to place objects into the cauldron or pull out the finished product that you created using a magic spell!

Activities for Older Students:

 
 

Parks / National Parks Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: change your virtual background to a park with a picnic table or a picture of an open picnic basket. For the picnic table, have the student name items you describe, describe items, request, or compare/contrast before you place them on the table. For the picnic basket, use a green pocket or tube and pretend to add food/drink items to the basket or pull them out. While the background is up, play the game, “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…” where players take turns saying an object and trying to recall everything said before their turn. Pretend to throw each item into the basket (no pictures or actual objects required!)

Activities for Older Students:

Green Screen Activity: change your virtual background between various national parks. Have students make inferences about each park such as about which states this park might be in, which park this might be (from among different choices after hearing brief descriptions of each), what activities they could do there, what the weather is like, etc.  


 
 

Dinosaur Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a dinosaur scene that has a cracked egg. Print/cut pictures of dinosaurs that are different sizes, colors, and have different features. Pretend that the egg is hatching and using a green pocket or tube, make each dinosaur come out of the egg one at a time. Use the dinosaur pictures to practice describing, comparing/contrasting, and location concepts.

Activities for Older Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to pictures of dinosaur types one at a time. Have the student make inferences about each dinosaur and explain their guesses-- for example, do you think the dinosaur was strong or weak? Where do you think you would find this type of dinosaur (air, water, sky?) What do you think this dinosaur might have eaten?



 
 

Ocean/Water Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to an aquarium, underwater scene, or ocean wave. Print/cut pictures of various ocean animals, plant life, or other things that can go in water (ex: a surfboard). Pretend that different sea creatures are swimming over to you or that different objects are being washed up towards you. Describe them for the student to guess. You can also have the student name ocean items and then “toss” them into the water.

Activities for Older Students:

 
 

Lego Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a scene from the Lego Movie, Lego Batman Movie, a picture of a Lego City backdrop, or Lego bricks. Print/cut pictures of Lego movie characters or just Lego people that have different appearances/occupations. Describe characters for the student to guess and then stick them somewhere in the background. The student can work on location concepts, describing, comparing/contrasting. Have the Lego people engage in conversations while moving around or have the student generate a narrative using the characters. 

Activities for Older Students:

  • Explore Lego Characters - for describing, comparing/contrasting, and the short descriptions of characters are fantastic for auditory recall/comprehension

  • Lego Stop Motion Videos on YouTube - great for artic, narrating the plot, answering basic and inference questions

  • Mecabricks Virtual Lego-Like Builder Online - students can give or follow specific directions to build objects with bricks like LEGOs

  • Lego Photos - explore photos of kids’ LEGO creations, can be used to work on describing, comparing/contrasting, formulating a sentence given a target word

  • Lego Games - tons of options, click any game title that have a computer symbol to play online

  • Lego Facts by Nat Geo Kids

  • Lego Jokes (with pictures) on Beano - great for explaining multiple meanings, sound-alike words, and word relationships


 
 

Camping Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activities:

1) Change your virtual background to a camping scene such as one that has a tent or an open backpack. Print/cut pictures of objects that you would take camping (ex: marshmallows, sleeping bag, flashlight). Have the student name objects that you describe and then place them in the scene or use a green tube or pocket to make them disappear into (or emerge from) the tent or backpack!

2) Print out a flashlight and tape green paper on the light part. Set your green screen as a camping scene with objects for students to spot (e.g. tent, campfire, river, canoe, bear, etc.). The background will only show up on the green portion of the “magic flashlight” as you move it around the screen. You could also use or print out binoculars for this activity!

Activities for Older Students:

Green Screen Activity: Pack for a camping trip or for wilderness survival - set your virtual background as a picture of a camping location (i.e. mountaintop, lakeside, desert, beach, etc.) and have the student create a packing list for that spot using the whiteboard tool


 
 

Zoo or Wild Animals Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activities:

1) Change your virtual background to a picture of a zoo scene or safari scene. SLP bonus points if you wear a safari hat or have actual binoculars or a camera! Print/cut pictures of various wild animals. Have the student name animals that you describe or have them describe an animal that you have placed into the scene by sticking it onto your green screen. You can pretend to search for animals using your binoculars before each one appears and/or can pretend to snap a picture of the animal with your camera after it appears. For greater language opportunities, make sure that your wild animals are performing various actions (ex: elephant spraying water, hippo swimming, tiger sleeping).

2) Change your virtual background to a giant panda. Have students tell you to feed the panda food items or pictures that you have printed.

Activities for Older Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background between various zoo animal parts (ex: an extreme closeup of a tiger’s tail). Have the student make inferences about what animal it might be and why.

 
 

Pets Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a pet store scene. Print/cut pictures of pets and pet supplies (ex: chew toy, bone, leash). Have the student name pets/supplies from a description and then tell you where to place them in the scene using specific location concepts. Stick pictures onto your green screen to arrange them in the scene.

Activities for Older Students:


 
 

Disney Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to the outside of a castle such as Cinderella’s castle. Print/cut pictures of Disney characters and/or magical objects (ex: the genie’s lamp from Aladdin). Describe characters or objects for students to name and have them tell you where to put them in the castle scene. Stick them to the green screen in the various locations.

Activities for Older Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a photo of the outside of a castle. Change your backgrounds to different rooms within the castle so that the student can go on a virtual castle tour. Have the student make inferences about the different rooms (ex: Which room is this? How do you know? What might someone do in this room?)


 
 

Superhero Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a picture of a city such as Gotham City. Print/cut pictures of familiar superheroes. If the kiddo is into Legos, you can also use printouts of Lego superheroes. Have students describe and compare/contrast the superheroes. They can use location concepts to request where they should go in the scene. Attach superheroes to your green screen to arrange them. Have the student come up with dialogue for the superheroes or generate a narrative that includes characters, setting, problem, and solution.

Activities for Older Students:

 
 

Outer Space Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to an outer space scene. Print/cut pictures of outer space items (ex: star, planet, rocket, moon). Have the student name each item from a description and then tell you where to place the item in the scene as you stick them onto your green screen.

Activities for Older Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a blank Tic Tac Toe board. Print/cut pictures of a few outer space items like astronauts and planets that can fit inside the squares. Play a game of Tic Tac Toe where each player uses a space-themed item inside of an X or an O. Require students to use specific location concepts to request where items should be placed relative to one another (ex: in the top row, in the middle row next to the ____).


 
 

Snow Day Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activities: Change your virtual background to a snowy day scene.

1) Print/cut pictures of snowman components (ex: three snowballs of different sizes, a carrot, pieces of coal, scarf, etc.) Have the student sequence steps to build a snowman and request each component. Stick pictures onto the green screen to assemble the snowman. For more opportunities to request, describe, and compare/contrast, print multiple options for clothing items (ex: scarves that are different colors, carrots that are different sizes).

2) Pretend to dig in the snow using a real shovel that you have at home. Describe items for the student to name and then pull them out of the snow magically using a green tube or pocket. These can be pictures of winter items, pictures of arctic words, or actual household objects.

Activities for Older Students:



 
 

4th of July Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activities:

1) Use a virtual background (click for 200+ free backgrounds) of the night sky and print/cut pictures of fireworks that are different sizes/colors. Whenever the student answers a question, says their target sound, describes a picture, etc., add a firework to your green screen so that it appears in the sky! Use the fireworks themselves to work on making choices (ex: between two types), describing, comparing/contrasting, or location concepts. You can find a free sound clip of a firework exploding to play as you add each firework to make the activity even more realistic!

2) Use a virtual background of a backyard barbecue with an open grill. Print/cut pictures of barbecue food items to “cook” on the grill. Use food items to work on describing, talking about food likes/dislikes, comparing/contrasting, or categorizing into barbecue / non-barbecue foods.

Activities for Older Students:


 
 

Bug Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activities:

1) Change your virtual background to a picture of a flower garden. Print/cut pictures of bugs that have various sizes, colors, and attributes. Stick bugs all over your green screen and use a real net to “catch” the bugs. Have the student request bugs for you to catch, name bugs that you describe, describe the bug you catch, or compare/contrast two bugs. SLP bonus points if you pretend to scream and run away from the bee! 2) Change your virtual background to a picture of a garden with dirt. Use a real shovel and pretend to dig in the dirt for the bugs. 

Activities for Older Students:


 
 

Pizza Theme

Activities for Younger Students:


Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a pizza parlor scene that has a large crust. Print/cut a picture of sauce, cheese, and various toppings. Have the student sequence steps to make a pizza and request each ingredient. Add ingredients to the pizza by sticking them onto your green screen.

Activities for Older Students:


 
 

Sweet Treats Theme

Activities for Younger Students:

Green Screen Activity: Change your virtual background to a candy world or ice cream parlor scene. Print/cut pictures of cones, bowls, spoons, various ice cream scoops, and toppings such as m&ms, fudge, or a cherry. Have the student request each component to describe their desired ice cream as you stick each piece onto your green screen to assemble it.

Activities for Older Students:

Lucia Stone
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