Think about when you first graduated as an SLP. For you, that might have been recently, or not so recently. 😊 Walking into your first school and having absolutely NO idea how to work with a certain population (like preschoolers).
Sound familiar?
What did you do?
📚Maybe books were the obvious answer since they were familiar to you and are such powerful therapy tools!
You immediately grab a book to start targeting articulation sounds or phonological processes. But, did you know you can target SO MUCH MORE with books?
Over the past decade, I have used storybooks in narrative and literacy-based speech therapy sessions with all of my mixed groups. These groups run smoothly and require little planning on my part.
That being said, this wasn’t always the case. There are 5 things I wish I knew before I started out using these therapy intervention strategies.
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Literacy-Based Speech Therapy:
- You can target just about ANYTHING with books.
- The more fun and engaging you are, the better your sessions tend to go. (see Down by Cool of Pool photo)
- It may take some time/effort up front as you become familiar with a variety of books.
- It gets easier with time.
- It will save your sanity as a school-based SLP.
I Wish I Knew #1: You Can Target Just About ANYTHING with Books.
Did you know that?! Books are great for targeting phonics, phonological awareness, articulation sounds, phonological processes and patterns, and decoding. But did you know you can also target vocabulary, sentence structure, basic concepts, clauses, social skills, describing, and SO MUCH MORE?!
Books are AMAZING tools that help facilitate conversations and give you a starting point to target just about anything. Fresh out of graduate school, I had no idea how easy it is to target so many different areas with just a single therapy item.
I Wish I Knew #2: The More Fun and Engaging You Are, the Better Your Sessions Tend to Go
It’s true! Especially with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary students. If you are bored while reading a book aloud, chances are your students are, too! Don’t let this happen to you.
Make the story engaging by encouraging conversation before, during, and after the read aloud. Add hand motions and have students act out the story using manipulatives, pictures, or themselves. Walking away from engaging sessions fills my bucket and makes me feel confident and fulfilled as a school-based SLP.
And…if your sessions are engaging, chances are your students are interacting and learning more as a result. Not to mention, you start to become their favorite teacher/therapist because you are so fun, which is a win-win in my book!
I Wish I Knew #3: It May Take Some Time/Effort Up Front as You Become Familiar with a Variety of Books
If you are not familiar with very many children’s stories, start with the ones you know! Figure out what speech and language areas you can easily target during your speech therapy sessions.
Another tip is to use a web search to find books for specific targets. There are several websites and free lists online for different speech areas, making your life just a little less stressful!
As you find books you love to use in therapy and have ideas for, create a list so you can remember it for the future. Use these books again next year, especially with your early learners…Most of them won’t remember it anyway. And if they do, they are able to dive deeper with their depth of knowledge and make even more connections!
I Wish I Knew #4: It Gets Easier with Time
I’m going to be straight with you…The first couple of sessions may be a little rough. But don’t let that get you down! As your students begin to learn the new therapy routine, they will participate more and engage in the speech and language session.
This is why you should start with a book you’re really familiar with. Then you’re more focused on engaging the students, rather than on the specific text in the book.
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I Wish I Knew #5: It Will Save Your Sanity as a School-Based SLP.
You may be asking “HOW” in the world will a new therapy approach save my sanity as a school-based SLP? I don’t have time to figure out a new approach! Using books in therapy is one of THE BEST decisions I made as a school-based SLP.
WHY? SO MUCH LESS PLANNING! Yep, I said it. As a super busy SLP, you don’t have time to squeeze in planning because you’re so focused on all of your other tasks (looking at you, paperwork…). By using this approach, you can choose one book for your younger students and one book for your older students and use it across your caseload!
Basically, plan two sessions or so a week and you are set. Easy, right?
Now, you might be saying, “But Stacey, you have spent a DECADE figuring out how to effectively use books in therapy. I want to get started NOW without making tons of mistakes through trial and error!
You’re in luck! Discover ALL of the tried and true research and evidence-based therapy strategies for using books in literacy-based interventions by clicking the photo below. ☟
Using these strategies will be a HUGE game-changer for your sanity as an over-tired school-based SLP! AND it will help you feel like you are making a difference even with your mixed group sessions. 🙌
Unlock the simple, yet powerful methods of “How to Use Books to Target Anything” to easily plan ALL of your sessions for the month for your HUGE caseload in record time!
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