Ocean Theme: 5 Speech Therapy Targets

Ocean Theme: 5 Speech Therapy Targets

Using an ocean theme in speech therapy opens the door to target ALL of your early language skills AND artic targets!

We love bringing out our ocean-themed products any time of the year! Many people think an ocean theme is a summer theme but think again - my students love learning about ocean creatures all year round. Here are some easy targets to incorporate into play/literacy-based sessions:

1. The SH sound - Check out all of these SH targets! Grab these ocean dice poppers to get lots of trials.

  • OCEAN
  • FISH(ING)
  • JELLYFISH
  • SHARK
  • SHELL
  • SHINY
  • SHIP
  • SPLASH(ING)
  • SHORE

2. Describe animals by PARTS - analyze the ocean animals based on different parts! Do they have gills, fins, tentacles, or claws? We love this poke-a-dot book for looking closely at the animals!

3. Sort animals by habitat. Use sticker sets to sort animals via habitat again and again! Don't forget to target those pesky wh-questions: WHERE do they live? WHO can you see in the ocean? WHAT crawls on the ocean floor?

4. Work on core words like IN & OUT, UNDER, TOP & BOTTOM, BIG & SMALL, LIKE. Use search & find toys like Peekaboo Fishbowl Friends or bury ocean animals in kinetic sand! Get crazy and put non-ocean animals in the sand to work on negation like NO or NOT.

5. Comparatives - line up ocean animals based on length or size! Talk about which animals are the most or least dangerous.

Here are some ideas for your older students/clients - focusing on harder language skills while maintaining an ocean-theme:

1. Introduce new vocabulary using this ocean themed companion made exclusively for My Speech Shop from Abby @thetypebslp! Learn about new/unique animals, use the play mats to sort, or add animal parts with the playdoh mats! Even better - grab this bundle for a themed set already organized for you!​

2. Make up a story using ocean-themed vocabulary - but don’t stick to the typical vocab - use these Build-a-Story cards, or other printed pictures, to develop fun imaginative stories. Have characters find lost treasure, dive deep in a submarine, or encounter a mermaid!

3. Develop problem solving skills by reading “How to Catch a Mermaid”. Answer “how” questions, discuss actions/consequences of the characters, and determine problem/solution. Afterward, have your students answer these higher-level questions: How would you catch her? Would you do anything differently? Why/why not? Draw a picture to show how you would catch a mermaid!

✨ FREE Speech Therapy CHEAT SHEETS ✨

Did you know... many of our play-based products come with a therapy cheat sheet for SLPs! We create individualized cheat sheets for each product with target core words, verbs, and descriptors to embed into play. Also included are articulation targets for all speech sounds to help you narrow down some targets for your articulation clients! Plus, at the bottom of the cheat sheet, you will get some of our favorite language targets to work on with the product to help guide your planning!
 
 
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