by The Artsy SLP
Stay stress free and start your school year off right by using these back to school speech therapy ideas in your classroom.
Ice Breakers
Students may feel nervous on their first day of school at the start of a the school year. There are a lot of variables; a new teacher and a different environment. Before diving into your rules an expectations, it’s a good idea to use an ice breaker with your students. This will help them feel more relaxed and establish rapport among their peers. It will also help students feel more comfortable participating in class. I frequently used this speech therapy ice breaker with my elementary students. It’s perfect for the small group setting.
RELATED: Download My Ice Breaker Freebie
Get Organized
Setting up speech therapy caseloads and being organized are essential to starting the school year off right. At the start of each school year, set aside time to get organized.
- Track your IEP and Re-Evaluation dates for the school year. Creating this list will help you prepare and keep track of meetings for the year. Click to grab my IEP and Re-Evaluations Dates at a glance. I save my list every year and update as needed.
- Use attendance sheets to keep track of student participation. This is helpful for tracking student achievement and progress made on goals. Keeping good attendance records is especially useful if you do Medicaid Billing for your district.
- Create data sheets for your student IEP goals. This will help you stay organized during speech language therapy and easily monitor student progress. I always update my student data sheets after their IEPs. Download My Free Therapy Data Sheet Therefore, at the start of the school year my goals are up to date and ready to go. Then I only have to focus on adding new students.
Plan Ahead
Stay stress free by having your speech homework planned for the entire school year. You already have to make lesson plans, plan speech therapy activities, and organize your caseloads. Help make your life easier by eliminating one extra thing that you have to do. Be stress free at the start of school by having your speech therapy homework activities planned for the entire school year.
Save time now and grab my Speech Therapy Homework for the Year.
Portrait of a Child
This snapshot is something a teacher can glance at before a hard moment happens, so they know what to watch for and how to help. Many special needs children are not able to effectively communicate and may have anxiety about their change in routine. A Portrait of a Child helps alleviate anxiety for both the parent and the student. It provides a powerful snapshot for parents to send to the teacher as they learn the students for the school year. And it’s not just for parents to send — teachers may find it just as useful to share with families. It is a simple way to open that conversation during the first few weeks of school. Portrait of a child is not a replacement or substitution for a child’s IEP. It is an optional tool used to help support communication. Need more tips? Read more tips in my blog post. RELATED: Portrait of a Child Blog Post
Additional Resources:
Click the picture to try my Fall Sequencing Activities:
Click the picture to try my Fall Bingo Activity:
