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. Click to download my Speech Therapy Ice Breaker for FREE. You may also click to read my blog post on Ice Breakers.
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 download 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. Click to download my weekly Therapy Data Sheet for FREE. I always update my student data sheets after their IEPs. 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 click to try my Speech Therapy Homework for the Year.
Prepare for COVID-19
Many teachers are wondering how to prepare their kids for going back to school during COVID-19. Although most students will be returning to in-person learning, the concern of COVID still exists. Set clear expectations in your classroom regarding personal hygiene, social distancing, and mask usage. Remember to post your district guidelines and signs that designate when and if students need to wear a mask . Click to download my Mask Zone Poster for FREE. For more tips and ideas on setting up a safe classroom, click on my blog post Back to School Tips During COVID.
For additional tools to help start your school year off right, join my newsletter. For subscribing, you will receive 6 pages FREE of my Monthly Data Tracking Sheet and IEP Meeting Agenda.
Additional Resources:
Click the picture to try my Fall Sequencing Activities:
Click the picture to try my Fall Bingo Activity:
