How to Create a Themed Therapy Unit
Why use themed therapy?
If you're struggling to approach novel vocabulary and basic concepts, a themed approach could be just the approach you're looking for. Themed therapy units can be a springboard to other words and concepts in therapy. As Hadley describes: "In this view [the view of vocabulary depth indicating the connected networks of semantic knowledge behind each individual word], word learning is not simply the process by which isolated object–label associations are added to the mental lexicon one by one but also involves the learning of interrelated clusters of concepts, in which the knowledge of one concept supports the learning of another. For example, it is difficult for a child to understand the word shore without also knowing ocean, and learning the word mosquito provides an opportunity to learn the general properties of an insect. These concepts are linked, so the learning of one can help leverage the learning of another, especially if those links are explicitly highlighted for children" (Hadley et al., 2018). (Emphasis added)
Materials I include in creating a themed therapy unit:
- Books
- Games
- Toys or mini objects (Speech Tree Co has some amazing ones)
- Vocabulary picture cards
- Interactive language books with moveable adapted pieces
- Play-doh or sensory toy
- Themed craft or coloring activity
I find that changing up themes every couple of weeks keeps my students engaged and prevents materials burn-out for both me and my students. When picking materials and printable activities I try to include materials that not only aesthetically match my theme with visuals, but also contain content to match my theme.
Themed Unit Ideas for January:
- Winter
- Snowmen
- Yetis
- Arctic/Polar Animals
- Hot cocoa
Mickayla Hulliberger M.S., CF-SLP
References:
Hadley, E. B., Dickinson, D. K., Hirsch-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2018). Building semantic networks: The impact of a vocabulary intervention on preschoolers’ depth of word knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly.