Speech-Language
Newsletter
Sarah Magnolia, Speech-Language Pathologist
Theme:
General Target Areas:
For the month of September, the speech
theme will be under the sea/fishing.
These activities will be practiced with the
speech-language therapist and sent home
to maximize your child’s speech and
language progress.
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Increasing Vocabulary
Following Directions
Answering Yes/No and WhQuestions
Increasing Sentence Length
Speech Sounds
Social Skills
Activities:
Instructions: Spend 2-5 minutes completing one activity per day. These activities are
meant to be used multiple times to reinforce concepts. Follow the list of strategies on
the back page while completing these activities. Contact the speech therapist with any
questions!
Song: “Slippery
Fish”- Sing the song and/or watch the video with your child. The lyrics
and video are posted on this site http://bussongs.com/songs/slippery-fish.php
Coloring Sheet: While coloring or looking at the sheet with your child, model target
vocabulary words and short phrases listed below. For example, say, “Look, the fish are
swimming!” or “I see a red fish!” “What color is this fish?” Be creative J
Recommended Books: Who’s
in the Ocean? Commotion in the Ocean The
Rainbow Fish – While reading these stories, highlight different sea animals, colors,
objects, etc., by pointing and raising the inflection in your voice. You don’t need to read
the story word for word. These books can be found at the library.
Vocabulary/ Phrases:
Fish, Fishing, Fishing pole, Octopus, Shark, Whale, Dolphin, Turtle, Seal, Ocean, Go fishing,
“Name” caught a fish, “Name” is fishing, The fish is big/small, The fish is in the water, The
(fish, octopus/shark/etc.) is (color), Bubbles, Swim, Swimming, The fish is swimming
How to Increase Speech and Language Skills
v Use Toy Talk: Start your sentence with the toy/object’s name,
then use a verb followed by additional details. This is a great
technique to use because you’re modeling vocabulary words and
sounds, and using sentences containing a variety of details (nouns,
verbs, adjectives, etc.).
o Example:
§ Adult: “The whale is swimming!”
§ Adult: “This fish is blue”
§ Adult: “The key goes in the door”
§ Adult: “This food is hot”
v Language Expansion/Recasts: Model correct grammatical
sentences. This helps your child develop their vocabulary and
begin to use sentences. This also corrects an error, such as a
grammatical error.
o Example:
§ Child: “He cry”
§ Adult: “The boy is crying”
Tips:
• Your child does not need to repeat what you say, but can. What is
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most important is that you’re being a language model for your
child!
Provide the language model immediately after they say something.
Your tone of voice and facial expressions should sound and look
happy, encouraging, and interested. Not like you are correcting
them!
Stay at eye level as much as reasonably possible.
Let the child take the conversational lead whenever possible.
Wait with anticipation for a response (2-10 seconds…maybe
longer!)