No Prep Back-to-School Articulation Activities for Older Students
As summer’s end approaches, it’s time to start thinking about the jam-packed first weeks of the new school year. Between rearranging your schedule fifteen times and attending all the mandatory trainings, it’s hard to find time to plan quality articulation sessions.
Having no-prep lessons ready before the school year begins can save you hours (not to mention many headaches). Below are some easy resources and activities you can do with little to no prep needed to help students jump back into the school year.
Articulation “Check-In” Worksheet
Many of my older students don’t want to fill out a cheesy “all about me” worksheet when I meet them in the fall, but I still want a way to get to know them before starting articulation therapy. That’s why I created these practical “check-in” worksheets, where students can answer questions about their summer as well as their hopes for speech this school year. The pages don’t have any clipart and look appropriate for middle and high school students.
Students can write or draw their answers in the boxes.
Back to School Conversation Starters
Another great way to get students talking in the first few weeks of school is with some fun conversation starters. You can find many online for free, or check out mine below. Remind students that the goal isn’t to be perfect, but to focus on trying to say their sounds correctly as often as they can. For more information on helping students carry over their target sounds to the conversational level, check out my post here.
80 fun back to school conversation starters that each have at least 2 /r/ sounds and 2 /s/ or /z/ sounds.
Short Stories
It can be challenging to get older students to say their target sounds enough times during a single session. One simple and effective way to increase practice opportunities is through reading aloud. Reading provides natural opportunities to say target sounds while also supporting fluency and reading comprehension skills.
Using themed stories can make reading practice feel more engaging and fun for older students. Short stories are great for individual sessions, small groups, or even take-home practice to support carryover.
These fun back to school stories each have over 100 /r/, /th/, and /s/ or /z/ sounds.
Crossword Puzzles
I love using crossword puzzles with my students. Most older students are already familiar with how they work, so I can spend our session focusing on the puzzle and practicing articulation sounds instead of taking time to explain the rules. As students try to figure out each clue, they get many repetitions of their target sounds. As a bonus, crosswords are also great for mixed groups because language students can work on vocabulary, spelling, and problem-solving.
Whether used as a warm-up, independent practice, or a small-group activity, these no-prep crosswords are an excellent way to build confidence while establishing positive therapy routines.
These are great for mixed groups! Each word has an /r/ sound, plus either an /s/ or a /z/ sound.
