Ocean Theme in Speech Therapy!

It's time for another edition of Theme Thursday! Today, I'll be sharing some of my favorite books and ideas for an ocean theme. Summer is quickly winding down, so I want to squeeze in a little beach fun! This is definitely one of my favorite themes!

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Let's start by talking about some fun and simple crafts! Students will love making these silly ocean creatures!

Materials Needed:
- Paper plates
- Bingo Daubers
- Scissors
- Glue
- Construction Paper
- Word Pieces (optional): You can find circle pieces in my Speech Crafts or Articulation Crafts Bundles. You can find square pieces in my Summer Articulation Bundle or in my Summer: Snip and Stick Apraxia packet.

The octopus is super simple! Just have students paint a paper plate by dabbing it with a bingo dauber! This will be a fun reinforcement activity while a student practices! They can also add in word pieces to match their specific sound or skill (ex. category word pieces, verb word pieces, etc). Then students simply glue 8 strips of paper under the plate to make the legs! Optional: Add in white circles for eyes and a rounded piece of construction paper for a smile!

The jellyfish is my favorite! Start by cutting a paper plate in half and then cover it in word pieces (or just dab him with a bingo dauber), glue strips under the plate, and cut out white circles for the eyes! These crafts require very little prep - you'll just have to gather the materials!

You can also find some NO PREP ocean crafts in the July Speech Therapy Crafts packet or in the bundle!

I also have some more fun ocean themed materials in my TPT store!

The Thematic Interactive Articulation Notebooks Bundle features an ocean themed packet! I love how it turned out! Students will love adding these activities into their notebooks! Let's peek inside:

First up, there's an "under the sea" interactive pouch! The pouch looks like the ocean and I also tried to include animals that feature the targeted sound on the pouch (to make each one unique). For instance, /k/ has a shark and /p/ has a pufferfish! Each pouch also comes with a variety of ocean animals that contain the target words too! This is one of my favorite activities!

Of course, I had to include some "flap-ups." Under each flap, students can write a phrase or sentence containing their word. If you have students that are not yet writing phrases or sentences, just have them write the word under the flap.

Scuba Speech! This activity features a boy and a girl scuba diver. Students glue a flap-up book in the middle!

Snorkeling for Sentences! Students glue the bubbles around the picture and then they'll lift up the flap to write sentences using the words. Again, younger students can just write the given words under the flap!

I also have some ocean themed articulation game boards! They can be found in the July Articulation Game Boards packet or in the bundle.

My most recent toys as tools post features an ocean theme too! Check out this post to read all about how to use The Hungry Pelican to target communication skills!

Lastly, let's dive into some of my favorite ocean themed books!

A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
This is truly one of my favorite stories! I know I say this often, but seriously... this is definitely a top 15 picture book for me! A little hermit crab finds a new shell, but it's a little plain. As he ventures though the ocean, he invites a variety of creatures to live on his shell (a snail, starfish, etc). Throughout the year, they all become friends.... but one day, he notices that his shell is too snug and has to say goodbye. It has such a hopeful ending, as he passes on his shell and his friends to another little crab and finds himself a new shell (that's a little plain). There are sooo many language goals you can target:
1) Time Concepts
2) Ocean Vocabulary
3) Describing
4) Synonyms
5) Inferencing
..... this list can go on and on! It's such a fantastic book to use in speech-language therapy! If you can only have one ocean themed book, this is the one.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell by Lucille Colandro
You gotta love the old lady and her crazy antics! In this story, she's hanging out by the ocean! I love the repetitive nature of this book - it's great for students who have trouble with comprehension. You can use this book to target:
1) Sequencing
2) Absurdities
3) Why questions

I also made a book companion for this a few years ago! You can find it here.

Gilbert the Great by Jane Clarke

Gilbert is a friendly great white shark! His best friend is a remora named Raymond. When Raymond's family moves away, Gilbert is crushed. He's sad and lonely until he meets a new remora named Rita! Rita's also sad, because she recently moved and doesn't have any friends. This is such a cute story about friendship and dealing with sadness. You can use this book to target:
1) Emotions
2) Social Skills
3) Articulation - /r/, /g/, /r/ blends

Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale
Clark is a super energetic shark! He's rambunctious, loud, and he likes to play rough. Does he sound familiar? I think we all have some Clarks in our classrooms. :) He has a very patient teacher who reminds him to "stay cool." Clark loves school! This is such a great book to target:
1) Social Skills
2) Articulation - /l/ blends and /sh/
3) WH Questions

I also have a flip book companion for Clark in July's Flipping for Literature packet! And if you're interested in more shark books, check out this round-up!

Down to Sea with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen
I love Mr. Magee! One of my favorite book companions is for A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee! In this book, Mr. Magee and Dee (his dog) go to the sea! Of course, they find themselves in some trouble! haha! This book is great to work on:
1) Rhyming
2) Comparing/Contrasting - There are so many similarities to A Camping Spree! Students will love comparing/contrasting Mr. Magee and Dee's adventures!
3) Sequencing

What are your favorite ocean themed books? There are so many good ones out there!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!