Pets Lesson Plans for Speech Therapy!
Students and SLP's alike (including myself!!) oftentimes have pets at home that they LOVE to talk about. Every time I pull out a picture of my own pet or even Google images, I hear an EXPLOSION of language!
If you follow me on Instagram you know I'm always sharing my cute French Bulldog, Ziggy, on stories! I also love to incorporate pets into my therapy sessions with my students who are just as obsessed with their own pets as I am! If you or your students have pets at home that you want to incorporate into your sessions, here are some easy tips and resources you can use!
Disclosure: I receive a small commission if you purchase any items today from my Amazon storefront!
Book Favorites
Some Pets (PK-1)
Lola Gets A Cat (PK-K)
Strictly No Elephants (PK-2)
Let's Get A Pup Said Kate (PK-3)
Harry The Dirty Dog (PK-3)
Not Norman: A Goldfish Story (K-2)
Pet Show! (K-1)
The Perfect Pet (1-3)
MORE FAVORITES!
My Pet Wants a Pet
Dogs Colorful Day
Dr Potts, My Pets Have Spots
I Won a What?
No Frogs in School
Book Extension Activities
Themed Therapy Cheat Sheets for Speech Therapy: GROWING BUNDLE ONE
$43.70
$64.00
Evidenced based CHEAT SHEETS to use alongside ANY themed book, activity, or game related to themes in the bundle! Be sure to download the preview for a complete look at the product!! This HUGE resource will give you access to TONS of therapy targets and… read more
Sensory Play
Filler suggestions for a Pets themed Sensory Bin:
-artificial grass
-kinetic sand
-small pet toys / photos of your pets
-small bowls
-play fences / dog houses
-brown / green playdough
-pet puzzle pieces
-Add ins: bone candies, flower confetti, Lego pet pieces, fake bushes, play pet beds, toy houses
Play-Based Activities
Finding the Perfect Pet: Using stuffed & pretend animals, set them around your therapy room to simulate a pet shop. Then, make a list with your student with all the qualities in a pet they want (targeting vocab like 'cute', 'furry', or 'brave'). After making your list, take your student to your pet shop, go up to each pet, and have them describe the pet they see. Once you find a pet with the qualities you want, take it"home" for the perfect pet match!
Play Vet: Using your imagination, have your student pretend to be a vet and bring them your pet using a stuffed animal. Have your student ask you questions to try and determine what is wrong with your pet and why they might be feeling that way (to practice inferring!). Switch roles with your student to have them be the pet owner! If desired, you can find really awesome vet sets on Amazon* to be more specific in your play!
Ideas for Critter Clinic:
👉🏼Prepositions: over, under, next to, beside, between, in front, behind, top, bottom, etc with all your animals
👉🏼Directions: “Put the cat behind the blue door” or “After you put the dog behind the green door, put the frog in front of the red door.” I love pulling my mini objects out for these, too!
👉🏼Vocabulary: TONS of doctor accessories to talk about, such as a thermometer, stethoscope, and shot. Add more animals and work on animal vocabulary! I always use alongside my Little People animals and friends, too.
👉🏼Categories: I LOVE tossing in farm and zoo animals, and then we sort our animals in Pets, Zoo, and Farm. Also great opportunity to talk about how vets can treat SO many animals!
👉🏼Core Vocabulary: in, sick, hurt, no, ouch, help, give, put, need, want
👉🏼Articulation: I love hiding our speech sounds cards and/or @bjoremspeech cards inside our Critter Clinic!
I always jot down 3-4 target words I want to practice for that session (always aiming for lots of trials!). I do the same if it’s a language or grammar goal, too! Can also do this with the books you’re using, a song for that session, your sensory bin, etc. Don’t overthink it!
👉🏼Helpful hack -- Use my Pets Cheat Sheets to spend less time coming up with all targets you need 🤪
Hands-On Activities
Clifford the Big Red Dog Craft
This simple craft can be made out of a paper plate and the tutorial to make it can be found on craftymorning.com! I love this craft because you need minimal supplies to create it, but you connect it to your lesson in a lot of ways! Use it as a book extension or while watching a YouTube video, your students are sure to love it!
Freebies/Resources
Pet Book Freebie - Real Life Images
Toys, Games, Books
Set of 10 Small Animal Figures*
SHOP all my recommendations here on my Amazon Storefront!
To get all of these amazing free lesson plans directly into your inbox each Sunday, sign up for my Sunday Scaries email HERE. I send out a new email each Sunday with all these tips, lesson plans, and resources to help you have more fun in your therapy sessions 💌