Ah, Teachers Pay Teachers. This website is an absolute treasure trove of activities for educators. However I’ve found over time that I have some purchases I never use, others I’ve used only once or twice, and some that I keep coming back to. In this blog post, I’ll share my five most used resources from TPT in hopes that they can be as helpful to you as they are in my own practice.
How to Develop a Strong R from A and M Productions
This purchase is great for any SLP (like me) who needs help with /R/ curriculum. This packet will walk you through getting an /R/ sound started by blending words (for example badge, badger, badge) in a way that goes from easiest to most difficult. My /R/ clients have their own stapled packet of these, and after they’ve (mostly) mastered a page, they get to take it home for homework. This has saved me a lot of time. Plus, as an SLP not always confident in my /R/ teaching abilities, it’s so nice to have some support.
Nonfiction Texts for Mixed Groups
This purchase has a variety of nonfiction stories that have plenty of high-target sounds in them (/s, r, l/) and has comprehension questions and grammar questions at the end for language students. This is a much-used purchase for my students grades 3+, although I usually use these for grades 4-6. These are seasonal packets (I like having the bundle) and for each topic (for example “rain”), you can print out an underlined version where all the /r/ sounds are underlined, which is great for some of my students who have trouble anticipating where the sound is.
Wh Questions with Real Pictures by Speechy Musings
I love this purchase. I use this typically for my students ages 3-8 who are just starting to work on answering Wh questions. I like to download this from TPT onto my ipad, open it up in iBooks, and scroll through. The questions are well organized (for example, all the who questions are together) and there are two pictures of possible answers that students can point to, to answer the question. I’ve found this is a great way to either start working on Wh questions or to really give students (for example my students in self contained classrooms) a way to successfully practice this skill so that I can lessen the visual supports later.
Language Scenes from Allison Fors
I always feel so organized when I use Allison’s language scenes. In this big packet, I have access to print and go materials for my most common elementary-aged language goals. In this packet there is a printed scene (you can choose from black and white or color, which I appreciate because I only have a black and white printer), with tons of Wh questions to ask on a separate sheet. Other pages of the packet include following 1-3 step directions, location words, and creating present tense phrases.
This is a must have if you have an SLPA. I’ve found assistants feel really confident teaching from this because the questions and materials are right there and are super easy to prep (just print and go).
One Sheet Language from Speechy Musings
If you are a middle school SLP and you need activities for your groups, this is it. I use this often in my groups (I do contract work for school districts as well as work in my own clinic). Although it doesn’t directly target articulation, I’ve found that once my students are at the sentence level, they can be in a language group and do these activities with their “good sounds” (with prompting as needed, of course). As far as language goals go, this packet includes 15 sheets that are chock full of targets. Each page has an idiom, a conversation question, a sentence with grammar that needs to be fixed, something to describe, two items to compare and contrast, and more.
I use this most often as a warm up activity in my middle school groups, and I’d recommend these sheets for Grades 4-8 or so.
My 5 Most Used Teacher's Pay Teacher's Purchases for SLPs
I hope this post gives you some ideas of TPT items for SLPs that you might use with your own students. If you have any favorite products you use, feel free to get in touch!
Sarah Lockhart is an SLP in private practice specializing in the birth-five population. She also works with school-age students in school contracts.