Dinosaur Speech and Language Unit

 In the upcoming weeks, I will be incorporating a dinosaur theme into my speech therapy plans. I have a ton of kiddos that are super interested in dinosaurs right now, so it should be an exciting week! Here are some things we will be doing: 

1.) Play based therapy: 

We will use these dinosaur toys. I don't have a link for the cave toys. But, I typically use the more realistic toys (affiliate link) with my older kids, but I have a few younger ones that respond much better to the realistic looking toys. We will describe the dinos, practice verb vocabulary, use spatial concepts, practice following directions, improve our social skills, and much more. 

I will also use this game (affiliate link) to practice lots of social skills and as a reinforcer. It can be a little scary, so I always make sure to show the kids how it works before we start.

I have these old "puzzles" that were handed down to me from another therapist. The kids love them, but I don't have an info on where they came from! It is always interesting to see the thought process used to put these together. It definitely shows me which of my kids can notice small details, categorize, sort, etc.

I like to hide small dinosaurs in the rocks from the Rock and Gem Surprise (affiliate link) game. It's a fun way to work on requesting help, asking for more, incorporating fine motor skills, and practicing coloring matching. We can also target verbs (push, poke, break, squeeze, hit, etc). Social skills such as sharing and turn taking can also be practiced as everyone gets a turn with the tools to open their rock. 

I use this fun dinosaur skeleton as a motivator mostly. But it's also great for targeting following directives, spatial concepts, body parts, and more. I also have one that's a little more preschool aged friendly! I don't have direct links for these, but here are some similar ones (affiliate link). 

And, of course, my dinosaur magna-scene (affiliate link) is well loved! I use magna-scenes often in therapy to target verbs, concepts, describing, sentence construction, listening for details, and so much more! 

2.) Articulation therapy:

Sensory Bag Speech - Dinosaurs

Dinosaur Spinner Articulation is great for at home practice!

Diggin Up Dinosaur Bones Interactive Articulation Activity

These letter matching dinos (affiliate link) are also a huge hit in my therapy room. They are great for matching colors/letters. But I love to use them for targeting sounds in isolation. For example, we call the "B" dinosaur the "buh" dinosaur. Instead of roaring, he says "Buh buh buh," "BUUUUUUH," "be ba be ba," etc - whatever CV, VC combination your kiddo needs to work on. Then we can practice those sounds anytime we play with that dinosaur. 

3.) Language Therapy

I love play based, natural language learning opportunities. But I also use the following activities for more intensive practice, homework, review, etc. 

This dinosaur speech therapy unit has everything I need to target verb tenses, pronouns, plurals, listening comprehension, spatial concepts, quantity concepts, comparing/contrasting, categories, etc

Objective Pronoun Dinosaurs

I also like the Dinosaur Days Picture Chat included in this set and this fun dinosaur categories activity. Unfortunately, I don't have a link for the dinosaur categories activity. I've had it forever! If you know where it's from - shoot me a message and I'll add in the link! 

4.) Books! You know I love to use books in therapy. These are some of my favorites. 

We use them to target grammar, vocabulary, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, etc. Links to these are below (affiliate links). 

Dinosaur Shine A Light Book

That's Not My Dinosaur (this is also available in Spanish!)

Dinosaur Dance

Dancing Dino Goes to School

Dancing Dinos

I Love My Dinosaur (pop up book)

How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs (this is part of a cute series!)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found something you can use in your own therapy room! Drop any of your other fun dinosaur-related ideas in the comments! I always love adding new activities to my arsenal!