Core Skills Analysis
Speech and Language Development
- Practiced clear speech sounds, which helps a 7-year-old improve articulation and be better understood by others.
- Strengthened listening and responding skills by paying attention to prompts, models, or corrections during therapy.
- Built vocabulary and word retrieval by naming objects, actions, feelings, or pictures during structured practice.
- Worked on sentence building and communication confidence, helping the child express ideas more smoothly in conversation.
Social-Emotional Learning
- Developed confidence by speaking in a supportive setting where mistakes can be corrected safely.
- Practiced patience and self-control through turn-taking, repeating sounds, or trying again after an error.
- Learned persistence by continuing to work on difficult speech targets even when they were challenging.
- May have shown focus and openness to guidance, which are important behaviors for growth in therapy sessions.
Tips
To extend learning, keep speech practice short, positive, and frequent. Try a few minutes of daily home practice using simple picture cards, favorite toys, or family conversation to repeat target sounds or words. You can also build language skills by asking the child to describe what they see, retell a short story, or answer “who, what, where” questions. For extra fun, make practice playful with a mirror for watching mouth movements, a scavenger hunt for naming items, or a simple game that rewards clear speaking and careful listening.
Book Recommendations
- The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems: A funny read-aloud that encourages expressive language, dialogue, and sound play.
- We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins: Supports conversation skills, feelings vocabulary, and social language.
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault: Great for rhythm, repeating sounds, and playful speech practice.
Learning Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1 — Participating in collaborative conversations aligns with listening, speaking, and responding during therapy.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4 — Describing familiar people, places, things, and events connects to naming and sentence practice.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.6 — Speaking audibly and expressing ideas clearly matches articulation and communication goals.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.6 — Using acquired words and phrases in speech supports vocabulary growth in therapy.
Try This Next
- Make a sound-practice worksheet with 5 target words and space to repeat each one three times.
- Ask: Can you say the word slowly, then in a sentence, then in a silly voice?
- Draw a picture of the speech therapy activity and label 3 things you practiced.