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Last Minute Middle School Speech Activities to Use in March

Discover 5 engaging last minute middle school speech activities perfect to use before state testing. Target multiple goals in mixed groups with these fun ideas!

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPEECH THERAPY

3/23/20254 min read

Spring is in the Air!

Since moving to Northern California from Louisiana, I have a new appreciation for all four seasons.

But March is a challenge. From time changes, to unpredictable weather, to spring fever in the schools, what is an SLP to do?

Never fear! I got you if you work with middle and high school students. Capture their interest just before state testing, and keep targeting higher order language goals.

Below are 5 last minute, no prep speech-language ideas that will get your older students talking. Use these ideas to target multiple skills in mixed groups.

Best of all, they require little to no prep!

1. March Madness

Talking about sports, whether or not you play, is a big part of teen culture.

Review March Madness, brackets, teams, and big upsets. Then have students create their own brackets!

2. Holiday Recipes

Most cultures and religions have a spring holiday or festival. Help you students compare and contrast recipes related different holidays.

Click below for no-bake options for the following celebrations:

Easter

Holi

Passover

Ramadan

If students are fasting, have restrictions during this season, or allergies, be considerate when you pick activities. Instead of recipes you can review common greetings or vocabulary for each holiday.

If not, have students bring in a sample dish or get ingredients to make a no-bake option.

3. Concrete Poems

What are concrete poems? Glad you asked! They are a fun way of printing poems in the shape of the topic or theme.

A terrific book of concrete poems is Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits.

Concrete poems are my favorite way to interest students in poetry. They are easy and visually appealing.

Grab this no prep digital Concrete Poems Packet so your students can make their own concrete poems. Target creative writing and expressive language with this packet of 5 spring shapes, using google classroom.

Use concrete poems all spring to connect goals to Common Core standards related to writing.

4. Vision Boards

Vision boards are not just for New Year’s Resolutions. Set intentions for state testing (focus on growth mindset), the summer months, or the next school year.

Save time and energy with this FREE Dream Big Vision Board that explains Dr. King's I Have a Dream Speech with a vision board template. Click the picture below to download this popular digital activity you can use all spring!

If you want your students to do a deep dive, check out my full "Dream Big" digital packet with 5 activities that focus on reading comprehension & expressive language.

5. Video Game Dictionary

Meet your students where they are! Make a dictionary about video games and target comprehension, Tier 2 vocabulary, homonyms, or media literacy.

This is one of my favorite middle school speech-language activities. Even though it requires little to no prep, you can develop this project over several weeks.

Want a grab and go option? You will love the digital video game dictionary I created just for middle school students! It uses Google Slides for Google Classroom, and has a PDF link if you prefer a printable, pen and paper option.

This speech-language activity is ideal for small groups, classroom push-in, or telepractice sessions. Best of all, it captures the interest of your middle schoolers and positions them as the expert on a favorite topic: video games.

Click Here

Final Thoughts

Working with older students is more effective when you use age-appropriate, fresh content that taps into their interests. But that shouldn't mean planning headaches for you!

Have fun and get creative with these 5 last-minute ideas. I hope this gets you and your students excited!

Don't forget to grab your FREE Dream Big Vision Board here to use with students. When you join my pack at DDV Speech, I will email you a free PDF download every month that you can print and use across middle & high school groups! No stress, no spamming, just twice monthly emails that support you as a middle school SLP!