Spring Topics for Speech Therapy with Older Students

Since middle and high school students are not new to speech therapy, you have to think outside the box for engaging ideas.

Never fear! Put away your Easter egg art projects and use these ideas to target multiple skills and celebrate spring.

Be sure to grab your FREE activity below that you can use in sessions tomorrow.

Below are 10 spring speech-language therapy themes or ideas that will spark interest. Use them to target multiple skills in a variety of formats.

Best of all, they require little to no prep!

Groundhog Day

This much overlooked holiday is one of my favorites because it is just so random.

Mark your calendar for Feb. 2 and celebrate all week long. Look up the history of Groundhog Day and let your students debate whether the groundhog should be replaced by a cake reveal. If you are not familiar with this issue, check out PETA's stance here.

Or use this no prep packet I created, Groundhog Grammar. Get your PDF & Digital bundle to target parts of speech with your speech-language students!

Golden Retriever Day

Who doesn't like dogs?! Golden Retriever Day is on Feb. 3. Celebrate by having your students bring in pictures of their pets, drawing a dog they would love, or read about golden retrievers.

Want to extend learning?

Many golden retrievers work as service dogs. Invite a guest who has a service dog, or contact your local Canine Companions chapter to find a volunteer who would love to bring in their dog for the day!

Spring Sports

As the weather warms up, there is an opportunity for athletes and fans alike to enjoy sports outside. Explore less common sports such as rowing, pole vault, hammer throw, and lacrosse.

If there are local college or professional baseball teams in your area, review the mascots as a group. Don't forget about the Super Bowl! Review who is playing and create a poll for your students to predict who will win.

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.

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 these for Valentine's, St. Patrick's Day, President's Day, or a cute Mother's Day speech therapy activity!

Mardi Gras Recipes

Unless you live in Louisiana, you may not realize how fun Mardi Gras celebrations can be for students. For an easy recipe, make cinnamon rolls and mix the frosting into the 3 colors of Mardi Gras: green, purple, and yellow.

Read about the history of Mardi Gras and traditional events, like Courir de Mardi Gras, that still take place throughout the Acadiana region of Louisiana.

To extend learning, review elaborate Mardi Gras fashion or challenge your articulation kids in mixed groups with Cajun Vocabulary.

Black History Month

Although Black History Month is celebrated every February, it is important now more than ever to teach students about the contributions of Black Americans.

BHM can be a great topic for speech-language therapy by reading about lesser known individuals, females, or current change agents.

Help your students connect the past to the present with this FREE Dream Big Vision Board that explains Dr. King's I Have a Dream Speech with a vision board template. Click here to download this popular FREEBIE you can use all month!

If you want a broader "I Have a Dream" packet with 5 activities that focus on reading comprehension & expressive language, you can get it here!

President's Day

Whether your work site celebrates President's Day or President's Week, you can use President's Day speech-language activities throughout February. One of my favorite ideas is reading about Presidential Pets , which include everything from a possum to a peacock.

If you want to avoid current politics, was there a U.S. President who lived or was born in your state? Review that! Or for a neurodiversity-affirming option, watch this video short listing Presidents who possibly had autism, ADHD, or depression.

Want to target higher-order thinking? Review the history of Mount Rushmore, and have students debate the perspectives of this National Monument with the perspectives of Native (Indigenous) Americans in South Dakota.

Tik Tok Debate

If you are not aware of this debate, your students certainly are. There was a threat of banning Tik Tok in the United States for over a year, before the platform was pulled shortly in January, 2025.

Although it is currently back online, it is worth helping your students take different perspectives by learning the sides of each debate and decide for themselves whether Tik Tok should be banned.

Pi Day

Ah. March 14 (3/14) was one of my favorite days as a teen because we had a teacher who always let students bring in pie for Pi Day. You can extend this as a speech therapy activity by bringing in pie and having students write reviews after a taste test (similar to Amazon Reviews).

For a no-prep option, students can draw their dream pie toppings, or craziest fillings they can imagine, then vote on the best (or worst) option.

Create a bar graph for all of your students, across sessions, to see how many share the same favorite pie flavors.

Conclusion

Working with older students is more effective when you tap into fresh topics that they haven't repeated year after year.

All of your students may be getting spring fever, so keep boredom at bay. If you need a little inspiration as we move into spring, I hope these ideas help!

Don't forget to grab your FREE Dream Big Vision Board here to use with students. When you join my pack, I will email you a free PDF download every month that you can print and use across middle & high school groups!

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