We have mixed speech therapy groups. We need to plan for them. I am here to help you spend less time prepping for them!

What are some challenges we face with mixed speech groups?

We need to keep all students motivated, we need to target a variety of goals, we need to collect data, and we need to do so in a short period of time! It may sound and feel like a three-ring circus and you are not alone with this! Planning for these groups can feel overwhelming since you are trying to squeeze a ton in. One way I like to overcome this challenge is by planning all sessions around a theme, concept, or one type of material. The material we are going to discuss in this post is using You Tube.

Why You Tube?

It is motivating! Students love technology and You Tube, just make sure you don't get confused with full tube or you'll be in for a shock as it's kind of x-rated so not something you'd want to mix up or it could be embarrassing. Any way to change it up and remove reading/writing also helps reduce overwhelm (for us and them!). There is a ton available for us to use so why not?!

What goals can be addressed using You Tube videos?

• Predicting
• Inferencing
• WH Questions
• Sequencing
• Summarizing
• Describing/Vocabulary
• Articulation
• Fluency
• Social Skills
• And more!

You can use videos to target skills in isolation or you can provide your various students with various questions or prompting in order to target each of their goals.

What are some tips and tricks to ensure that all goals are addressed?

• Cheat sheets – I like to brainstorm my prompts/questions ahead of time for each of the goals I hope to address. You can even mark down the exact time that the various prompts/questions should be asked.
• Make sure your students are aware of their individual goals/needs.
• Don’t be afraid to pause videos throughout to stop and elicit what you need.
• Don’t be afraid to play the videos more than once to focus on a different goal each time.
• Review goals/targets/strategies before you play the video to ensure that they are ready and prepared.

Want to see a sample cheat sheet?

I made a quick cheat sheet to use with the wordless pixar video One Man Band.

As you can see above, I prepared ahead of time questions/targets for the goals higher level thinking questions, wh questions, and articulation.

What videos can you use?

You can use commercials which you can find HERE.

You can use mini movies which you can find HERE.

You can use clips of the game Epic or Fail which you can find HERE.

You can also use clips from the TV show The Big Bang Theory and from the You Tube Channel Simon’s Cat.

Want my entire list of videos to use in speech ready to go free?! Click the button below!

Click here to get the full videos list!