Christmas I Spy Speech Therapy Games

Engaging Articulation and Language Practice

Christmas I Spy is one of those speech therapy games that just works. It’s familiar, motivating, and easy to adapt for a wide range of speech and language goals. I use this activity all the time—especially during the holiday season.

If your students celebrate Christmas, these Christmas I Spy speech therapy games are a simple way to keep sessions engaging while still targeting meaningful goals.

How to Play Christmas I Spy

Most children already know how to play I Spy, which makes it an ideal therapy game. There’s very little explanation needed, and students can jump right in.

Basic Game Play

1. One player silently chooses a picture on the slide.
2. The player gives a clue using a carrier phrase such as:
   • “I spy with my little eye something…”
   • “I am thinking of something that…”
3. Other players guess the object based on the clues.
4. Players take turns giving clues and guessing.

Example

If the chosen picture is cookie, the clue might be:
“I see something you can eat.”

This structure naturally encourages description, vocabulary, and speech sound practice.

Using Christmas I Spy for Speech Therapy Goals

These Christmas I Spy materials are intentionally flexible, making them easy to adapt for both articulation and language therapy.

Articulation Therapy Ideas

Christmas I Spy works well for articulation when you:

• Choose picture sets that include the target sound
• Modify the carrier phrase to elicit specific sounds

Articulation-Friendly Carrier Phrases

• /s/ blends (spy): “I spy with my little eye something…”
• /l/ (little): “I spy with my little eye…”
• /th/ (thinking, that, something): “I am thinking of something that…”
• /g/ (guess): “Guess what I am thinking of…”
• /k/ (can): “Can you guess what I am thinking?”
• /r/ (ready): “Ready, set, guess…”

These phrases allow you to get repeated productions without interrupting the flow of the game.

Language Therapy Ideas

Christmas I Spy is also an excellent way to target language skills through structured clues.

Try requiring the clue-giver to include one of the following before others can guess:

• Function: What does it do?
• Category: What group does it belong to?
• Description: Size, shape, color, or pattern
• Location: Where would you find it?

This naturally targets vocabulary depth, categorization, and expressive language.

Using the Christmas I Spy Materials

These are no-print, digital materials, making them easy to use in both teletherapy and in-person sessions.

Tips for Use

• Display the slide and play verbally using the pictures
• Avoid clicking through slides while guessing—use an annotation tool instead
• For versions with prompts, read the question at the top of the slide and move forward after the response to check answers

The goal is to keep the interaction conversational and fast-paced.

Want More I Spy Materials with Language Prompts?

In addition to the free Christmas I Spy game, there are expanded I Spy materials that include built-in language prompts and challenges targeting:

• Vocabulary
• Categorization
• Description
• Sentence formulation

These are available inside the Speech Therapy Talk Membership and are designed for quick setup and flexible use.

Reference:

McLeod, S., Baker, E., & McCormack, J. (2017).
The impact of intervention on children with speech sound disorders: A systematic review.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26(2), 586–609.