Speech Therapy Ideas
TV

As much as we try to limit screen time, sometimes it isn’t always possible! So instead of always fighting it, I came up with speech therapy ideas TV for older children that will make everyone happy!

Speech Therapy Ideas TV

TV actually has a lot of language learning opportunities; however, parents must be involved to make it work. 

If you have a DVR, TiVo, Roku, Apple TV or any other TV recording/internet streaming device hooked up to your TV, these activities are for you! If you don't, you can always perform the activities below during commercials. 

Below, I outline different ways to work on answering questions and narrative structure skills which are both essential for oral language and reading comprehension development. TV shows are like books. They tell a story and we will utilize that! 

How To Do Speech Therapy Ideas TV:

For all the goals listed below, you will sit down with your child to watch a favorite show. Explain to him/her you will watch an episode together and talk about all the exciting things that are happening. You are going to periodically pause the show and ask questions and make guesses. You will see who gets it right! (or put whatever spin you want to on it to make it fun!)

Below, I outline different goals based on age and/or language skills. I suggest starting from the beginning and moving through each one.

Goal: WH Questions

Who, Where, and What...Doing

Age: 3 Years and Older

Directions: Being able to answer WH questions such as “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” “how,” and “what doing" is a very important language skill. By 3 years of age, a child should be able to answer "when," "where," and "what..doing" questions. 

To play this game, pause the TV at different times and ask your child "who," "where," and "what...doing" questions such as:

• Who is the story about?
• Where is George?
• What is George doing?

If your child is having difficulty answering these questions, give a choice of 2 or 3 options to model what type of response your question requires. Also, you can explicitly explain, "who" means a person, "where" means a place, etc… 

When, Why, How

Age: 4 Years and Older

Directions: Once your child can answer "who," "what doing," and "where" questions, pause the TV and ask "when," "why," and "how" questions. The directions to play this game are the same as above. Intermittently, pause the show and ask your questions such as:

• When did Dora go to the park?
• How did Thomas find the elephant?
• Why is George happy?

These questions require more reasoning skills instead of just recalling facts. Therefore, to help your child learn, use the "think out loud" technique. To do this, answer your own question and explain what clues in the show helped you come up with your answer. Basically, just think out loud. 

For example:

• Why is George happy? George is happy because he finally found a lost kitten. He was so upset when the kitten was lost and was very worried. However, he found the kitten and now he feels good. I can tell he is happy since he is smiling and laughing. 

Goal: Sequencing

Being able to sequence events in a story is important for oral storytelling, writing stories, and reading comprehension. 

Age: 5 Years and Older

Directions: Again, pause the show somewhere in the middle and review what has happened to far. Focus on sequence words such as “first,” "second,” “next,” and “last.” At first, you may need to model how to do this task. Once your child has had a few exposures, encourage him or her to retell the events in order. 

Repeat this again at the end of the show. To make it more fun, you can always challenge each other to see how much each can remember.

Tip: If your child is having trouble remembering details and putting them in order, pause the show earlier. Your child will have less to recall but still practice the important skill of sequencing!

Goal: Prediction

Prediction is an important reading comprehension skill. Being able to predict helps to improve overall comprehension and recall of material, and it works on reasoning skills. 

Ages: 6 Years and Older

Directions: Working on prediction can fun but challenging for some! To do this activity, you will again pause the TV show and ask your child a prediction question. For example, once an event happens in the show, pause it and ask “what do you think will happen next?” That's it!

If your child is having difficulty with this task, talk them through it ("think out loud" technique). Don’t just give the answers. Talk about your reasoning and what clues in the show make you think what you think. 

Fun tip: Once your child gets good at this, make it a challenge. Both of you guess and see who is right.

Goal: Story Retell

Age: 4 Years and Older

Directions: At the end of the episode, work on retelling the story. This can be complicated for some children. What to expect from a child will depend on the age.

• 4 years old: Your child should include the characters, setting, problem, and what happened at the end.
• 5 years old: Your child should include the characters, time, setting, problem, and what happened at the end.
• 6 years old: Your child should include the characters, time, setting, problem, feelings, plan, attempts to solve the problem, and what happened at the end.

Who know TV could be so useful?

For more information on story retell, click here!

Final Tip

 A Trick: The earlier you start these "games" with your child, the better. He/she will get used to you stopping the show and asking questions. If your child is older and has been watching TV solo for a while, he/she may find this annoying. Get creative and find ways to motivate your child!

Thanks for reading!

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