Dr. Seuss is a household name. Did you know his books can be used to develop speech & language skills? The next time you read one of your favorite Dr. Seuss books with your family, try incorporating these tips from our speech-language pathologists!
Developing Vocabulary: Books are great for learning new vocabulary pertaining to a particular topic/theme. Use a Dr. Seuss book to plan a week (or even month) of themed activities to help promote your child’s vocabulary growth. Each activity will help build upon your child’s previous knowledge/experience.
If using, Horton Hears a Who!, you can pretend to be elephants, make elephant hats, talk about how an elephant’s body parts are similar/different than your own, use pom-poms to make clovers, or make edible clovers using Rice Krispies cereal.
Developing Early Literacy Skills: Phonological awareness, the understanding of how sounds are put together to form words, is a foundational pre-literacy skill. The ability to identify and produce rhyming words is included in this. Dr. Seuss books, such as One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, are full of rhyming words. As your child becomes familiar with a story, pause and let them fill in the missing words.
Developing Articulation Skills: Dr. Seuss books are full of motivating “tongue tanglers” that can be used to reinforce clear articulation skills. Pick a book full of your child’s target sound(s) and have fun! Fox in Socks is great for working on the /s/ sound.
Developing Social Skills:·
Yertle the Turtle: Targets sympathy and the importance of caring for others.·
The Big Brag: A lesson surrounding bragging.·
What Was I Scared Of: Perfect for discussing fears and how to overcome them.·
Green Eggs and Ham: Conveys the importance of being open-minded/flexible.
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This post written for you by Samantha Secrist, M.A., CCC-SLP of Columbus Speech & Hearing