I hope you saw last week’s post with Christmas and Hanukkah word finding cues. Here’s the link: https://www.wordfindingforkids.com/prepare-for-the-holidays/ . Present Christmas and Hanukkah word finding cues NOW so your speech therapy kids have the holiday vocabulary they need at their fingertips. Listen to their own language: what activities they are anticipating? What do they want for Christmas? What are their plans for winter break?
Remember that the most significant determiners of ease of retrieval are frequency of use and recency of use. The kids on your caseload may not have used words like wreath, reindeer, and Frosty since last year. They don’t need cues for every word, just the ones that are evasive for them. I love to sing Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs with the kids to reinforce vocabulary. The rhythm, rhyme, and familiar tunes are a recipe for successful retrieval. Obviously, that activity will depend on the religious culture of your caseload!
New Year’s will also be upon us before school resumes in January…stay tuned next week for cues for “resolution”!