3 Ways I Use My Movement Dice in Speech Therapy

I LOVE a good Dollar Tree haul. I found these foam dry erase dice and immediately thought of the endless possibilities for my preschool and elementary students. I needed an activity that would engage all my students, and could be adapted to target several different goals. I also wanted a go-to activity that could be adapted and repeated throughout the year. In this post I am going to share with you 3 different ways I use my movement dice in speech therapy.

What I came up with, was the idea of creating movement dice. The first thing I needed to do was create the 6 exercises to attach to each side of the die. My favorite resource for picture symbols with a vast library of content is Smarty Symbols. Under the category of "exercises" and "actions" I found "squat, clap, marching (I renamed knee lifts), hop, jumping jacks," and "arm circles." Each dry erase spot measured 2-1/2 inches in diameter. I printed the circles on cardstock, laminated them and glued them to the die. 

Part 4: Read the Nonverbal Communication

(Part 4: Read the Nonverbal Communication)  This is the fourth part of my series on  Highly Effective Strategies for Managing Behavior. I encourage you to read the first three posts in the series, including: 

Part 1: Why is He Acting That Way?
Part 2: Create Routines
 Part 3: Structure for Success

The previous posts in the series provide the background information to understanding the communication intent behind behaviors, the importance of routines, and tips and ideas for structuring the environment for success.

Part 3: Highly Effective Strategies for Managing Behavior

(Part 3: Structure for Success) This is the third part of my series on managing difficult behaviors in language impaired children. I encourage you to read both the Introductory Post and Part 2: Create Routines for some background information in this series on managing difficult behavior in your classroom or speech therapy room. In this post, I am want to outline 3 ways you can structure your speech room for success.

1. Eliminate Unnecessary Visual Stimuli

As much as I love colorful and stimulating classroom decor, some of our special needs students just cannot handle the visual stimuli. In a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University, kindergarten students in brightly decorated classrooms were found to spend more time off task and made less academic gains than those in sparsely decorated classroom. For special needs students, systematic structure, visual schedules, behavior charts and anchor charts for learning can be useful decorations. Think about your speech room, is your classroom decor structured for success? You can download my Wh-Question Anchor Charts FREEBIES HERE.

Part 2: Highly Effective Strategies for Managing Behavior

(Part 2: Create Routines) This is the second blog post in the series "Highly Effective Strategies for Managing Behavior."  You can link here to read the introductory post. 

How is your day structured? Do you have a morning routine that involves drinking coffee or hot tea? It is widely known that students thrive on routines. If we consider our busy lifestyles, we can admit that we all feel more successful when we work with a routine. For students with communication impairments time concepts are often very difficult to understand. Knowing what is coming next may decrease anxiety and increases focus and endurance for longer periods of work time.

Part 1: Highly Effective Stragegies for Managing Behavior

(Part 1: Why is He Acting That Way?)  Have you ever had one of those days when you felt like that thirty-minute therapy session was a “total waste of time?” Be honest, we’ve all felt that way. Do you remember that session where little “Johnny” just couldn’t sit still? He couldn’t follow directions, stay on task, sit in a chair, stop making noises, and a sticker just would not motivate him. There are some days I feel like we don’t get anything accomplished in our therapy groups. Those are the days I am ready to just take those little friends back to class and hand them off.

Then, I take a deep breath and remind myself that all I am seeing is BEHAVIOR, but the intended message is COMMUNICATION. That behavior IS communication, and my job is to help students reshape that behavior into an appropriate form of communication.