Back To School Books For Speech Therapy

I LOVE this time of year. All the fresh school supplies, everyone is rejuvenated from summer break and ready for a new school year in speech therapy. Lessons from picture books give us the ability to set the tone for acceptance, encourage kindness, or quiet uneasy nerves of students all while building vocabulary, literacy, and language skills.
There are SO many books with a back-to-school theme, I’m giving my favorites here and a highlight of how I use them with language bookmarks that you can download to use with them. This post contains Amazon affiliate links which helps support this blog at no cost to you.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Such an endearing story by one of my favorite authors. The vocabulary is spectacular and the message of acceptance makes this a must-read.
Language goals I use it for:
-vocabulary
-social/emotional conversations
-story recall

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev. The illustrations are beautiful. Handling rejection and true friendship are explored in this imaginative story.
Language goals I use it for:
-vocabulary
-problem/resolution
-story recall
-social/emotional

Back To School, Splat! by Rob Scotton. I LOVE Splat books and so do my students! This is a fun one for BTS.
How I use it:
-story recall
-prepositions – (finding Seymour on each page)
-sequencing

Clark The Shark by Bruce Hale. Oh Clark…we all have a Clark, right?
How I use it:
-vocabulary
-figurative language
-social/emotional
-writing prompt

The Pout-Pout Fish Goes To School by Deborah Diesen. If you’ve read my other book suggestions, I love Mr. Fish! I love how she tackles the fear of fitting in. So many kids, especially kids who struggle with academics, feel lost at school.
Language goals I use it for:
-vocabulary
-story recall
-social/emotional

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett. Kids get so upset or embarrassed when they make mistakes. Teaching kids that mistakes are sometimes funny and how you handle them makes a big difference in how they feel about them.
Language goals I use it for:
-vocabulary
-figurative language
-story recall
-writing prompts