Pig the Elf

By Aaron Blabey

Santa was coming! ‘Twas bigger than big! No one loves Christmas more than Pig. And the world’s greediest pug will stay up all night to get his presents! When Pig yips at Santa and finds himself joining in on the flying sleigh ride, things quickly get out of hand in a way that is pure Pig pandemonium.

This silly rhyming Christmas book can be used in speech therapy to address social/emotional issues like greed and being thankful for what you have. It is also great for predicting and for targeting a variety of verbs as well as for Tier 2 vocabulary! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Pig the Elf in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary
character analysis
social/emotional
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (irregular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
predicting
text features
phonological awareness

Vocabulary:

merry, festive, cheapskate, glee, naughty, gent, holler, dismay, declare, nipped

Character Analysis:

Pig is greedy and demanding for presents for himself; he doesn’t say please like Trevor. He was rude and mean to Santa. It’s unclear in the end if Pig learned a lesson or changed his poor behavior. Trevor is polite, kind, and dutiful. He seems to be thankful for whatever Santa might bring him.

Social/Emotional:

Pig is shocked that Santa did not bring him all the gifts he asked for and attacks Santa. Pig is cranky, sleepless, greedy, and “not like himself”. Santa does not seem to be bothered by Pig (maybe because he has experienced this before). In the end, Santa teaches Pig to be an “angel” and to be thankful for what he has.

Figurative Language:

idiom (hold your ground)

Grammar:

verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (irregular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)

Text Features:

ellipses for anticipation
large/bold text for emphasis
moving text
dialogue
exclamation marks
capitals
dashes
italics

Phonological Awareness:

rhyming

Inferencing:

Why did Santa out Pig as the angel on top of the tree?
Why did it say Pig must be blessed?

Predicting:

What do you think about Pig’s wish/order list?
What do you think Pig will do while he’s awake?
Who do you think made the noise?
What do you think Santa will do at the house?
Do you think Pig will say anything to Santa?
How do you think Pig will act to Santa with no sleep?
What do you think he will say?
Where do you think Santa is taking him?
What do you think Pig will do next Christmas?

If you are interested in using Pig the Elf in speech therapy, then check out these print-&-go cheat sheets.

If you are interested in seeing other Christmas books to use in therapy, then check out the Seasonal Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.

Books

Monthly Plans

Crafts

Seasonal

Frequent Speech Sounds:

Themes:

Book Details:

Pig the Elf

Key Teaching Concepts

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