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speech and language teaching concepts for Scaredy Squirrel in speech therapy​ ​
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/skw/ initial
/sk/ initial
/air/ medial
/er/ medial and final
/pl/ initial

Themes:

fall
anxiety
phobias
fear

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: N/A
Age Recommendation: Early Childhood, Elementary, Late Elementary

Scaredy Squirrel

By Mélanie Watt

Scaredy Squirrel never leaves his nut tree. It’s way too dangerous out there. He could encounter tarantulas, green Martians or killer bees. But in his tree, every day is the same and if danger comes along, he’s well-prepared. Scaredy Squirrel’s emergency kit includes antibacterial soap, Band-Aids and a parachute.Day after day he watches and waits, and waits and watches, until one day … his worst nightmare comes true! Scaredy suddenly finds himself out of his tree, where germs, poison ivy and sharks lurk. But as Scaredy Squirrel leaps into the unknown, he discovers something really uplifting

This funny fall book can be used in speech therapy to address social/emotional issues like overcoming your fears. It is also great for inferencing and for targeting character analysis as well as for lots of /s/ blends and /r/ sounds! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Scaredy Squirrel in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary
theme/message
character analysis
illustration study
inferencing
social/emotional concepts
verbs (action)

Vocabulary:

insists, safe, familiar, venture, advantage, disadvantage, predictable, assured, emergency, panic, regret, ordinary, drastic

Character Analysis:

Scaredy Squirrel learns how to embrace the unknown and changes up his routine, just a little bit.

Social/Emotional:

Scaredy Squirrel overcomes his fear of going out of his house by focusing on the parts he does like.

Grammar:

verbs (action)

Text Features:

lists
capitals
change in text size
instructions
map

Inferencing:

Why do you think Scaredy Squirrel wants everyone to wash their hands before reading this book?
How do you think the unknown can be a scary place for a squirrel?
Why do you think Squirrel is scared of those things?
How do you think it would feel to never leave your house/apt?
Why do you think he has all of those things in his emergency kit?
What do you think about his emergency plan?
Why do you think playing dead is always a good option?
How do you think he feels as he jumps to catch his kit?
How do you think he feels when he realizes that he can fly?
How do you think he feels after he makes some changes in his routine?

If you are interested in using Scaredy Squirrel and other fall-themed books in speech therapy, then check out these print-&-go cheat sheets. Perfect for when you don’t need a full book companion. 

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