speech and language teaching concepts for Sonya's Chickens in speech therapy​ ​
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/s/ initial
/n/ medial
/ch/ initial
/k/ initial, medial and final

Themes:

farm
non-seasonal
grief
life cycle

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Elementary, Late Elementary

Sonya’s Chickens

By Phoebe Wahl

Sonya raises her three chickens from the time they are tiny chicks. She feeds them, shelters them and loves them. Everywhere Sonya goes, her chicks are peeping at her heels. Under her care, the chicks grow into hens and even give Sonya a wonderful gift: an egg! One night, Sonya hears noises coming from the chicken coop and discovers that one of her hens has disappeared. Where did the hen go? What happened to her? When Sonya discovers the answers, she learns some important truths about the interconnectedness of nature and the true joys and sorrows of caring for another creature.

This sweet farm book can be used in speech therapy to address social/emotional issues like dealing with loss. It is also great for noticing illustrations and for targeting inferencing as well as for vocabulary! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Sonya’s Chickens in speech therapy below:

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode

Narrative Concepts:

vocabulary​
theme/message​
illustration study​
inferencing​
social/emotional​
prepositional phrases
predicting​

Vocabulary:

spruced, coop, gawky, pullets, forage, latch, ruckus, squawking, kit, mourned, repaired, reinforced, vigilant

Social/Emotional:

Sonya learns about the circle of life and has to grieve the loss of one of her chickens. Sonya also learns the perspective of the fox including why it took the chicken and how it needs to take care of its own family. 

Figurative Language:

idiom (heart was heavy)

Grammar:

prepositional phrases

Inferencing:

How did Sonya feel about taking care of the chicks?
Why did she say thank you for the egg?
How do Sonya and the other chickens feel?
How did Sonya’s papa help her?
How did Sonya feel after the burial and when taking care of the others?
How did she feel at the end?
What kind of caregiver do you think she is?

Predicting:

What do you think she heard outside?
What do you think happened to the third chicken?
What do you think they will do to honor the chicken?
What do you think they will do to keep the others safe?
What do you think she will do with the new chick?

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