January is a great time to bring fun, engaging themes into your speech therapy sessions. Incorporate winter favorites like penguins, hibernating animals, snowmen, and special events like the 100th day of school and New Year. Below, you’ll find activities centered around hot chocolate and cozy winter themes to keep students motivated while working on their language goals. These ideas will help make January speech therapy lesson plans simple and enjoyable for the kids.
January is a time for returning to the swing of things after the holidays. Students are still excited about gifts and family time and need a minute to return to reality. These exciting plans will motivate them to learn and grow.
Grab the January Speech Therapy Lesson Plans from the link at the bottom of this post!
Table of Contents
Week 1: New Year and Winter
January is a great time to discuss winter and goals for the new year! Use these January speech therapy lesson plans to start the year on the right foot.
BOOKS
Winter is Here: Read about everything people and animals do to prepare for winter. There’s so much going on, and it’s fun to learn.
Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter: Join a brother and sister on their walk through the woods as they see the new winter sights.
Brave Irene: Irene’s mother made a beautiful dress but can’t deliver it because she isn’t feeling well. Irene sets out on a journey to deliver it in a snowstorm.
ARTICULATION
50 Articulation Trials- Snow: These snowflake-themed articulation trials are fun to use in winter.
Winter Dice and Dot: Kids roll the dice and dot the words as they work on their goals.
LANGUAGE
New Year’s Goal Writing: Use the included writing prompts to allow students to write about their New Year’s Goals.
Winter Dice and Dot: This activity is good not only for articulation but also for language practice.
Winter Narrative Notes: The notes are great for four winter books and help students with themes, vocabulary, articulation trials, and more.
Week 2: Penguins
Everyone loves penguins! These penguin books, book companions, articulation resources, and penguin themes make January learning so much fun.
BOOKS
Tacky the Penguin: Tacky does things differently, which makes him unique. Read this book as a fun way to remind kids to be true to themselves.
The Emperor’s Egg: This is the story of the world’s most devoted father. The father emperor penguin sits on the egg while the mother is off fishing. They are starving, but they have a job to do.
Penguin on Vacation: Penguin is tired of the snow and heads to the beach. When he arrives, he discovers he can’t do all his favorite activities like skiing and skating. Can he find ways to have fun in the sun?
ARTICULATION
Penguin Popper companion: Students use their penguin popper to knock down cards with words on them, working on articulating them as they go.
100 Articulation Trials- Penguin: Allow students to work on their articulation trials with these cute penguin printables!
LANGUAGE
Penguin Popper Companion: The penguin popper activity is perfect for language and articulation.
Winter Narrative Notes: Use the notes to discuss themes and words in The Mitten, Penguin on Vacation, Brave Irene, and A Thing Called Snow.
Read & Review: Winter Book Companions: These winter books are such fun reads, and these book companions will make January speech therapy lesson plans easier.
Week 3: Hibernating Animals
As you work on language and articulation, talk about hibernation and winter. These are a great addition to January speech therapy lesson plans.
BOOKS
A Loud Winter’s Nap: Tortoise always sleeps through the winter, and his friends want him to stay up. Is he missing anything or should he just go to sleep?
Bear Snores On: Bear’s friends wake up from their winter sleep first and start a little party in his den. When will he wake up, and what will he think of all of his friends around?
Time to Sleep: Bear can smell the winter air! He tells one friend who tells another, until news makes its way around the forest.
ARTICULATION
Bear Snores On Book Companion: Use this pre-prepped book companion with the sweet story on bear and his winter nap. It makes planning easy this time of year.
Winter Match & Say: With multiple ways to play, students draw cards to match their page as they practice their target words. If you draw an “OH NO, YOUR SNOW MELTED!” – you lose your cards and start over.
Read & Review: Winter Book Companions: This set includes speech and language therapy book companions for 5 favorite books: Sneezy The Snowman, Tacky the Penguin, A Loud Winter’s nap, Over and Under the Snow, and Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee.
LANGUAGE
Use the same resources mentioned above for language skills as well.
Week 4: 100th Day, Hot Chocolate & Snowmen
During January, invite kids to celebrate the 100th Day of School with hot cocoa and snow! Grab the resources from the January speech therapy lesson plans to get through the end of the month.
BOOKS
Snowmen at Work: Did you know that snowmen work at night? There are dentists, delivery workers, pet shop owners, and pizza delivery snowmen!
Sneezy the Snowman: Sneezy is so cold and keeps sneezing. The kids tirelessly try to help him warm up with hilarious results.
ARTICULATION
Hot Chocolate Dice and Dot: This activity includes 100+ pages of no-prep Winter Hot Chocolate-themed Speech Therapy activities for articulation, language, and writing.
Build-A-Snowman (printable): Students roll a dice and say the word that goes along with it. Using the key, they create a fun snowman drawing!
Read & Review: Winter Book Companions: This book companion resource includes five books related to the January speech therapy lesson plans.
LANGUAGE
Use the resources mentioned above to work on both language and articulation skills.
Week 5: Snowmen
Snowmen are a must in the classroom and therapy sessions. Use these fun books and resources to excite kids during these chilly months.
BOOKS
The Biggest Snowman Ever: Clayton and Desmond are in a contest to build the largest snowman! They start by making their own but soon discover that teamwork may be the best option.
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow: She’s at it again! She’s swallowing coal and sticks along with the snow. What could she possibly be up to this time?
ARTICULATION
Use the digital or print versions of the build-a-snowman activity to work on language and articulation skills. Roll a dice and practice the corresponding words while building a snowman!
LANGUAGE
Keep these resources on hand all month to boost skills in January.
I hope you love these January Speech Therapy Lesson Plans! They will be so helpful as you head back to work after a little break.
Check out these winter podcast episodes to help you choose which winter-themed books are best for your speech therapy sessions:
PODCAST: Our Favorite Winter Book for Using in Speech Therapy
PODCAST: This or That: Using The Mitten and A Thing Called Snow in Speech Therapy
PODCAST: Deep Dive: Using Brave Irene in Speech Therapy
If you want to see next month’s calendar for February, check it out HERE. Editable templates are also available in my TpT store.
