My Favorite Bookmarks to Use with Older Students

We all have our favorite “go-to” activities to use in our therapy sessions. During virtual learning/teletherapy, some of those go-to’s changed from tangible activities (card decks, game boards, manipulatives, paper, and pencil/crayon exercises) to digital ones. BOOM cards for example were a lifesaver during virtual learning! They provided an interactive, motivating, and effective way to address various communication goals and I will forever be grateful for them. However, now that we are back to in-person learning, I probably won’t use them as frequently.

While I had already been using several of the sites in my bookmarks bar pre-Covid, my list of digital resources has grown exponentially as a result of the pandemic. Some of those resources served their purpose and might not get revisited again, however, others were so well-received and effective, that I will continue to incorporate them into my regular therapy repertoire. I keep many of the resources I frequently use (websites, YouTube channels, subscriptions) on my bookmark bar for quick and easy access. Below is a comprehensive list; I definitely use some of these more than others. For example, KidNuz is the first website in my bookmarks since I love playing the 5-7 minute daily podcasts for my older students. The podcasts provide relevant, meaningful, real-time content about the events and issues occurring in the world while addressing vocabulary and comprehension. Each episode also includes a transcript that I often print out for my students. We read and/or listen to the news segments, then identify the MAIN IDEA and a couple of SUPPORTING DETAILS. I use these podcasts as a platform for eliciting so much language—conversational exchanges, inferencing, tier-2 vocabulary.

While I love incorporating many of the links below into my therapy routine, they are not my sole means of addressing speech and language goals. This is just one more tool to add to the therapy toolkit and is weaved into my lessons along with a variety of other materials.

I have starred (*) the sites that I find myself using most frequently, however, depending on my caseload, these current favorites may change from time to time to accommodate the needs that best suit my students.

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