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How to Use Apples to Apples in Speech Therapy

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

Most SLPs I know play games…lots and lots of games.  It is great for motivating little ones and the big kids….plus getting tons of practice into a session.  And we might just be the best at making any game target what we need it to!

As I was unpacking this week, I felt almost like it was Christmas….when I put all these treasures away at the end of the school year, I tend to shelf them from my thoughts also.  Seeing all of my material got me pumped for therapy!  I thought since I was so excited to see my stuff that maybe you might like a peek at some of my favorite (and most useful!) games that weren’t exactly intended for speech.  I have so many that I decided to spread the love over the next few weeks.  Today we will look at the best one in my cabinet….

Apples to Apples Kids is my absolute, hands down, favorite non speech game EVER.  I love it….  even more than CandyLand!  How amazing is that?!  There are several different versions of Apples to Apples and variations of play.  Essentially, there are red apple cards which are nouns, and green apple cards, which are adjectives.The way we play in my room is this:  each player is dealt 5 red apples and the judge puts down one green apple card a round.  The player has to choose a card in their hand to the go with the adjective…sometimes this can get pretty silly 🙂  The judge picks the best card to be the winner of that hand, and that player keeps the green apple card.  The person with the most green apples at the end is the winner.  This game is great for language because of the emphasis on parts of speech and vocabulary!  But you can also target articulation, voice, or fluency with the cards in play!  When they choose their card to play, they put it face down on the table.  I pick up all of their cards and shuffle, then I take a look and have each student read the word on one of the cards.  If we are working on articulation, I will choose a card that has their target sound in it for them to say.  If we are working on language, we will discuss word relationships, making sentences, synonyms, antonyms, etc.  Students can alway practice techniques they are working on for voice and fluency if they are also in your group.

Now, imagine my excitement when I found this…Apples to Apples Dice Game!  It is just as fun and even quicker!  Instead of cards, there are just dice.There is one green, 20-sided die, and red, six-sided dice for each player (up to 6).  Each one has letters on each of it’s sides.   Also included are green chips, which are like points.  The judge rolls the green dice and chooses an adjective that starts with the letter rolled.  Then, the red dice are tossed and each player grabs one, naming a noun that goes with the letter rolled.  Like in the other game, the judge chooses a winner and gives that person a chip.  the person who has the most chips, wins!  Again, you can work on speech AND language goals with this game and target many objectives.

The suggested ages on both of these are 7 and up.  I have found it to be a great tool from 3rd grade up to my 8th graders.  My kids love it and I think it is probably my top request as far as “in the box” games.

Do you play any Apples to Apples games in your room?  Do you have other ways to play?

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Filed Under: Articulation, Language, Product Review, Vocabulary

Comments

  1. Carrie Manchester says

    at

    I love Apples to Apples! I don’t frequently have kids that are old enough to play, but when I did, I added this little variation…One of the kids in the group.was absent. We still dealt him cards. We would pick one of the cards at random and add it to the pile. He actually WON the game, even though he wasn’t there! They got such a kick out of it, we always played with an extra not-there person (celebrity, classmate, etc).

    • SLP Gone Wild says

      at

      Lol, that is such a fun idea! I bet my kids would love it! Thanks Carrie 🙂

  2. Elizabeth McGeehan says

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    This comment has been removed by the author.

    • SLP Gone Wild says

      at

      Depends…baselines for what?

  3. Elizabeth McGeehan says

    at

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    • SLP Gone Wild says

      at

      There is a book called Language Processing Treatment Activities, which is based of the LPT-3 that I use to get baselines for vocab…it has a little bit of everything in it, word lists and picture stims. I also use some of the books in HELP series. All of these are from Linguisystems.

My goal is simple. I want to provide you with helpful resources to engage your students in quality & creative therapy sessions

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  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
  • Using open ended activities and games in speech therapy can make planning sessions so much easier! Here are a few suggestions that worked well for me. Do you remember the first time you were faced with a mixed group and were realllllllllly unsure about what to do? I do… picture it, St. Augustine 2007 😅 I was […]
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Meet Blob (NOT Bob)… and I’m here to tell you Meet Blob (NOT Bob)… and I’m here to tell you that you need this one in your therapy sessions.
Blob is a creature that can morph into anything and he does!  But someone keeps calling him Bob instead of by his name, which is frustrating for him. Finally he decides to just be himself, and he also stands up for himself to be called the correct name.
This one has all kinds of important lessons, and I think the name piece is super important for kids. Every child deserves to be called by their name and correctly. It’s a perfect beginning of the year book!
This book would also be great for: 
⚪️perspective taking
⚪️Targeting /b/ or /l/ clusters
⚪️Describing the different things Blob turns into
⚪️Compare and contrast
⚪️Discussing children’s interests and what they can be
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Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3LbZDi7
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Here's what I love about it for therapy:
👉🏼Themes of self awareness, being yourself, and interacting with the world around you
👉🏼Some figurative language that allows for deeper discussions with older students on your caseload
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👉🏼Lots of rich Tier 2 vocabulary with strong verbs and nouns (i.e. warrior, march, destined)
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Have you picked this one up yet?
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I started this job two years ago, and this cohort started this journey with me. To say I’m proud of them is the biggest understatement of the year. My heart is so full of love for this group of young women and they are going to be AMAZING world changers through their work as SLPs. 

I’ve learned that being a supervisor means a lot more than imparting my wisdom about being an SLP.  Teaching how to navigate life and deal with loss, and how to manage stress and work boundaries are just as important as how to do therapy or write a SOAP note. 

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2. When You Left Me Speecless by @authorjesschristine was delicious!! SLP romance that is SO spicy and a fun read by one of our very own. 5⭐️

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What have you been reading and loving lately?! Tell me in the comments so I can add it to my list 😍
Happy SLP Day, friends 🩷 YOU deserve all the ce Happy SLP Day, friends 🩷 YOU deserve all the celebration!!
I have the perfect new book for your speech therap I have the perfect new book for your speech therapy sessions::: Meet Floof 🐱 

Floof by Heidi McKinnon is an adorable new book that follows a silly cat that is doing what most cats do… getting into everything and taking naps!

What I love most about this story is the minimal words on each page, with fantastic illustrations that tell a bit of a different story. This is absolutely perfect to get your kids engaged and chatting about all the things they see Floof doing (and target verbs, prepositions, expanding utterances, and about a hundred other skills)

So many speech and language opportunities with this one, it’s a MUST read!  Want the link? Comment “Floof” and I’ll send you right over to Amazon so you can grab your own copy. 

I was provided with a copy of Floof in exchange for a review, but opinions and recommendations are all mine 🤍
Another semester done, another group of amazing wo Another semester done, another group of amazing women steal my heart ❤️ So dang lucky to get to do this work, SO proud of these future SLPs 🫶

Something that has been heavy on my heart lately::: I wish SLPs stop demonizing grad school, it’s such a problem especially on social. There are tons of people, me included, working really hard to make sure these young people have great experiences. Is it hard?  Hell yes. But can it also be amazing? Hell yes.

And if you had a terrible experience, what are you doing to change it for others?  Complaining about it on social is only doing harm to our field… and that’s fresh from the mouths of my students. It makes them anxious and scared and is such a negative influence. 

How about instead, we talk about boundaries and balancing it all, how to have difficult conversations and self advocacy, growth mindsets and overcoming challenges. How about we help prepare them instead of scare them? 

Just a thought 🌸 

Signed a tired clinical supervisor who pours her heart and soul into her grad students 🩷
For 13 years I worked as an SLP in the schools. I For 13 years I worked as an SLP in the schools. I was so happy there, I never thought I would leave… I imagined having a whole happy career in an elementary school and retiring and that would be that. 

But it wasn’t. 

The pandemic hit and I started to drown in that life that I used to love so much. So I left. And everyone said how brave I was, but I was so scared and sad and confused. Without being a school SLP, I didn’t know who I was anymore. How was my identity as a human so wrapped up in my job?  I started questioning whether or not I even wanted to be an SLP anymore. 

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I found my way back through opportunity after opportunity. These doors that opened, led me back to my passion for a field I love. And it looks a whole lot different now than I ever imagined.

And that’s good.

We are so lucky to work in a field filled with possibilities. I tell my grad students all the time, you don’t have to pick a path and walk it forever. What works now, may not work for you in 5 years. Hell, it may not work next year. 

Stop putting pressure on yourselves and each other to be something specific. Med SLP, school SLP, peds, adults… we can do it ALL.

We grow, we change, we keep going. THAT Is where the beauty is 🩵 create the life you love and screw what you’re “supposed” to do.
Unbelievable. That’s all I got. Unbelievable. That’s all I got.
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Meet Blob (NOT Bob)… and I’m here to tell you that you need this one in your therapy sessions.Blob is a creature that can morph into anything and he does! But someone keeps calling him Bob instead of by his name, which is frustrating for him. Finally he decides to just be himself, and he also stands up for himself to be called the correct name.This one has all kinds of important lessons, and I think the name piece is super important for kids. Every child deserves to be called by their name and correctly. It’s a perfect beginning of the year book!This book would also be great for: ⚪️perspective taking⚪️Targeting /b/ or /l/ clusters⚪️Describing the different things Blob turns into⚪️Compare and contrast⚪️Discussing children’s interests and what they can be⚪️Making decisionsAmazon Affiliate link: amzn.to/3LbZDi7 ... See MoreSee Less

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