Birds chirping, warm breezes blowing. These are the kinds of days when you just need to be outside. Here are some of my favorite outdoor activities to incorporate into summer speech.
1. Have a Picnic
Getting out for a picnic is a fun change of pace for space. You can also use a picnic to span multiple sessions depending on your goals. You can plan for your picnic by categorizing the items you will want and need. Have students follow directions to pack up for the picnic. One of my favorites is to describe the tasty foods!
2. Sidewalk Chalk
Bust out the sidewalk chalk and head out front! Students can write or draw pictures and words with their speech sounds. They can draw a scene and tell you about it to work on syntax.
3. Camping
I love camping, and who doesn’t enjoy a good s’more. Now, having a real camp fire may be a bit challenging but you can still have the full camping experience. Set a up a tent in your speech room if it is too hot outside. Students can follow directions to make tasty camping/outdoors snacks…ants on a log anyone! You can read some great scary stories for students to practice their listening comprehension skills. Jenna Rayburn at Speech Room News has some fun camping ideas for you as well.
4. Water Balloons
There is something about seeing a bucket of water balloons that puts a smile on anyone’s face. If you have some hula hoops you can place a few at varying distances outside. Each hoop is worth X number of points. After students complete a task they earn a balloon. See who can get the most points at the end.
