Below is a list of well-loved wordless picture books that can be enjoyed and appreciated by your students at any reading level including those with limited English proficiency. Wordless picture books are perfect for supporting our students’ visual literacy and can be used to target a myriad of therapy goals including sequencing, inferring, stating the main idea, and answering -wh questions and beyond. It can also be used as an informal assessment tool ( check out the free Dynamic Assessment Mini-Course on my homepage for more info )!
So, let’s get down too it!
The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett – A simple story of a little boy who loses his favorite toy airplane and spends his time and effort trying to get it back. This book can work alongside a fun and engaging transportation-themed lesson. After reading this book together, allow your students to make up their own similar stories.
Flashlight by Lizi Boyd – This story with simple illustrations explores nighttime and a child’s journey with his flashlight to highlight different creatures he finds in the woods. This book would be perfect for a camping-themed lesson and can also be paired with an I-Spy activity in order to work on naming and s-blends. Students can also use these images to practice sequencing, inferencing, defining, and summarizing.
Flotsam by David Wiesner – A interesting tale of a boy who finds unexpected treasures at the shore of a beach. This treasure draws him into examining different parts of the world through photography. Students will need to be paying close attention to the details in the illustrations in order to follow the stories. Be sure to give your student the definition of flotsam as they will need that background knowledge to better understand the story.
One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole – This is an Earth Day pick! A precious story about being mindful of our planet. The journey of a young boy and a little bag that is reused over and over again including the memories that go along with it. The images and narrative sequences will require the student to interpret it explicitly by slowing down and paying close attention to the details.
Penguin Sets Sail by Jessica Linn Evans – The story of a penguin whose dreams are to be a
sea captain. He sets out on a journey in search of friends and treasure but he soon realizes that it is harder than he thought. Students can construct their own narratives based on the story as well as think of a title that they think suits the story best. This task may be very difficult for your student as there is no written text for them to rely on.
Shine by Dagny Griffin – Little Mia is a happy child full of love and joy who slowly shares her love with those around her. Students will be able to see her usually dull, sad, and the cheerless city turn into an assortment of beautiful colors. While reading the story, students can target comparing/contrasting while making inferences, answering -wh questions, and constructing their own narratives.
Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell – A winter-themed wordless picture book about a little girl and a wolf pup lost in the snow and their journey home. Students can make their own stories after reading the book as well as practice summarizing, writing captions, and dialogues for the images.
Ready to learn how you can implement literacy based therapy into your sessions DAILY and get even more picture book suggestions you can use as a speech therapist? Be sure to check out my Level Up Literacy course once it opens where you can learn how to do just that. Put your name on the waitlist now so you don’t miss when the doors open again!
Oh, and if literacy-based therapy is new to you and you’re unsure how to plan a literacy-based lesson, READ THIS BLOG post for my best tips!
