Looking for free, fun, and educational entertainment this summer?
Paper Trail Designs has many free “I Spy” printables that can be used to work on your child’s speech and language goals, while also channeling your child’s inner creativity.
Many of us are familiar with the traditional guessing game “I Spy” played as a car game (“I spy with my little eye something beginning with the letter…”), which is a good option for working on speech and language. Because many of us are spending more time at home this summer, this printable version can be played anywhere!
Here’s are a few examples of how you can use the “fruits and veggies” printable shown above:
- Build language using carrier phrases: “I see/spy ____.” Fill in the blank with fruits & veggies pictured. You can also practice accessing these carrier phrases on an augmentative communication (AAC) devices. Example: I spy a pineapple
- Talk about the taste/texture/smell/color of each fruit and veggie to target modifiers/adjectives. Examples: A pineapple tastes sweet. A pineapple is yellow. A pineapple feels rough.
- Describe (expressive language) or point (receptive language) to the location (using prepositions) of a fruit or veggie. Example: I spy a pineapple next to a strawberry. Point to the pineapple next to a strawberry.
- Target speech sounds. Example: If the target sound is “P,” target building from the word level to the sentence level. 1) Pineapple. 2) Eat pineapple. 3) I love to eat pineapple.
Use the speech and language targets below to create your own “I Spy” fun using any of the printables available. Paper Trail Designs has numerous options, including Harry Potter, Outer Space, Mermaids, Pirates, Music, Animals, and a lot more.
Language targets:
- Following directions incorporating basic concepts:
- Spatial (ex: on top, under, next to)
- Temporal (ex: first, then, next, last)
- Quantitative (ex: all, none)
- Qualitative (ex: big, little)
- Colors (ex: red, blue)
- Emotional states (ex: happy, sad, mad)
- Shapes (ex: circular, rectangular, etc.)
- Using descriptive language to describe what you see:
- Nouns (ex: labeling specific items)
- Adjectives (ex: describing what items look/taste/feel like)
- Verbs (ex: describing what actions or functions items have)
- Language expansion using carrier phrases
- I spy…
- I see…
Speech targets:
- Word level: say each item pictured 3x.
- Phrase level: create a carrier phrase to produce each item pictured in (spy…).
- Sentence level: create a carrier phrase to produce each item in (I spy with my little eyes…).
- Self-generated sentence level: have your child create their own sentence about the item pictured.
- Conversation: discuss each item in detail within spontaneous conversation.
These are just a few ways to incorporate speech and language skills into a fun-filled, family activity. Paper Trail Designs has over a dozen different “I Spy” printables with themes from Harry Potter to Construction Vehicles to Emojis and more (they even have one for July 4th, which is coming up next week!)
Enjoy!
Elena Freeman, MEd, CCC-SLP
