how to make a speech therapy schedule

4 Must-Have Tips (& FREE Template) for the School SLP Scheduling Therapy

• August 1, 2021

Are you a school SLP scheduling therapy for the first time?  Or have you been doing this for YEARS and just need a new method to control the madness? Does the thought of having to make a new schedule this year nearly bring you to tears? Then you are in the right place! I’m here to share all my tips and tricks to make scheduling not only easier but more beneficial for the student, you, and the classroom teacher.

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Where to start with speech therapy scheduling?

In my first couple of years in the schools, scheduling seriously stressed me out.  I constantly felt guilty for not giving every teacher their perfect time, not creating the most cohesive groups, or constantly changing it based on new students and new referrals.  

Now I wish I could tell you that I had the solution to every single one of these problems and I never stressed about them again.  But the truth is, I don’t. There is never one way to make every single person happy or to always have the perfect therapy group; however, I do have some tricks that I’ve learned along the way that make it so much easier and less stressful. And guess what? I actually look forward to making my schedule every year!  Maybe that makes me a little strange, but I’m ok with that.  To me, it’s like putting a puzzle together and I get a little rush out of making all the little pieces fit together.

To learn more about me and my journey as a school SLP click here .

A Little Background About My Unique SLP Schedule & Setting

I should preface this with a little information about my school setting because I know they are all a little different.  I work full-time in a pretty large elementary school with at least one other full-time SLP.  Not only do we share the caseload, we also share a therapy space.  While I know this may not be ideal for everyone, we have used it to our advantage.  Because our school is so large, we have never been able to split caseloads by grade level (due to school master schedules and large numbers of students in each grade) so we’ve always had some students in every grade, K-5.  Once we started sharing a room, we also started scheduling together so that we can accommodate more students from the same class(es) at the same time.  This prevents teachers from having multiple speech times for their classroom and helps us group students together more effectively.

Here is an example:

Mrs. A and Mrs. B, both third grade ESE inclusion teachers with similar daily schedules and a heavy caseload of speech and/or language students in each of their classes.

This is one way we may schedule their students:

With this schedule, both Mrs. A and B have only one speech time (9:30) that ALL of their students have speech.  Half come Mon/Tues and the other half come Thurs/Fri.  So much easier for the teachers and students to remember + fewer distractions and interruptions.  And we get to group students based on goals with 2 different language-only groups and 2 different speech-only groups.  Makes therapy planning SO much easier.

Importance of a School Master Schedule for School SLP Scheduling

The first step (after getting your caseload list and teacher/class lists) in this process is to get a school master schedule.  If your school doesn’t have one big pretty, color-coded master, it’s totally fine (mine doesn’t always either).  You can put together your own in just a few easy steps.  

Key school SLP scheduling materials you will need:

• Special area times
• Lunch times
• Recess times (if your school schedules these times)
• A grade-level schedule for each grade*

*For these schedules I email the grade level leader(s) for a general schedule that most of them follow. (Some grades may have 2 different schedules based on locations/team-teaching/etc or there may occasionally be one teacher who differs slightly, but the grade-level chair can usually get me that information).

Getting a master grade-level schedule from teachers is essential to this process.  Not only does it give a teacher a say in their times, but it also allows you to easily group kids together from different classes.  This also puts some accountability on them while taking some of the pressure off of you.  For example, if later in the year an issue comes up in the schedule (child says they’re missing math, the teacher says it’s not a good time, etc.) you have documentation that you used the schedule they gave to you and didn’t just pick a time willy-nilly.  Now obviously things change and compromises need to be made, but I’ve noticed this has helped me stick to my planned schedules with fewer re-arrangements needed.

Making your own Master Speech Therapy Schedule

Once I have all of the school and grade level master schedules, I make my own master schedule of the best times for each grade level.  These are the times that teachers/grade levels have requested when sharing their schedules, times right before/after a transition to reduce interruptions to learning, or the only times available that prevent pulling from key instruction or mandatory recess. These factors are critical for school SLP scheduling.

This is what my initial rough draft looks like:

This master schedule has become a staple in our school as I now share it with our MTSS team and other therapists so that teachers have fewer interruptions to precious instructional time. Win – Win – Win!

SLP Schedule Template FREEBIE

Need a place to start? I got you covered! Click here to gain access to my Free Resource Library and download my fully editable weekly schedule. School SLP scheduling does not have to be stressful anymore!

Speech Therapy Schedule Template

I love keeping my speech therapy schedule template saved in my google drive so I can easily update it as needed (we all know how often that schedule changes)!  I keep printed copies (one per week) to keep track of attendance and my caseload.  We have to report our rosters twice a year for funding, so this makes it easy for me to see who exactly was on my schedule for that week in the school.  This is especially important for the beginning of the year roster verification as it can be hard to remember that far back. We also typically have so many new additions during that time of year that it can be hard to keep track of who was placed when. 

Building in time for a Variety of Service Delivery Models with School SLP Sceduling

As you can see in my sample schedule, I have a lot of different types and sizes of groups.  It is important to take into account the various service delivery models you will be utilizing for your caseload.  I usually have many groups that are seen twice a week for 30 minutes each. This makes up most of my schedule.  But I also see kids in a “5-minute kid” model for articulation daily. I have some groups that come 3 or 4 days because of the need for more frequent services. Some of my students are seen just once a week (e.g., in a fluency or social skills group). I also push-in to our full-time ESE classroom.

One of my strategies for making this process of including all the different models a little easier is scheduling my students in the full-time room (who typically have more services) first so I can work with the teacher and make our schedules together (she typically sees pull-out students as well as her students who she has full-time).  I block out their times first. Then I put in my groups seen 3-4 times a week (e.g., students who have apraxia or severe phonological delays) so that they have the same time all week.  Then I schedule everyone else usually leaving the once-a-weekers for last because they are a little bit easier to fit into any open slots.

For more information about different service delivery models, check out this article from ASHA:

School-Based Service Delivery Models – ASHA

Speech Therapy Scheduling Template Below

Here is an example of my sample therapy schedule. I’ve also included a link to grab your free speech therapy scheduling template from my free resource library .

Speech Therapy Schedule for Teachers

I don’t think I can stress enough the importance of working with and alongside your teachers to make your speech therapy schedule.  Most teachers I know are very protective of their instruction time (as they well should be).  Working with them, getting their input, and respecting their time and opinions will get you so much further than setting up walls and boundaries.  They (like the rest of us) have a lot on their plates. We need to be there to support them and their (our) students so that we can work together.

Tips for Sharing your Schedule with Teachers

Here are some ways you can share the speech schedule with your teachers, I usually do a combination of these two: 

• sharing a google doc for each grade 
• making printed, individual lists for each teacher

I like to share the grade level google doc with teachers to make their grade-level planning a little easier and so they can see how many students in their grade level have speech services – to support why it may be more difficult to make changes later on. The google doc includes the speech time(s) and days and lists the students (first name only) who come at that time, organized by class.  Because both SLPs in the school share all of the classrooms, this gives teachers one place to find all of their students and their times, even if they are seen by different therapists.

I also make printed lists for individual teachers to post in their classrooms.  These are typically a little bit cuter (because why not?) with some extra room in case new students are added.  These are helpful for paras in the room to have quick access to the schedule, a visual reminder for teachers and students (because we all forget), and especially for substitute teachers.

Speech Therapy Weekly Schedule Template for Teachers below

Here is a link to download my free speech therapy weekly schedule template for teachers:

More Ideas and Information Related to School SLP Scheduling You Might Find Helpful:

More Scheduling Tips from the Creative Speech Lab

How to Make a Schedule by The Speech Bubble SLP

References:

Nippold, M.(2012). Different service delivery models for different communication disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 43 , 117–120.

Pulled from: School-Based Service Delivery Models – ASHA

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I hope you found some of these school SLP scheduling ideas helpful and can use one or more in your therapy room this school year.  Please leave a comment or shoot me an email if you want to share some of your favorite school SLP scheduling hacks!

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How Do I Make A Speech Therapy Schedule?

One of the most stressful parts of the year for me has to be making my speech therapy schedule, AKA: the most challenging game of Tetris an adult can play.  With large caseloads, multiple grade levels, kids receiving multiple services, and restrictions on when services can be provided, coordinating everything can leave you with your head spinning.  Here are my tips and a few things to keep in mind when scheduling your students.

Things to do before you start:

• Before starting your speech therapy schedule, get a copy of the school’s master schedule: This is the schedule that tells you when everyone is eating lunch, at recess, has their specials, etc.
• Get a copy of the teacher schedules for your students.
• Get a copy of the special education teacher schedules for any students you may share with them. Now these may not be ready right away, but if you go and chat with them they may have a rough idea of how it may look.
• Send a quick email to any other specialist that you know your students will be working with: OT, PT, Social Work, etc.  Some of these professionals may only be assigned to your building one day a week so making sure you know when they are there will help you when scheduling and may be deciding between co-treating during that time or not.

Now, first things first, determine your time blocks.

Next, talk to their teachers.,   tip: have the teacher give you their ‘ideal’ times that would be good for the student to be pulled or have your push-in                    ( whatever their iep says ).  write them in, in pencil, and move on to the next student/teacher. explain that you will do your best to schedule the student at these times but you cannot make any guarantees. this allows the teacher to feel that they have been heard and hopefully understand if things don’t work out. .

Now as you can predict, there will be over lap amongst teachers with the times that they are willing to part with their students.  But alas, everyone can’t have their way.  First, take a look at where students are placed and have been grouped.  Do these times and groups work for you and your kids?  Perhaps you have a student who you know has a lot of anxiety about their stutter and it would not be beneficial to be in a group with your pragmatic student who is working on making appropriate comments.

On another blank schedule, do some shuffling.  Use the first schedule as a base and do your best to place kids.  Remember you don’t always have to schedule for pull out services ( unless it is specifically stated in their IEP ).  If you have several kids in one room think about pushing in.  Is the teacher up for working out a rotation schedule?  If you are curious about pushing in you can read this blog post HERE .  Oh, and when I take data for push-in I like to use rubrics. You can learn about these magical data collection tools HERE .

Now I know some people may be thinking this is wasting paper, because we know you will be revising this schedule a few times ( most likely ) until it is done, for now.  I used to make a big table on my whiteboard fill in students that way until a friend pointed out that I needed to keep my blinds closed  and door shut if I wanted to do it that way. Why? HIPPA my friends.  Protecting student privacy. Sure I can use initials but when you have 4 students with the same initials, yes 4, it can get tough.  So now I just use blank tables, much safer.

Once you have your speech therapy schedule sketched out, double check it against the special ed, specialists, and lunch schedules.

Gotta make sure those kids eat!  At this point, take a breath and go get a snack. Heck, treat yourself to some Starbucks and a scone, you deserve it after all.

After your brain has had a chance to calm down and unwind, re-visit the teachers or send them an email with their students speech days/times.

If you do email, which for time purposes usually works out better, unless you’re trying to get your steps in on your Fitbit, just ask them if the times work or not.  Sometimes there are minor changes to teacher schedules and informing you of this doesn’t really occur to these teachers. They are crazy busy too trying to set up their rooms.

Most likely you will have to repeat this step a few times until the students are placed into your schedule. So I will leave you with these key points:

• Go in with a plan for your schedule. It is always easier to build from something than nothing.
• Compromise about times
• Don’t be afraid to push-in, as long as their IEP says it’s ok
• Take breaks!
• Be mentally prepared for several revisions
• Remember it will get done!

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Hey there! I’m Maureen Wilson, a school-base SLP who is data driven and caffeine powered. My passion is supporting other pediatric SLPs by teaching them how to harness the power of literacy and data to help their students achieve their goals…without sacrificing time they don’t have.

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7 responses.

Have you tried using Google Forms when scheduling? I had better success and a few less revisions when I tried it in one of my buildings. I find it seems to work at the elementary level when students are more likely to be tied to a single teacher. It doesn’t work once students start a rotating schedule, but for K-5, I think it’s worth a try.

Hi Heidi, I haven’t experimented with Google Forms yet but I have heard other talk about it. It is great to hear what works for other people so we can have more options 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

How do you typically schedule your students, two times a week for 20 minutes? I have a caseload that will be between 70-80 students and the schedule this year is a nightmare. How do you write your services/minutes in your IEP. Thanks!

I schedule my students in 30 minute blocks, with 25 minutes being for direct services as stated in their IEPs and leaving 5 minutes for transition and setting up for my next group. The amount of minutes per week is determined by what the student’s needs are. My district uses a matrix to help determine minutes. If you are finding that you are having a hard to reasonably scheduling your students talk to your admin. Show them the mock up schedules you have created and explain what isn’t working. Is it bc teachers are unwilling to let students leave at certain times or push in at certain times? Is it due to restrictions from your district such as students can not be pulled from core classes? They are there to support you and it doesn’t mean you are less of a professional or ‘can’t do your job’ bc you ask for help.

Great tips Maureen, I like the “tetris” reference, very appropriate. I am a fan of Outlook 365. It is more common with the teachers I work with.

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How to Seamlessly Plan your Speech Therapy Sessions

• January 4, 2022

I have some productive and efficient strategies to help with planning your speech therapy sessions in the new year! In my last episode , I talked all about time management strategies that SLPs can implement in their day-to-day lives to become more organized.

Today, I will be sharing different strategies that you can begin implementing to seamlessly plan your speech therapy sessions. Be sure to check out this two-part series!

Here are a few different strategies you can begin implementing right now in order to help you better manage your time and plan your speech therapy sessions.

1. Plan Your Therapy Sessions by Outlining Activity Ideas:

Make a list of the top 10 activities you use most frequently in your therapy sessions. Once you write down the most-used activities, you can then break down each one and write down all of the goals and strategies you can target with each activity.

Being able to outline activity ideas before sessions will help you be able to just walk into a room and dive right into the session without extensive written plans.

2. Theme/Curriculum-based Session Planning:

Planning sessions around themes provides you with a more focused idea of where to take your therapy sessions. Thematic approaches in speech therapy involve selecting a theme and then highlighting this theme through various activities and lessons. The theme can be carried throughout an entire therapy session or even multiple therapy sessions.

In this episode, I will be sharing ideas on how to incorporate themes within planning. Use these ideas to start organizing lesson plans around themes so you can use those materials in future years and continue to build upon all of your materials.

 3. Using The Digital SLP® Monthly Roadmap to Plan Your Speech Therapy Sessions

The Monthly Roadmap feature on The Digital SLP site provides members with the whole month’s speech therapy sessions, mapped out with resource recommendations that are each hand-picked by our team. All of the pre-planned resources are listed by week and placed under 5 main categories:

• Articulation
• Phonology & apraxia
• Social skills
• Language & literacy

With just one click, you will be taken directly to the recommended resource. This makes it much easier for you to locate the resources and decreases the time it takes to plan your sessions as you don’t have to do all the searching yourself!

All of these resources on The Digital SLP site can be used during teletherapy sessions as well as in-person sessions! Check out my podcast episode from October 5th titled How and Why to Use Digital Resources in Person to give you ideas on why and how to use digital resources during in-person therapy sessions.

Some of these strategies may take time to implement, but you can continue to build upon them so that next year and the year after will flow much more smoothly and efficiently!

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Full Transcript of Podcast: How to Seamlessly Plan your Speech Therapy Sessions

Episode 86: how to seamlessly plan your speech therapy sessions.

You're listening to the Speech Space Podcast, a podcast full of tips and resources for SLPs. I'm your host, Jessica Cassity, and this is Episode 86.

Hey, there! I hope that you all had a lovely holiday season, and thank you so much for tuning in today. We are going to be talking about seamlessly planning our speech therapy sessions. So we're going to be tying in to our last episode, which if you missed it, it was all about time management strategies that SLPs can implement in their day-to-day lives to help them to become more organized. So like I mentioned today, we're going to discuss planning therapy sessions using productive and efficient strategies to help better manage your time. So before we get started, I did want to mention that this podcast is brought to you by The Digital SLP membership site, which is a site that features time-saving interactive digital resources that are all teletherapy platform-friendly. You can learn more about that or signup for a free trial by heading on over to thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp .

Planning therapy sessions can be a long and extensive process for most SLPs. Being able to find ways to make session planning go more smoothly, may help us manage our time, even more to be able to find time to complete those other tasks like paperwork and communicating with parents and talking with teachers. So what can we do to help make session-planning more of a breeze? Let's talk about a few different strategies that you can begin implementing right now in order to help you better manage your time and plan for all of your sessions.

The first thing we're going to talk about is out outlining activity ideas. So one extremely efficient strategy that will help you with planning future therapy sessions is to make a list of the top 10 items you use most frequently in your therapy sessions. Some of these items may include bubbles, Pop the Pig, Mr. Potato Head, blocks, Legos, headbands, you get the idea. Now, once you write down the most used items, you can then break down each one and write down all of the goals and strategies that you can target with each item. So let's take the game of headbands, for example. For those of you who do not know, the game headbands is when you place a picture of an item on your headband that you're wearing and the item is facing outwards. So the only person who can see the picture is the person across from you or your communication partner rather. So then your partner, who's sitting across from you where they can see this picture. They also place a picture within their headband that you can see, and then you each take turns providing clues to see if the opponent can guess what the picture is that is in the card on their headband. So some ideas for this one, some goals that you could target, you could target describing, labeling, categories, answering wh-questions, answering yes-no questions, and vocabulary. And there's really a lot that you can target with that game. And, you know, we have a lot of multipurpose resources that we use in our speech sessions that can, you know, be used for hitting on lots of different goals. And you can take this even further and you can write out examples of how to target these goals, such as once the student guesses their picture is a horse. You can have them then name three more farm animals to work on categories. So maybe horse was a little specific there, but you could say once the student guesses their picture you can have them name three more items to continue working on that category. So you can keep it a little more vague than my first example. This is really great for grad students and new grads, and then even seasoned SLPs who are just looking to streamline things a little bit more, but it's nice whenever you kind of take the time. This is a great thing to do in the summer when you're not working or over holiday break or leading up to holiday break. If maybe you have some downtime to really outline these things, you can get them going in a spreadsheet. So then whenever your students come in with certain goals, you can kind of just look those goals up and see which games or which resources are the ones that you're going to use for those goals. It just takes a little bit of the planning and the thinking out of it. And I don't mean that in a negative way to take the thinking out of it. Obviously, we wanna be thinking about our students and our sessions, but I feel like because our time is so precious, and we really wanna give our students all that we can. If there are systems that we can in place to minimize the amount of analyzing and planning for a session, then by all means, I think we should do that. Being able to outline activity ideas prior to your sessions will help you to be able to just walk into the room and dive right into the session without extensive written plans.

Now, the next thing that can be very helpful is theme-based session planning. Planning sessions relating around themes helps to provide you with more of a focused idea of where to take your therapy sessions. Thematic approaches in speech therapy involve selecting a theme and then highlighting this theme through various activities and lessons. The theme can be carried throughout an entire therapy session or even across or over multiple therapy sessions. So here are some ideas on how to incorporate themes within your planning. You could create a calendar to guide you on the themes for each month. So you might determine what topics are being addressed within the classroom as well, because sometimes it's nice to have that overlap between what's going on in the classroom and what's going on in the speech room. Let's look at the month of November, for example. So say your theme this month is going to be turkeys. So find books relating to your theme. For the example, the book Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano is a good one. And then the other thing is to research and find activities relating to your theme and the books that you picked out. These activities may be following directions, vocabulary, answering wh-questions. Pinterest can be great for finding crafts to help with working on following directions and then describing, maybe, the process of the steps that were taken to create that craft or describing that craft. There's so much that you can work on there. But if you can get those things on a calendar and kind of get a rhythm, then what's nice about that is you use that year in and year out. So if you put together your calendar, you know, the first year it's going to be a little bit more cumbersome because you haven't done it yet. But then next year, when you go back into the school or say, you're in private practice and you start back up again. Assuming that you had a summer break, I know some private practices do and some don't. But you will have a template to pull from and you'll have your books picked out and you'll have your crafts picked out. So then you have this nice list of resources and activities and books to pull from.

Another wonderful way to become more organized and be able to easily plan your sessions each month is using the monthly roadmap feature on The Digital SLP site. So yes, this is going to be pertinent to Digital SLP members. However, I know that a lot of you listening are Digital SLP members, so I did not wanna leave this one out. This feature provides you with a whole month's speech therapy sessions mapped out for you with resource recommendations that are each handpicked by our team. All of the pre-planned resources are listed by week and placed under five main categories. So we have one for articulation, one for phonology and apraxia, one for social skills, one for language and literacy, and one for stuttering. So with just one click, you'll be taken directly to the recommended resource. So it's super easy. You don't have to worry about doing all of the searching on your site, and if you are a member, you know, that the site has grown tremendously. So sometimes it's nice to have someone else pick something out for you rather than you having to go in and search for a resource yourself. So something to keep in mind. All of the resources on The Digital SLP site can be used during teletherapy sessions, as well as in person sessions. So you might wanna check out my podcast titled, How and Why to Use Digital Resources in Person , if you're not familiar with doing that. That went live on October 5th. So that's gonna give you some ideas on why and how to use those digital resources with your in person therapy sessions.

Being able to implement strategies to help ease planning will provide you with more time in the future to get additional tasks done that are on your long to-do list. And not only that, it will help with getting a better balance on things. Just because we have a long to-do list doesn't mean we need to get it all done at once. So it can help with time management in terms of creating more time to get the things done that need to be accomplished and allowing you to have more time to yourself to get out of work early or on time or whatever it is that your goal is in terms of trying to find a better balance between your work and home life. You know, some of these strategies that I mentioned today, they will take time, but you can continue to build upon these strategies. So, like I said, next year and the year after will flow so much more smoothly and efficiently.

Okay. So that's it for today. I hope that you found those tips to be helpful. Like I mentioned, at the beginning of the show, The Digital SLP membership site does have a free trial. So if you did wanna give that roadmap feature a try that I was mentioning, you can go ahead and sign up over at thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp . And if you wanna access the notes from today's session, you can do that by heading on over to bit.ly/EP86 . All right. I hope that you have a wonderful week and I will catch you back here in a couple of weeks.

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5 Speech Scheduling Tips from the Trenches

Oh, that dreaded speech schedule…

Had I known what I now know when I first started working as a school SLP, it would have saved me so. much. aggravation. It doesn’t have to be that way. That is why I’m sharing my top 5 tips with you today.  

1. Communicate Effectively with Teachers

L et’s face it. Teachers have full plates and sometimes the logistical struggles we face can feel a bit, well, invisible at times. Creating a speech schedule requires us to navigate a complex array of logistical constraints that vary according to grade level (and often differ on various days of the week).

I suggest letting teachers know what to expect in a clear, concise and assertive manner. Kindly explain that you will do your best to be flexible; however that you are navigating the schedules of X number of children.

Personally, I provide my teachers with a small list of their speech students accompanied by their relevant information. I also hand out a user-friendly speech scheduling newsletter (and I can’t begin to tell you what a game-changer this has been). I’m also not ashamed to say that I bribe…I mean… express my appreciation …with candy (I even created cute candy “thank you” tags for a personal touch).

2.Don’t Delay. Begin Right Away!

Trust me. If you start your schedule on Day 1, you’ll thank yourself later. Grab a student list and a highlighter to identify the students on your caseload and organize their pertinent information (i.e D.O.B., grade, teacher, special education classification etc). I often use a chart like the one below.

3. Group Students Strategically  

There are many ways you can choose to group students. You may find it the most practical to create groups of students based on shared goals. Since you want your sessions to go smoothly, you might prefer to group students that have compatible personalities or learning styles.  Sometimes, given all of the constraints you’re forced to navigate, it’s helpful to match students with the same service delivery times.

4. Identify Available Slots with Smart Charts

The biggest struggle I experienced the first time I created a speech schedule was figuring out when each grade level was available on each day. When I devised my chart system, my SLP life changed forever (no joke!)

After I use my first form to identify when each grade level is available,I simply transfer the information to my master sheet (see below) and refer to just ONE PAGE to create my schedule!

5. Use a File Folder Sticky Note System

So, I saved the best for last.

I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many erasers and sheets of paper I wasted when I created my first speech schedule! I now use an easy yet elegant, color-coded sticky note system in a neat file folder and simply move the stickies around to make changes. 

Best of all, I created a page that fits in the top section of the file folder and each slot is the size of a sticky note!  This makes everything neat, tidy and so organized! (Can you tell I’m excited?)

When all is said and done, I’m also sure to give teachers and students little Speech Schedule Reminder Cards.

Don’t feel like doing all this work yourself? Well, I have good news! I already did it for you! You can grab all of these forms and more with my EDITABLE, 50+ page Speech Therapy Scheduling Survival Pack HERE.

Here’s what some other SLPs said about this packet:

“This tool was such a lifesaver! No idea how I would have fit all of my caseload in without these resources! Scheduling was so much easier this year. Thank you” ~ Molly H. “VERY helpful! I thought you did a great job of explaining everything. I would definitely recommend this to new therapists struggling with the big task of scheduling.” ~ Rebecca G.

I hope you found my top tips helpful and I wish you all the best as you get ready for the school year! Do you have any speech scheduling tips up your sleeve? If so, I’d love to hear about them!

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Speech & Language Therapy Resources

SLP 101: Scheduling

09/05/2013 by Jenna 16 Comments

The SLP 101 series covers topics for school based therapists. Check out these other SLP 101 Topics:

Getting Started in the Schools    ::    Learning Targets  ::    Working Folders   ::   Scheduling  ::   Welcome Letter, Attendance, Billing  ::   Interviewing  ::  Salaries  ::  Common Core

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09/05/2013 at 11:30 am

I think it’s also important to speak with the principal and find out when you absolutely cannot pull students for speech. I can’t pull out of reading, writing, or math… so I’m limited to pulling from specials, science, centers, and concept refinement.

Unfortunately, the way I have to pull students, I get a lot of mixed groups because I have to go based off of their schedule and not really their needs.

07/26/2015 at 4:09 pm

I am the same way! Except we can’t pull from reading, writing, math, specials, UBT, and anytime they are pulled for other services… We always had to pull by grade because of schedules and ALWAYS have mixed groups and skills/goals in the groups. That’s when it becomes extremely important to have good games and activities that can be modified and used for MANY different target skills.

09/05/2013 at 1:21 pm

Im doing this right now and it is my most dreaded event of the year! Our school has this staggered lunch within grade levels that throws everything off (especially if I want to do a lunch bunch within a grade level). Totally frustrating.

09/05/2013 at 8:36 pm

It’s the worst thing I will do this year – thankfully! This year it only took four revisions because Title 1 Reading times continued to change! I also put my schedule in an EXCEL document because it is so much easier to change. It also has been beneficial when after you have everything done and a teacher wants to change his/her time, I can email my schedule and we can look at it together for possible solutions.

09/06/2013 at 2:08 am

I wrote a post on scheduling: http://oldschoolspeech.blogspot.com/2013/08/that-s-word.html It was a BREEZE to schedule, and involved little to no stress on my part!

09/06/2013 at 3:51 pm

I’m lucky that my district builds “intervention” time into the daily schedule. This way, I simply look at the intervention time each day for my students and know exactly when I can pull them. It pretty much makes my schedule for me. They will never miss new instruction or specials to come to speech. This makes it difficult if students that share intervention time do not have similar needs, but we make it work! It is sometimes difficult coordinating with OT, PT and reading specialists, as they are pulling during intervention time as well.

09/08/2013 at 10:11 pm

Painful, frustrating time! I use the sticky note method at my elementary school. Each student has a sticky note for the number of times they need to be seen. I’m on round two. After this, if a teacher says something doesn’t work, I will take my entire schedule to them and let them see the open times and the number of students their change will displace. Once they see how impacted my schedule is, they usually don’t argue much more. At my middle school, which is on block schedule, I try to schedule everyone during the first half hour of their P.E. classes and then work with teachers for my twice a weekers and social skills groups.

09/09/2013 at 9:15 am

Preasure feel frustating times like this you to prioritize more important report.

09/09/2013 at 8:09 pm

I schedule everything around the Early Childhood/Pre-K classes because they are only in school for a half day. The staff at my school is pretty flexible which helps a ton! Working in lower elementary has worked out well. When I worked with 4th-8th graders, I had a really difficult time scheduling because the children switched classes so often.

08/19/2014 at 2:11 pm

Last year I only had time to spend one day in each building, two of which were new buildings. Well, you know how it is. Class lists, specials schedules, etc. aren’t done yet. So, going in during the teacher workdays to talk to teachers about schedules is almost anti productive. I used to gather each teacher’s can and can’t times etc. Then I’d sit with loads of papers and scratched notes in front of me trying to check and cross-check times which involved several revisits to some teachers because of conflicts. So, last year, I got so frustrated with lack of time to be in the building and the time crutch to start therapy that I send a Google spreadsheet to the teachers along with their student’s initials and how much time they had to be seen and told them to fill it in since they know their schedule best. It worked like a charm and I’m doing it for all my buildings this year. Saves much time and frustration!!! While it’s being filled out, I can be working on therapy planning and beginning of the year duties! Best wishes for a great school year!

08/24/2014 at 6:35 pm

This is my first time scheduling students at the beginning of the year. It’s a nightmare! I’ve worked on my schedule every weekend since the students have returned. I just finished the 4th draft today…

06/26/2017 at 3:23 pm

I have enjoyed reading some of your tips and tricks!

I am an online SLPA Program Director/Instructor in Alexandria, MN and I am also a working SLP. I know how frustrating scheduling can be for the SLP! Because of this, I teach scheduling to my SLPA students ( it is a mid term assignment within their first and within there second year too). They have to schedule 43 students, K-12 that are in two separate buildings. It is very eye opening for them. As they move through the process, I bombard them with emails telling them i.e. that they can’t take anyone out of Mrs. Smiths math class etc. We all know how it goes!! I try to make it very real. The SLP’s who end up supervises my SLPA graduates are very thankful and the SLPA’s are too, since no one wants to be “thrown” into scheduling when you have no idea what to do!!

[…] read an awesome post by by Jen over at Speech Room News on using file folders in scheduling. I loved her idea, but put a […]

[…] the first things on your mind as you head back to another school year is scheduling. In the past, I’ve shared how I do my schedule for traditional therapy. Today, I wanted to share some information about a flexible service model that my school district […]

[…] SLP 101: Scheduling (from Speech Room News) […]

[…] There are a couple of great resources available created by SLPs, for SLPs; like this system described by Jenna Rayburn from Speech Room News.  […]

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SLP Scheduler is the smart scheduling assistant for school-based Speech-Language Pathologists.

Get Started!   

Your schedule. Automatically optimized.

Guaranteed to automatically find your optimal schedule ..

We regularly survey our users to see how SLP Scheduler has impacted them. If you're similar to our average SLP user, you should be able to:

• Create your schedule in only half the time
• Reclaim 5 hours from your weekly schedule

How it works. (Kind of like magic.)

Instead of wrangling stacks of sticky notes, our Caseload Editor removes the guesswork and gives you confidence that no student or constraint is overlooked.

SLP Scheduler helps you handle changes with ease. With students and constraints stored securely, you'll never have to re-enter data--this school year or next.

Check out our complete list of features for more.

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What makes SLP Scheduler different.

Since 2016, we've successfully generated 12,039 schedules for SLPs like you. Join us!

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Visual Schedules for Speech Therapy

So here’s how to use this resource:

First, you’ll click on the link within the PDF. You’ll need a Google account (free) and the Google Slides app (if you’ll be using this on the iPad).

Here’s a snapshot of how to access present mode. (On your computer, you’ll simply select “present”).

Next, you’ll select a schedule..

In present mode, you simply “tap” (or click) after completing a task. The task becomes checked off!

Repeat the activity as often as you’d like, or go back to home and select a new schedule!

You can edit the wording:

You just exit out of “present mode”. You double-tap (or just click on your computer) to change my wording and make it your own! (Shown with the “make your own” schedule option). You can edit the text in pre-made or “make your own” visual schedule options.

Still don’t see what you need? No worries! You can take your own pictures and make your own schedule. This is the best part!

You’ll just go back into “present” mode to use that schedule you created!

I hope this resource saves you a TON of time.

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If you have ended your day as a school-based SLP and wondered, “What the heck did I do all day?” you are not alone. Between high caseloads, speech therapy referrals coming in every other day, and trying to see all your students on your speech therapy schedule, it feels like we have NO time left to do all the other caseload management tasks.

How To Use Your Speech Therapy Schedule To Stay Productive

I am sharing my speech therapy schedule hacks to help you stay focused and productive on the must-dos for the week.

By taking 20 minutes at the end or start of your week to plan out what you will do with your non-therapy time, you will find pockets of time available for important speech therapy tasks.

When you write down when you will do your Medicaid billing, IEPs, assessments, etc. you will stay more focused during the non-therapy time. 

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In this Real Talk SLP episode, I share the following:

You will learn tips for how to up your productivity during the work day so that when you leave, the important things on your to-do list will be done. 

With this one small switch in how you view your work week, you won’t get distracted by emails, phone calls, or overbooking yourself and actually have time on your schedule to get stuff done!

How-to use Google Docs to create daily or weekly speech therapy schedules that you can duplicate to adjust your schedule.

Make your copy here of mine HERE . Use this Google Doc for each of your sites. If you are at one site or need a full weekly schedule view make a copy of this Google Sheet . 

Print out your weekly speech therapy schedule after you edit it in Google Docs. I prefer to make a copy of my previous speech schedule and write a new weekly date for digital tracking.

Once I fill it out, I print out the weekly schedule and keep it on a clipboard to take notes when I go around the school. This way, if I didn’t have a computer on me while co-teaching, I could take attendance for Medicaid billing.

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133: How To Plan For Your Speech Sessions In Minutes

Are you ready to cut your planning time down drastically? 

In this week’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing how you can plan your speech therapy sessions in minutes. Yes, you read that right! Not weeks, not hours—minutes. This is my framework for planning my speech therapy sessions in minutes, and sometimes even seconds. 

Planning for each individual student on your caseload would take hours, which no one wants to do. If you have been following me for a while, you know that no matter what goal I am working on in the classroom, I like to plan my lessons around a theme or concept to make planning easier. 

We only have so much time to get our lesson planning done for our students. We have to work smarter and not harder when it comes to lesson planning for all of those kids. Using themes is just one of the ways I do that. 

In This Episode You’ll Discover:

• Why using themes in your lessons helps you plan faster
• How I use the same text for each student and work on different goals
• Why you should only write a few goals per student
• The five things you need to write down to make lesson planning easier
• My favorite easy tools to use in the classroom for any goal

I hope you found this episode helpful! We want our students to be successful and build confidence, and we can do that by quickly planning lessons that help them reach their goals. 

Ready to get your lessons planned faster? I have just what you need. I designed a brand new freebie to make it easier to plan quickly for your older speech students. It gives you space to jot down the goal, the objective, how you’ll teach it, what materials you need, and how you will track and assess data. Grab it here! 

I have a webinar coming up this week that is all about planning with ease and confidence for your older speech students. You’ll also learn so many tips and tricks that will help you feel confident this school year along with a certificate of completion for showing up. We also have a pop-up Facebook group that's only available for this week that will give you bonus trainings and tons of giveaways. Register here! 

Joke of the Week:

Q: Why did the teacher jump into the pool? 

A: He wanted to test the water. 

Resources Mentioned: 

Grab the Planning Freebie

Register for my FREE 30-minute live workshop

Where We Can Connect: 

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Could I ask a big favor? If you are loving the podcast, I would LOVE it if you would leave me a review on Apple Podcasts . I read each and every review.  Plus, you get to pay it forward because it will allow other teachers like you to find the podcast! Wondering how to leave a review? Click here to review , then select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.  So easy and so appreciated! 

Do you have a question you would like me to answer on the podcast?

Great click here to fill out the form, related posts.

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How to Make a Speech Therapy Schedule without Stress

And a free editable speech schedule.

Make a speech therapy schedule without stress? Are you kidding me? It definitely is a true pain, but there are ways to make it easier. I’ve tried many ways to schedule over the years and this color-coded system has worked best. Give it a try to make speech scheduling (and rescheduling) faster and less error-prone throughout the year.

The benefit of a paper schedule is that you can work on it while sitting through the endless beginning of the year meetings. But if you have the luxury of doing your first schedule on the computer, make colored background cells in the table for color-coding. Type separate color-coded text boxes with students’ names instead of sticky notes. Just be sure to line them up in a visible area so you don’t lose track of any of them.

Make a Master Schedule

You’ll need small colored sticky notes and a page protector, but it will work with just a blank FREE schedule, a pencil, and any size sticky notes that you are willing to cut to size. Do you make your first schedule online? see the hints above!

Here’s how to do it.

• Take a look at your students’ goals and figure out your groups. Here’s how to manage mixed groups.
• Once you have your groups in mind, get your colored sticky notes ready! Either buy long, thin ones or cut them down to the size of your schedule slots.
• Write the names of your students on the colored sticky notes that match their classroom schedules. Usually, you will find that there are a group of classes having the same lunch times, for example.
• Make a color-coded sticky for every student session you need to schedule. This ensures that you don’t accidentally skip a session while scheduling. It is also very useful when making schedule changes.
• Make a master schedule of time slots where the students are NOT available. The colored slots on the schedule indicate this.
• Putting in information about where the students are during those periods can be helpful for finding the students who are out of the room or scheduling a makeup session.
• Also, fill in periods you are allowed to take students, but it isn’t worth the hassle unless necessary. Typically, read gym class!
• If you do any block scheduling or push-in times that have little flexibility, fill these in on your schedule now, too.

Make Your Speech Schedule

Take the sticky notes and place them on your schedule, following these rules: 

• Never match the color of the sticky to the color of the speech slot.
• First, fill in all the colored spots. Leave the white spots (with more flexibility) open until the end.
• Next, do group sessions. Start with the groups that have the most limited availability. This will typically be the groups with students who have different classroom schedules (multiple schedule colors,) the largest groups, and students with the most academic level classes.
• Next, do your students who have the most individual sessions, so you can spread them out over the week.
• Then schedule your students with the most sessions so you can spread them out over the week.
• Finally, fill in your remaining student sessions.
• Keep putting your sticky notes on until your schedule is filled.

Scheduling Problems

Inevitably, there is a spot left where someone doesn’t fit. 

Take a photo or screenshot now! (Or print a copy.)

Sometimes, a simple sequence of changes works, and your problem is solved.

Other times, you start making changes and it just gets worse, so you will need the photo to go back to where you were close to being done.

• First, see if you can move someone into the trouble spot that you found. Check out the slots where your unplaced student(s) will fit. Often this solves the problem.
• In the worst-case scenario, pull off the stickies in your easier to fill slots and stick them back on the sides of the schedule.
• Switch around your harder-to-schedule kids, seeing if you can fill the speech slot that became a problem.
• Then go back to placing your easier-to-schedule kids.
• When all else fails, see if you can push in during that impossible-to-fill slot. Or make it your prep time.

One of the best aspects of scheduling using sticky notes is that you won’t end up losing track of any sessions while figuring out the scheduling snafu!

Now that your schedule works, put it in a page protector so that none of the sticky notes can accidentally fall off. If you had to move the sticky notes around a lot, use tape to make sure that they stay put. Then go make a photocopy to work from and keep your sticky original intact. It will come in handy when the teachers’ or your students’ schedules get changed!

Last, but very important, go home and de-stress at the end of the day. For me, a glass of wine with dinner works wonders! And hopefully, you will be celebrating the easiest speech schedule that you ever made!

Then check out Planning Made Easier for more tips to help you have an easier beginning to the school year!

Grab your FREE download for making speech/language therapy scheduling easier by signing up here!

Make Speech Therapy Scheduling Easier!

Download this free editable speech/language schedule with tips included! Make scheduling less stressful.

Welcome to LLL! An email with the link is on its way to your inbox. Then be sure to open your monthly newsletter to get the FREE page password. Both the password and the freebies change monthly. Enjoy your freebies! Linda@LooksLikeLanguage

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FREE Ultimate SLP Planner 2023-2024 [Editable]

It’s here! For the third year in a row grab your completely free SLP planner for the 2023-2024 school year. The planner from last year is now updated with this year’s academic calendar.

Designed by an SLP for SLPs. This ultimate SLP planner comes with 61+ fillable pages in order to make it the best planner for speech therapists.

Use this speech therapy planner digitally or simply print and go.

You can also mix and match and use some pages digitally and print other pages.

In addition, this speech-language pathologist planner comes in two different options. There are both vertical and horizontal versions. Just download your preferred style!

Free SLP Planner: Vertical Version

Free SLP Planner: Horizontal Version

Download your free SLP planner today and start filling in the pages with life, class and school events using the free version of Adobe Reader . It’s that simple.

See a few examples below. All blue boxes on the school SLP planner are fillable using the free version of Adobe Reader.

Do you know anyone who would like this planner? Be sure to share it with them!

The Best Free SLP Planner Includes

This August 2023 – July 2024 school year free SLP planner comes with all of the following pages to complete your speech-language pathology lesson plan template.

Not only is this planner great for SLPs, but it’s also the best planner for graduate students. You can plan for classes and for your therapy sessions. 

If you’re a graduate student, be sure to grab this incredible free resources now!

No need to purchase an Etsy SLP planner, or one of Erin Condren planners, or the SLP happy planner, or one from Hobby Lobby, or some other teacher planner when you could get this ultimate slp planner for FREE.

Speech Therapy Plan for Organization

• Cover Page [Editable Name]
• School Information
• Contact Log
• Username & Passwords
• Yearly Calendar

Speech Therapy Caseload Organization

• Caseload Planner
• Monthly Paperwork Planner (August 2024-July 2025)
• Student Attendance Tracker
• Year at a Glance

The Ultimate SLP Planner Pages

• Daily Planner
• Timed Daily Planner
• Weekly Planner Blanks
• Weekly Planner Lined
• Weekly Planner No Lines Color
• Weekly Planner No Lines No Color
• Weekly Schedule (Morning, Afternoon, Evening)
• Weekly Schedule
• Timed Weekly Schedule
• Weekly Therapy Planner (By Group)
• Weekly Therapy Planner (By Skill Area)
• Weekly Timed 2 Page Spread
• Monthly Calendar Planner (August 2023-July 2024)

Speech Therapy Data Tracking

• Tracking Progress Reports
• Individual Data Tracking (6 & 8 Blanks)
• Group Blank Data Tracking (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Student Group Options)
• Group Articulation Data Tracking (2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Student Group Options)

SEE ALSO: 35 Free Speech Therapy Data Sheets Roundup

Frequently Asked Questions: Free SLP Planner

Let’s review the most frequently asked questions about this ultimate slp planner.

Who is This Planner Made for?

This planner is perfect for:

• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Special Education Teachers
• Speech Pathologist
• Classroom Teacher 
• SLP Graduate Students

Are there Monthly Calendars?

Yes! This new planner includes a monthly spread for each month from August 2024 – July 2025. 

The dates are updated as well! So, no need to write it or type it yourself.

Is this a Paper Planner?

Yes! This planner is printable or you can use it digitally with a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader or Kami (both are free).

Does the Planner use High-Quality Interior Stock Paper?

Maybe? That is completely up to you! 

This is a digital file that you can print yourself from home, work, or from a print shop. Currently, there is NO PRINTED FOR YOU OPTION . Sadness I know!

Are there Inspirational Quotes?

You bet! No planner would be complete without inspirational quotes.

Does this Planner Link to Google Calendar?

No, that would be amazing though. You can upload this digital file into your google drive though. Does that count?

Can I use this Planner in Multiple Different Speech Rooms?

Yup! Either pick it up and move it to your other speech rooms or if you’re using the digital version find your favorite computer in the room and open up the planner from there. Smart I know.

Does your Planner Include Background Images? 

No! That would just be a waste of ink. But I do have a couple of beautiful planner covers to choose from.

Are there Weekly Spreads?

Can you imagine an SLP planner without weekly planner pages? Yeah me neither that would just be crazy talk. 

I got you, there are multiple weekly spreads to choose from with this planner.

See I told you I got you. 

Are there Lesson Plans?

Now that would be one impressive planner. No, but I did include two lesson planning templates so you can do your own therapy planning.

Are there Student Data Sheets?

Yes, no planner would be complete without a way to track your student’s progress.

SEE ALSO: Top 14 Free CEUs for SLPs

Does this planner come with back covers.

Hmm, I like this idea! Let me get back to you on that one.

Is the Planner an Editable Template?

If you mean can you edit my work and possibly sell it as your own. Um no. 

But if you mean is it digitally interactive and you can type directly on the document and use it on the computer then YES! 

I’ve done the heavy lifting and added all of the digital boxes and checkboxes for you all you need to do is simply open the PDF in a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader or Kami (both are free).

Is this an Academic Planner?

You bet it is! This planner goes from August 2024 – July 2025.

Is there a Yearly Review Calendar?

Yup! There is a yearly review calendar of your student’s initial evaluations, evaluation dates, re-evaluation dates, service time, and a place for their birthdates. 

In addition, there is also a yearly calendar reference page to quickly check the date. 

I like to have the yearly calendar on the backside of the cover page for easy access and to cross out each day (as a countdown to summer or is that just me?).

Does the Planner Have a Floral Premium Matte Cover?

Now that sounds like one fancy planner. But to answer your question um maybe? It’s up to you because again you get to print your planner out however you like and on any paper you wish. 

I do have floral planner covers though! Check out the covers folder to pick out your favorite one.

Is There a Log to Keep a Parent Email Address?

Yes, I’ve included a contact log page where you can input the student names and their parent or guardian information as well as track each time you reach out and contact them so you have a record.

Is this Planner a Good Fit for Recent Graduates?

Yes, this planner is perfect for a recent graduate! 

It helps you keep track of your caseload, paperwork, and daily tasks all in one place.

Is this an 8×10 Planner?

You bet! It was made for a typical piece of US paper.

Can I Save this Planner in Google Drive?

You sure can! After you enter your email address you will be sent a link in an email to access the planner and it will be directly from my google drive. 

Simply make a copy and save it to your personal google drive. It’s that simple. 

Does the Planner Come with a Pretty Cover Page? 

Yes, the pretty cover page is the best part! This planner comes with 4 SLP Planner covers and 4 teacher planner covers. 

They both come in horizontal and vertical versions as well.

SEE ALSO: Speech Therapy Room Decor

Are there beginning of the year pages.

Yes, I got you! There are the following:

Are there Caseload Management Sheets?

Oh yes! The following pages will help with your caseload management.

• Year at a Glance (iep meetings, eval dates, initial eval dates, re-eval dates) 

Would this Free SLP Planner Work for Private Practice?

Yes, there would only be a handful of pages that you might not use, but the majority will come in handy. Simply pick and choose which pages to use.

Can I track Important Dates, such as IEP Meetings or Student Information?

Of course! There is a year at a glance sheet that allows you to put your student names plus there are places to track IEP meetings, initial evaluations, or re-evaluation dates so you can stay on top of all your meetings until the end of the year.

Can SLP Assistants use this Planner?

Yes, of course! 

Is there a Place to Track Progress Report Logs?

I got you! There is a progress report tracking log to keep all your progress notes in one place.  

Is there a Place to Create a Therapy Schedule? 

Oh yeah! There are two because two is better than one. 

Are there two-page layouts?

Yes, there is one two-paged layout for the weekly timed page.

Is there a Place to Track Student Birthdays?

Yup! The year at a glance page has a place to write down the student’s birthday. 

You can also find my beautiful student birthday tracker in my tpt store .

In Conclusion: Free SLP Planner

I hope you love this planner as much as I do. Now it’s time to spend less time searching for a planner and start using your new planner today. 

Wishing you happy planning days ahead!

Fill Out the Form Below to Download Your Free Copy!

2023-2024 free slp planner, speech therapy plan conclusion: free slp planner.

Do you have a large caseload and want to stay organized this school year? Then this free SLP planner is just what you need.

Download and get started planning today using your speech therapy treatment planner. Happy planning!

Got questions? Leave a comment. Let’s chat!

What do you use for your speech-language pathology treatment planner?

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Monday 25th of July 2022

Hi, when I go to print the Printable BW version the images come out fuzzy and not at all clear. When I print the colored one, its crystal clear. Can I get help with the BW version? Thanks!

Melissa Berg

Tuesday 26th of July 2022

Hi Hailey, Thanks so much for reaching out! I tried printing the BW and it is very slightly fuzzy on my end. I'm wondering if you try taking the color version and simply printing that one in BW instead. All my best, Melissa

Tuesday 12th of July 2022

How do we download the zip file? I don't see a link anywhere.

Hi Jenny, At the bottom of this post, there is a form to put your name and email address to have the free planner emailed to you in a zip file. If you don't see the email you might want to check your spam or junk folders. All my best, Melissa

Monday 11th of July 2022

It didn't give me the option to make a copy when I downloaded. Any suggestions?

Hi Apryl, If you click on the folder you can download the folder and have your own copy. Or you can select individual pages that you want and you can select make a copy. All my best, Melissa

Tuesday 31st of May 2022

This is perfect, exactly what I need!

Wednesday 1st of June 2022

Hi Kathy! I'm happy to know this is perfect and just what you needed! It makes me happy to know I'm helping others. :) All my best, Melissa

Friday 27th of May 2022

This is exactly what I need and I am so glad you shared this!

Hi Leigh! Wonderful I'm so happy to hear this is exactly what you needed! All my best, Melissa

Busy Bee Speech

Buzzing about Speech & Language

Free Lesson Plan Template for Speech Therapy with Smart Planning Tips

August 8, 2022

Just here for the quick lesson plans?  Don’t worry, I’ve got a free lesson plan template for speech therapy for ya at the bottom of the post !  But if you want my best secrets for keeping up with those lesson plans, read on. 

The other day I left a question box on my Instagram and asked what things were most frustrating about working in the school system. I got TONS of responses, but ya know what most people said? Most people hated having a large caseload and not being able to individualize therapy.

A large caseload equals a large amount of paperwork that goes with each student. It’s hard to think about how to individualize therapy when we can barely keep our heads about water. Lesson planning?  Forget it.  Who’s got time for that?

I’ll submit to you three reasons why lesson planning can be beneficial for your students AND you.

• Planning ahead will cause you to think about your students’ individual needs.
• It will make your therapy sessions run a million times more smoothly.
• You’ll actually have more time for paperwork in the long run. Yep.

What if there was a quick way to lesson plan for speech therapy sessions that didn’t take away hours of your precious paperwork time?  I got you.

Here’s the secret… quick planning .  That’s it?  Lemme show you how.  I don’t make detailed plans for every single student on my caseload.  I’ve learned to make my plans general enough that I can adapt most of my student goals to my plans.  

Plan once and use it year after year

Have a yearly plan, monthly plan, and/or weekly plan.  No, it doesn’t have to be a lot.  Use the tips and template on this post to plan your themes for the year.  Then, use those themes to come up with month-at-a-glance plans.  You can do this month by month or do several months at a time.  If you need a jump start, grab my monthly plans for free in my resource library !

Once you have those done, they’re done!  You can use the lesson plans year after year.   

Break it down by activity type for easy grabbing

For the weekly plans , take the month’s activities and jot down which activities you’ll use for the different categories of goals you have, like articulation, language, fluency, etc.  This will make it quick and easy to grab what you need before each session.  Again, once you have these, you can refer back to them year after year.

Jot next week’s plans during sessions

The weekly plans do not have to be detailed or involved.  During my sessions each week, I may take a few notes on an activity that students’ request, an idea that pops up, or something I think an individual student may need.  This will help the sessions to be a bit more tailored to the students and would incorporate activities that would help them make progress.

Use it as a quick reference for ideas

Note: I don’t always write specific weekly plans.  If you’re really pressed for time, you could use only the monthly plans as a quick reference for therapy ideas .  This way, you’d grab what you need based on each week inside that month’s plans.  No weekly plans needed.

Clickable links

It’s super helpful if you make your plans digitally and have clickable links to later easily see the resources or activities to which you’re referring.  See my monthly plan download for an example.

By having plans ready, you won’t have to scramble around and waste time during the day to figure out what you’re doing.  You may even save a little extra time for your other million tasks.

Now, you need a free lesson plan template for speech therapy sessions, right?  Here ya go! These include monthly plans, weekly plans, and to-do lists! Hit the button below to download.

October 30, 2022 at 11:56 am

[…] P.S. If you need help with streamlining your lesson planning and prepping part, be sure and check out this blog post. […]

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• Aug 10, 2022

Planning for Speech Therapy Sessions

Updated: Sep 12, 2022

Do you remember graduate school when your supervisors made your write out detailed lesson plans for every student? It was a pain but such a valuable learning tool (at least for me). It allowed me to really look at all of my students and plan activities to target their unique goals while also being engaging and fun. When I became a full time SLP in the schools, I definitely didn't have time to continue that (nor did I want to LOL).

I do think it is important to have a therapy plan "outline" Here are some tips to make your planning easier:

Plan by themes: This is the easiest way to organize your brain when thinking about therapy activities. I typically choose 2-4 themes per month and build lessons around that (activities, crafts, books, game, etc...).

Plan by book units: One of my supervisors in graduate school did a book unit every month with all students and it was such a wonderful learning experience. I choose 2-3 books with a similar theme (different levels for different ages) and then I plan supplemental activities based on the book. For example: Camping themed books, camping themed crafts, camping toys, etc...

I created a FREE themed therapy checklist that gives you EASY themed ideas for every month of the year! I also included some blank templates for you to jot your own ideas on. Click here to get it.

I also have this blog post that lists fun activities (with links to freebies) for August-December. Click here to read it.

I also have a Monthly Cheat Sheet for you to jot down important meeting dates, therapy plans, due dates, etc.. Click here to get it

I received this question in the past: "How do you do interest led therapy if you have a plan?"

My answer: I have found over the years that planning therapy based on themes that the children can relate to or are interested in makes child led therapy easy to implement even with a plan. I usually have a few options within the theme so if a child is not meshing with my plan I can see what they gravitate towards with my other items. For older students, I usually don't have any issues with my themed lessons but keep alternatives handy just in case.

How do you plan for therapy sessions?

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May is Now National Speech-Language-Hearing Month!

• May 2, 2024

National Speech-Language Hearing Month 1 (NSLHM ) is an opportunity for ASHA members to come together around the shared goal of helping the people we serve and reaching out to people who need our services. For more than 50 years, ASHA has led efforts to focus on public outreach during this month, providing members with a variety of tools to do the same. By sharing more on what we do and who we work with every day, we can show individuals that they’re not alone—and that ASHA members can help.

Resources for Children and Families

Last November, ASHA announced new Developmental Milestones for communication and for feeding and swallowing. These milestones let parents and caregivers know what skills they should expect from children ages 0–5 and provide resources on how to get screened by an ASHA professional if these milestones aren’t met. You can find the articles that informed ASHA’s Developmental Milestones in our Special Collection .

In addition, ASHA has also developed and/or co-authored (with top organizations) a number of articles for families. These plain-language resources teach parents about different types of communication and how to protect their children’s hearing.

The NSLHM home page also includes resources in English and Spanish for parents of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers—these resources teach parents how to introduce and use technology in a healthy way. Technology is all around us, and ASHA members can help parents navigate technology options and prioritize social communication.

Get Involved All Month Long

This year during NSLHM, ASHA is discussing harmful stigmas that affect people with communication disorders and that even prevent people from seeking help. We hope you can spread the word that seeking care from an ASHA professional can help people communicate with their loved ones and those around them—throughout this month and beyond!

You can show your support for NSLHM in a variety of ways—including through social media images, Zoom backgrounds, and printable PDF posters—all available on the NSLHM website . We’ll add new resources throughout the month, so be sure to check back often, and follow ASHA on social media to learn more!

1 Formerly known as Better Hearing and Speech Month

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About the ASHA Journals

ASHA publishes four peer-reviewed scholarly journals and one peer-reviewed scholarly review journal pertaining to the general field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) and to the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology. These journals are the  American Journal of Audiology ;  American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ;  Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research ;  Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools ; and Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups . These journals have the collective mission of disseminating research findings, theoretical advances, and clinical knowledge in CSD.

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