Matching Games in Speech Therapy

Recently, I taught my daughter how to play matching games. I also played a matching game with some students the week before winter break. It got me thinking about how we can use matching games in various different ways during therapy, so I thought I’d share my tips.

1. First, start by laying 5-7 pairs of cards face up on the table and practice finding the two cards that match. 
2. When your students have gotten the idea of this, you can turn them face down and practice turning over two at a time. I created a simple sentence frame that the kids could use to produce a full sentence.
3. Encourage the use of good turn taking skills by asking whose turn it is next.
4. When the game is over, encourage your students to say “good game” to the others, as this promotes social skills.

With a simple matching game, you can target so many skills, including same/different, sentence formulation, social skills, memory skills, and more! So the next time you need a quick therapy idea, grab a matching game and have fun! Click here to get the above sentence strips for FREE!