by Megan Magee
I’m never sure which is more exciting; the start of a school year, fresh with all the new possibilities the year has to offer or seeing the joy on students (and teachers) faces as they head off for several well deserved weeks of summer relaxation. I remember as a kid loving the last few days where peers signed year books, watched movies, cleaned out lockers and desks and completed end-of-year check-out activities. Sure, the anticipation of summer break was a big part of the enjoyment, but it was also fun reflecting on the completed school and how far we’d grown as a class, and me as an individual.
Reflect on successes for a strong finish
When I became a therapist, I thought, why not allow therapy students the same opportunity to reflect on their success and areas for growth? After trial and error, I found that my (and my student’s) favorite type of end-of-year activity was something tangible, and of course, colorful. They could complete it and take it home to share with their families. I often kept a copy so that if I was with the same school and with the same caseload once I transitioned to the remote environment, that we could use the end-of-year activity as a kick-off back into a new school year as well. We here at E-Therapy wanted to share with you a similar activity that you can use with your students. Check out, A Year in Review, a cumulative sheet of some of our favorite therapy reflection questions. Use this activity remotely by screen sharing while using built-in annotation tools from your platform. It can also be printed to use as a paper copy in the brick and mortar setting.
A positive end to a challenging year
Use these Year in Review questions to send your students into summer feeling successful. Point out what they’ve accomplished in teletherapy during this challenging year. Keep them motivated based on their achievements, and spark interest in completing summer home activities to keep their skills sharp. Use this activity sheet to gather valuable feedback on what your student enjoyed or didn’t like about teletherapy. Every student has that favorite therapy game. But some may cringe when they sign into your session and see their least favorite game. Why not use this reflection activity as way to gauge interests for the coming year?Happy Summer from all of us at E-Therapy!
About the Author
Megan Magee, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the account manager for E-Therapy’s eSMART Teletherapy Platform program. Megan holds a BS from Kutztown University and an MS from Towson University both in the area of speech-language pathology. Megan worked as an SLP in a variety of settings including brick and mortar schools, early intervention, and adult home health prior to making the transition to teletherapy 11 years ago. After planting roots in Pennsylvania and growing into an established teletherapist, Megan branched out into leadership positions in order to share her teletherapy knowledge and expertise with new therapists. Megan has supported and trained hundreds of teachers and therapists nationally.