Such and Such Saturday and Sunday: Business Cards and Brochures

Talks Function In The Speech Room!

At my junior high and in my adult therapy settings, I try to incorporate function is as many activities as possible. So today I am going to write about how I use business cards and brochures into my speech room.

I asked on my personal Facebook for friends and family to send me business cards form all over the country. I have business cards form east coast to west coast and professions ranging from mechanic to baker to lawyer. 

When my husband and I travelled I picked up brochures wherever I could- brochures for disney, sea world, amusement parks, restaurants, wildlife reserves, shops, etc! 

I then had students/adults read brochures for carryover articulation work. I used them for inferencing. I made copies of them and covered up the titles of the brochures. I had the students/adults use problem solving skills to determine what the brochures were for. Some were obvious if it had zoo animals on it. Some of them were not so obvious- a bank.

I had students categorize the brochures by what kind of building they were- fun activity vs boring activity. Inside place vs outside place. Ok for kids vs Ok for adults. 

I did the same for business cards. I had the students categorize the business cards by the profession on the business card. I had the students sort the cards by location.

I had the students describe the business cards and brochures as well. I also used them to compare/contrast various places.  Disney World brochure vs Disney Land Brochure. I had the students read the brochures to tell me the differences between the places. I had the students tell me why they would prefer one of the parks over the other. 

I had students/adults answer questions about the brochures after I read them some of the information!

There is SOOO many activities you can use with these simple items. I laminated all of the brochures for durability and they have been through so many groups I can't even count!

I hope you find some neat ideas in this post and I would challenge you to think outside the therapy box to develop functional activities for your students. 

SO next time you are on vacation or traveling to your family's house or at your local better business bureau pick up some brochures! There are usually racks of them like this at your local hotels too!