Games & Toys to Promote Language and Articulation: Let’s Go Fishin’ Game

It’s the most exciting time of year and also one of the busiest times of the year for many. Not to worry…District Speech and Language is here to help you with that holiday shopping list. We’re continuing our countdown of great, fun, and engaging toys and games that promote both speech and language!

It’s the most exciting time of year and also one of the busiest times of the year for many. Not to worry…District Speech and Language is here to help you with that holiday shopping list. We’re continuing our countdown of great, fun, and engaging toys and games that promote both speech and language!

This week: Let’s Go Fishin’ Game

Let’s Go Fishin’ came to our attention via an Occupational Therapist friend of District Speech. She pointed out how helpful it is for fine motor skills, as well as hand-eye coordination. After seeing how much fun kids were having while playing, it was easy to imagine incorporating it into speech and language sessions. Now, whenever our school-aged kiddos (ages 4-7 years) see this game brought out, their faces immediately light up! Let’s Go Fishin’ even includes several fishing poles, so you’re able to play with a whole group.

Let’s Go Fishin’ – A Game You Can Play Over and Over again!

Whether at home, at school, or in the clinic here’s how you can use this fun game to promote speech and language:

1. Receptive Language/Auditory Comprehension

Playing with Let’s Go Fishin’ is a fun way to work on receptive language, specifically following directions and basic concepts. Here’s how to use with your school-aged client or child:

A) Skill: Following one- and two-step directions is essential for school-aged children to ensure they can follow along in the classroom and complete class assignments.

How to use:  Have your child or client listen and then follow directions such as “pick up one fish,” “catch a red fish, then put it on the table,” “get a yellow fishing pole and give it to me,” or “before you catch the blue fish, catch the green fish.”

B) Skill: Understanding of basic concepts. The fish included in the game are various colors and they’re able to open and close their mouths. Promote an understanding of basic concepts by having your child or client identify the appropriate color or the common opposite of whether the mouth is open or closed. You can also target 1:1 correspondence and quantitative concepts.

How to use:  Elicit identification of colors by saying something like, “find the red fish” or “find the blue fish.” You can also work on 1:1 correspondence by saying “give me one fish” or “give me one fishing pole.” Then continue working on quantitative concepts through the following examples: “give me SOME fish,” “give me MORE fish,” “who has the MOST fish?” and “who has LESS fish?”

2. Expressive Language

If your child or client has a developmental or language delay, with weaknesses in oral expression, you can use this game for a variety of expressive language tasks. Here are some helpful examples:

A) Before getting what he/she wants, have him/her make verbal requests such as “red fishing pole please” or “I want the blue fish.”

B) Work on lengthening utterances. For example, if you ask your kiddo which fish he/she caught, he/she might say “red.” Prompt for a longer utterance and/or complete sentence such as “I caught the red fish.”

3. Articulation

If your child or client is working on a specific sound, you can practice several trials of that sound and then allow him/her to take a turn fishing. Go back and forth like this until all the fish are caught or until you’ve completed all of your trials.

We’re nearing the end of our countdown of toys and games to promote speech and language! Avoid having to catch up and don’t miss #7 coming up next Monday. ‘Til then, have a great week!

If you live in the D.C. area and have concerns about your child’s language or articulation and would like to seek additional help beyond what your school based speech pathologist may be able to provide, visit our speech therapy services page for more information on our assessment and speech therapy for kids of all ages.