Running low on fresh ideas for speech therapy this month? National Days in March Week 3 is packed with creative and lighthearted themes to help keep your sessions fun and engaging.
Welcome to National Days in March Week 3. Whether you're turning mistakes into learning moments for Everything You Do Is Wrong Day on March 15, embracing all things green and lucky for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, or sharing a good joke for Let’s Laugh Day on March 19, these themed ideas will bring variety to your sessions.
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Use the table below to explore some of the national days celebrated the first week in March. To avoid scrolling fatigue, use the quick links to view activity ideas and book suggestions for each theme.
or use these links to view:
March National Days Week 1 (March 1 - 7)
March National Days Week 2 (March 8 - 14)
March National Days Week 4+ (March 22 - 31)
To view themes for all 12 months head over to 10 Reasons to Use National Day Themes for Easy Speech Therapy Planning.
*Free resource links listed here may change over time. Please check the original source for current availability and terms.
March National Days Week 3
(Month-long Observances: Women's History, National Nutrition)
Date | National Day Quick Links |
March 15 | |
March 16 | |
March 17 | |
March 18 | |
March 19 | |
March 20 | |
March 21 | |
March 15:
🤦 National Everything You Do is Wrong Day (March 15)
About: A lighthearted day that reminds us that everyone makes mistakes—and that’s okay! It’s a chance to laugh at our blunders, learn from them, and remember that perfection isn’t the goal. This day is about embracing mistakes, practicing patience, and finding ways to turn failures into learning experiences.
Fun Facts:
Some of the greatest inventions—like the microwave, Post-it Notes, and chocolate chip cookies—were created by accident!
The phrase “trial and error” means trying something, making mistakes, and adjusting until you get it right.
The opposite day of this holiday is March 16 – National Everything You Do Is Right Day!
Create a Silly Mistake Story: Brainstorm different mistakes people can make with your students (tap in to personal stories, here!). List them each on strips of paper. Begin a story and have students add to the story with a "mistake" that occurred.
Follow "Oops" Directions: Have students follow multi-step directions with an error challenge (e.g., "Draw a circle, then color it blue... Oops! I meant green! Fix the mistake!").
What's Wrong? activities: Have students spot errors in a picture, sentence or story and offer alternative corrections. Here are some free* What's Wrong Picture Scenes on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Problem Solving Activities: Browse these free Problem Solving Boom Cards on Boom Learning or search these free problem solving resources on TpT.
Popular Children's Books:
Beautiful Oops Written by Barney Saltzberg: A beautifully drawn, interactive book that shows how mistakes can turn into something creative and wonderful. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes Written by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein: A story about a perfectionist girl who learns that making mistakes is part of life. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
March 16:
🐼 National Panda Day (March 16)
About: This day is a great opportunity to learn about pandas, their habitat, and the importance of protecting wildlife.
Fun Facts:
Pandas eat up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day, even though their digestive system is built for meat!
Baby pandas are born pink, hairless, and weigh about as much as a stick of butter.
Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate because they rely on bamboo, which is available year-round.
Each panda’s black-and-white fur pattern is unique, just like a fingerprint.
Pandas communicate by making bleats, honks, and even growls instead of roaring like other bears.
Articulation: Try these 50 Panda Trials worksheets for getting those high frequency practice trials.
Panda Craft: Tear black and white paper into pieces and glue them together to create a panda.
Directed Drawing: Follow the directions and examples for How to Draw A Panda [YouTube link]
Panda Fill in the Blank Story: Students can help finish this Panda Story by filling in the blanks then create a cover page using the image provided (or draw their own).
Popular Children's Books:
Chengdu Could Not, Would Not Fall Asleep Written by Barney Saltzberg: A story about a little panda who just can’t sleep, no matter what he tries. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Panda Problem Written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Hannah Marks: Every story needs a problem. This is a silly, interactive book where a panda argues with the narrator about whether or not he’s part of the story. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
March 17:
🍀 St. Patrick's Day (March 17)
About: St. Patrick’s Day honors Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It began as a religious feast but has grown into a celebration of Irish culture, featuring parades, music, and the color green. People wear shamrocks and enjoy festive foods like corned beef and cabbage.
Fun Facts: Leprechauns are often associated with St. Patrick’s Day, but they come from Irish folklore and were originally depicted as shoemakers with hidden pots of gold.
Articulation:
Make a rainbow chain with articulation words on each link.
Make a rainbow using torn construction paper. Write words on different colored paper. Students can practice the word repeatedly as they tear it up for the craft. Use Sparklle SLP's free* Rainbow Craft Activity.
Create a pot of gold with a speech target on each gold coin. The craft project shown on ToddlerApproved is so sweet. It shows what an actual child-made project looks like in a sweet, "nailed-it" way. Love it! If you aren't a lover of cutting circles, invest in a handheld punch tool like the 2" Circle Cutter by Fiskars. You will get a lot of use with it.
Draw or print a rainbow outline. Write target words on the rainbow. Students color over the words as they practice them.
Story - Choose Your Own Path: This one is a paid resource, but I wanted to share this St. Patrick's Day Magical Adventure ($), a choose your own adventure type story I created for my students working on their "s" sound.
Leprechaun Theme Activities: Browse these free* leprechaun resources for speech therapy on Teachers Pay Teachers.
More Speech Therapy Resources: Browse these free* St. Patrick's Day resources for speech therapy on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Boom Cards: Check out these free* St. Patrick's Day Boom Cards for speech therapy on Boom Learning to include Ashley Rossi's Spring 50 Trials freebie that includes 50 Clover trials.
Popular Children's Books:
How to Catch a Leprechaun Written by Adam Wallace and illustrated by Andy Elkerton: A playful story about children setting traps to catch a tricky leprechaun, but he always outsmarts them. The book introduces fun cause-and-effect scenarios for discussion. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Happy St. Patrick's Day From the Crayons Written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers: St. Patrick's Day is near, and Green Crayon wants a break. His friends try to help, but a leprechaun needs green clothing, and a four-leaf clover can't be blue. How can they make a rainbow without Green? A humorous St. Patrick's Day story featuring favorite school supplies.
📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day Written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Amy Wummer: Two kids set up leprechaun traps, hoping to catch one before St. Patrick’s Day. This rhyming book is great for predicting and sequencing activities. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
March 18:
🌐 Global Recycling Day (March 18)
About: Global Recycling Day was established in 2018 to highlight the importance of recycling in protecting the planet.
Fun Facts:
Recycling One Aluminum Can Saves Enough Energy to Power a TV for 3 Hours!
Plastic Can Take Over 400 Years to Decompose – Recycling helps keep it out of landfills.
Glass Can Be Recycled Forever! – Unlike plastic, glass never loses quality when recycled.
Only 9% of Plastic Waste Ever Produced Has Been Recycled – Most ends up in landfills or oceans.
Paper Can Be Recycled Up to 7 Times! – But after that, the fibers become too weak.
Review Recycling: Recycling Simplified offers educational resources for a variety of age groups.
Articulation:
"Re" words: For speech and language mixed groups, work on the prefix "re" which means "again". How many words can your students think of that begin with this prefix? Provide a list of words and see if they can determine the definition based on the prefix (e.g., reheat, rebuild, rewrite, retie, replay, refuel, rerun, replace and most importantly, recycle).
100 Trials worksheets by SLP Madness on TpT includes earth and recycling worksheets for articulation (or open-ended) practice.
Language:
Have students describe an object and decide if it should be reused, recycled, or thrown away.
Make a “Recycling Superhero” and describe their special powers (e.g., turning trash into something new) then create a story using the Let's Tell a Fairy Tale story grammar outline.
Recycling Activities on TpT: View these free* recycling activities for speech therapy on TpT or browse a larger variety of recycling themed activities (if you take speech therapy out of the filter) to include Ms. D's Corner Recycling Sorting Mats for Earth Day.
Boom Cards:
Following Directions by Speech Language Pirates: sort items while listening for basic concepts, including: colors, empty/full, & big/little.
50 Trials spring freebie by Ashley Rossi that includes 50 recycling can trials.
Recycling themed articulation activity for multi-syllabic words by Fun N' Functional: Earth Day Freebie.
PBS Kids Games: AJ's Recycle Rescue and the Cat in the Hat Super Cleaner Upper are fun online activities for kids.
Popular Children's Books:
The Adventures of Plastic Water Bottle Written by Alison Inches and illustrated by Pete Whitehead: Discover recycling from a new angle through a plastic bottle's journey: from refinery to manufacturing, store shelf, garbage can, and finally to a recycling plant where it transforms into something new. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Why Should I Recycle? Written by Jen Green and illustrated by Mike Gordon:
This book breaks down for kids why recycling is important and how they can help protect Earth every day. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Michael Recycle Written by Jen Green and illustrated by Mike Gordon: tells the adventures of a young superhero whose power allows him to teach people about recycling. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
March 19:
📖 National Read to Me Day (March 19)
About: National Read to Me Day encourages parents, teachers, and older students to read aloud to younger children. The day promotes literacy by emphasizing the importance of storytelling and shared reading experiences.
Fun Facts:
Listening to books helps build vocabulary faster than conversation alone.
Children who are read to daily are more likely to become strong readers.
Even older children benefit from being read to. Listening to fluent reading helps with comprehension and expression.
The first book ever recorded as an audiobook was in 1932 for the visually impaired.
Studies show that kids who are read to at home perform better in school.
Just Read: Read a book or tell a story to someone. That's it. Easy Peasy.
Create a Story: Help students create a simple story and have them read it to another student in their class or in a lower grade.
Use Picture Books: Review a wordless picture book then have students create or tell a story that goes along with the pictures. Make note of each story and share all of the ideas the next time you work with them.
Bookmark Worthy Online Resource: Bookmark booksharetime.com. It hosts an insane amount of children's book titles with amazing filters for finding the perfect books to support any of your speech and language targets.
Articulation:
Use SpeechTeachPro's free articulation bookmarks on TpT for students to write out words that contain their target speech sounds while reading their favorite books.
Grab Speech Sprout's Sound Loaded Book List for Articulation on Teachers Pay Teachers.
😂 National Let's Laugh Day (March 19)
About: This day celebrates the power of laughter and encourages people to share jokes, tell funny stories, and enjoy a good laugh. Studies show that laughing reduces stress, boosts mood, and even strengthens the immune system - so it’s a perfect day to bring more humor into speech therapy sessions!
Fun Facts:
Laughing burns calories. A good belly laugh for 10-15 minutes can burn about 40 calories.
The average person laughs around 17 times per day - but kids laugh even more!
Laughter is contagious - when you hear someone else laugh, your brain is wired to want to join in.
Gelotology is the scientific study of laughter and its effects on the body.
Even animals laugh. Studies show that rats, chimpanzees, and even dogs make laughing sounds during play.
Articulation:
Silly Scenes: Use sound loaded picture scenes
Printable: Browse this search result for "free sound loaded scenes" on TpT.
Boom Cards: Rock the R (formerly Speech Things) has a free Boom Cards Summer Silly Scene activity. Pinwheel Speech offers a free Boom Cards sample for K and G Silly Sentences
Tongue Twisters: Try this Would You Rather - Tongue Twister Edition digital download for articulation practice of "s', "l" and "r".
Language:
Use joke books (see book suggestion "c" below) to highlight "play on words". Sort jokes by category (knock knock, puns, silly rhymes, animal jokes, Wh Question format, etc.). Sparkle Speechie offers a free Boom Cards Joke of the Week digital resource.
Silly directions:
Take turns with your students on giving/following silly directions. Not your cup of tea? Natalie Lynn Kindergarten has some free Listen and Laugh printable coloring activities for following directions on TpT.
ABCya offers a Make a Face activity for creating faces that could be used as a direction following activity.
Silly Scenes: answer questions about what is happening and why parts of the scene are silly. Check out Funky Socks & Dragons Crumbs #10: Silly Pictures. Allison Fors created a Pinterest board with over 150 Free Picture Scenes.
Popular Children's Books:
The Serious Goose Written and illustrated by Jimmy Kimmel: A grumpy goose challenges the reader not to laugh, making it a fun and interactive read-aloud. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
There's a Giraffe in My Soup Written and illustrated by Ross Burach: A boy gets silly surprises in his soup, making it a hilarious story that works well for prediction and WH questions. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Complete Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids Written by Rob Elliott: A collection of 4 kid-friendly joke books to include Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids, More Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids, Laugh-Out-Loud Animal Jokes for Kids, and Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids. 📖 [Amazon Link]
March 20:
🌍 World Storytelling Day (March 20)
About: a global celebration of the art of storytelling. It encourages people to share and listen to stories, keeping traditions, imagination, and creativity alive. The event began in Sweden in 1991 and has since spread worldwide, with each year featuring a different theme to inspire storytellers.
Fun Fact: Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication, dating back to cave paintings.
Interview: Interview your students to get some information about some of their favorite things then create a story about them using this information. Use this simple Student Interview & Storytelling Outline to get started.
Story Telling Resources on TpT: Browse these free elementary-age story telling resources on TpT.
Story Starters: Use picture cards or some of these free* story starter resources on Teachers Pay Teachers to get the creative juices flowing. Take turns adding to a story and see how the story evolves.
Make PaperBag Puppets, Masks and Props: Its' amazing what puppets and props will do to get your students engaged in storytelling. The bonus is the actual making of the puppets and props involves so much language!
Bookmark Worthy Online Resource: As mentioned earlier, be sure to bookmark booksharetime.com. It hosts an insane amount of children's book titles with amazing filters for finding the perfect books to support any of your speech and language targets.
Popular Children's Books:
Extra Yarn Written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen: A young girl (and her box of magical yarn) makes her world a better place by doing what she loves. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Chester Written and illustrated by Melanie Watt: A hilarious tale about a storytelling war between an author and her cat, Chester, who keeps changing the story. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
March 21:
🎨 International Color Day (March 21)
About: Celebrated annually on March 21 to appreciate the impact of color in our lives. This date aligns with the equinox, symbolizing the balance of light and darkness.
Fun Facts:
The human eye can distinguish approximately 10 million different colors.
Blue is often cited as the world's most popular color.
Synesthesia is a condition where individuals can perceive numbers or letters as specific colors.
Colors aren't just beautiful; they're like emotional ninjas sneaking up on your feelings!
Red: excitement, love, and energy
Orange: confidence, bravery, and success
Yellow: creativity, happiness, and warmth
Green: healing, freshness, and tranquility
Blue: trust, peace, and loyalty
Pink: compassion, sincerity, and sweetness
Purple: royalty, ambitious, and luxurious
Brown: trustworthy, dependable, and simple
Black: formal, dramatic, and sophisticated
White: clean, innocent, and honest
Color Scavenger Hunt: Encourage students to find objects of specific colors around the room, promoting vocabulary development and descriptive skills.
Vocabulary and Categories: Create lists of items that are specific colors.
Following Directions: Use coloring pages as activities for following verbal directions (e.g., color the apple red / color the apple any color but red).
Sensory Exploration: Incorporate colorful objects with different textures to describe, aiding in sensory language development.
Rainbows: See the Rainbow themed activities listed under St. Patrick's Day (link will take you there).
Popular Children's Books:
The Day the Crayons Quit Written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers: Duncan discovers letters from his crayons, each expressing frustrations about being overused or neglected. Using humor and creativity, he finds a way to satisfy all the crayons. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
A Color of His Own Written and illustrated by Melanie Watt: A little chameleon is sad that he doesn’t have a color of his own like other animals. As he changes colors to match his surroundings, he eventually finds a friend and learns that being unique is just as special. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions Written by Anna Llenas: One of my all time favorites! The Color Monster wakes up feeling confused and mixed up because his emotions are all tangled together. A young girl helps him sort his feelings by associating each emotion with a different color 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
💙🧦 World Down Syndrome Day (March 21)
About: World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) is observed every year on March 21 to raise awareness and celebrate individuals with Down syndrome. The date (3/21) represents the third copy of the 21st chromosome, which is what causes Down syndrome. The day encourages inclusion, advocacy, and understanding of people with different abilities.
Fun Fact: The "Lots of Socks" campaign is a fun way to celebrate by wearing colorful, mismatched socks to start conversations about Down syndrome. The idea is that these distinctive socks will spark conversations, allowing participants to explain, "I'm wearing them to raise awareness of Down syndrome."
The choice of socks is symbolic; chromosomes are often depicted in a shape resembling socks, and individuals with Down syndrome have an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. By wearing unique socks, supporters highlight the beauty of diversity and promote inclusion.
Design mismatched socks using paper and markers. Have students explain why they chose their colors and/or designs.
Finding Fun in March’s Week 3 National Days
From playful pandas to tall tales, Week 3 of March is packed with fun ways to shake up your speech therapy sessions! Whether you're learning panda facts for Panda Day, giving old materials a new purpose for Global Recycling Day, or spinning imaginative stories for World Storytelling Day, these themed activities make it simple to keep the speech and language train moving smoothly along the tracks.
See More National Day Themes for March:
March National Days Week 1 (March 1 - 7)
March National Days Week 2 (March 8 - 14)
March National Days Week 4+ (March 22 - 31)
Quick Link to View All 12 Months: 10 Reasons to Use National Day Themes for Easy Speech Therapy Planning (each month's themes are noted at the end).
Hi! I'm Shannon, creator of Speech Hamster. If you have found the information in this blog post useful, there's more where that came from! Subscribe to the Speech Hamster Newsletter to gain access to the Free Resource Library; a hub containing a host of National Days downloadable resources and so much more!
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