National Day Themes in May - Week 1: Speech & Language Therapy Activities for SLPs
- shannon | speech hamster
- Apr 28
- 26 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
May has arrived, and it’s bringing a fresh batch of creative, conversation-starting themes perfect for speech therapy. From outer space and birds to nurses and mismatched shoes, this week of May National Days is packed with ideas that support speech and language goals in fun and meaningful ways.
Welcome to National Days in May Week 1! Whether you're crafting a language-rich activity for May Day (May 1), reading magical stories for International Harry Potter Day (May 2), or blasting off into vocabulary with Space Day (May 3), this week offers a wide mix of themes to support speech and language goals with activities your students will enjoy.
This blog post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase through them, with no extra cost to you.
Use the table below to explore some of the national days celebrated the first week in May. To avoid scrolling fatigue, use the quick links to view activity ideas and book suggestions for each theme.
View other Weeks in May:
May National Days Week 2 (May 8 - 14)
May National Days Week 3 (May 15 - 21): coming soon
May National Days Week 4+ (May 22 - 31): coming soon
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.
May National Days Week 1
Welcome to Better Hearing and Speech Month!
Date | National Day Quick Links |
May 1 | |
May 2 | |
May 3 | Space Day (First Friday in May) |
May 4 | |
May 5 | |
May 6 | |
May 7 |
May 1:
🌸 May Day (May 1)
About: May Day is one of the world’s oldest celebrations of spring, with roots in ancient festivals that welcomed warmer weather and blooming flowers. Today, it’s often recognized with maypole dances, flower crowns, and acts of kindness or community support.
Fun Facts:
The maypole dance originated in Europe and symbolized the arrival of spring.
In some cultures, it’s tradition to secretly leave flowers on a neighbor’s doorstep.
In Hawaii, May 1st is also known as Lei Day, a celebration of Hawaiian culture and floral garlands.
Make a Flower Basket Craft: Students can follow directions to cut, fold, and decorate a paper May Day basket, then fill it with paper or tissue flowers. Practice sequencing vocabulary (first, next, last) and describing colors and textures. Grab Anna Ryburn's free May Day Basket Craft on TpT.
Tissue Paper Flowers: Draw a flower or flowers on a piece of paper (or use ModernKids LearningPress' free Spring Craft Pot (editable) flower outlines). Have students scrunch up tissue paper pieces while practicing target words and glue onto the flowers until it's filled with color.
Spring Sounds Articulation Hunt: Hide mini articulation picture cards in a basket of faux flowers or shredded paper. Students pick a card and practice the word 5–10 times before “planting” it in a paper garden.
Alliteration Garden: Choose a flower or nature word (like "bloom") and come up with as many words as possible that start with the same sound—great for early phonological awareness.
Flower Petal Rhyming Sort: Provide students with flower centers and matching rhyming petals to assemble rhyming “flowers.” Check out Little Bird Learning's free Word Family Flowers file folder activity on TpT or simply draw out a flower, add a word to the center and fill in the petals as students name rhyming words.
Descriptive Guessing Game: Place spring-themed items in a bag (like a rubber duck, flower, or mini shovel). Students take turns describing their item using adjectives, while peers guess what it is.
Digital Boom Cards: Browse free Spring Vocabulary activities on Boom Learning to practice receptive vocabulary, labeling, and categories with spring-related images.
Popular Children's Books:
Planting a Rainbow – Written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert: This colorful story follows a child and parent as they plant and watch a rainbow of flowers bloom throughout the seasons. It introduces flower names, colors, and sequencing in a simple, engaging format. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Mouse’s First Spring – Written By Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Buket Erdogan: Mouse and Mom explore the signs of spring together, discovering bugs, flowers, and birds along the way. The story uses repetition and gentle descriptions perfect for language-building. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
🎓 National School Principals Day (May 1)
About: National School Principals Day honors the dedicated leaders who help make schools safe, welcoming, and productive learning environments. It’s a chance to recognize the hard work principals do to support students, staff, and families throughout the year.
Fun Facts:
The word “principal” comes from the phrase “principal teacher”—meaning they were originally the lead teacher in a school.
Principals help create the rules, set the tone for the school, and keep everything running smoothly—even during pajama day.
Many schools celebrate the day with cards, surprise thank-yous, or a principal-themed bulletin board.
Write a Thank You Card: Have students dictate or write a simple thank you message to the principal. Focus on sentence formulation, describing words, and social language for showing appreciation. Grab Mrs. B in 2 & 3's Principal Appreciation Day Thank You Cards and Coloring Activities.
Principal-Themed WH-Questions: Use pictures or school scenarios to ask and answer WH questions like these:
Who Questions:
Who makes important announcements over the loudspeaker?
Who visits classrooms to check on students and teachers?
Who helps the principal keep the students and school safe?
What Questions:
What might you find in the principal’s office?
What does a principal do during the school day?
What can you say to a principal if you want to share good news?
Where Questions:
Where do you go if you need help from the principal?
Where might you see the principal during lunchtime?
Where is a good place to leave a note for the principal?
When Questions:
When might a principal call an assembly?
When would you go to the principal’s office?
When might you see the principal helping outside on the playground?
Why Questions:
Why is it important to listen to school rules?
Why might a principal visit your classroom?
Why do principals talk to parents sometimes?
Principal for the Day #1: Use Spread Sunshine's Principal for the Day Creative Writing activity for students to share their ideas.
Principal for the Day #2 - What Would You Do?: Present common school situations and have students explain what they’d do. This targets problem-solving, sequencing, and expressive language.
Principal's Schedule: Let students imagine they’re the principal. Have them create a schedule for the day listing what a principal might do first, next, last. Use other temporal concepts such as before, after, then, later, finally, etc.
Popular Children's Books:
The Principal from the Black Lagoon – Written by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee: This humorous story follows a nervous student imagining the worst about his school principal, only to find out the truth is far less scary. The exaggerated scenarios make for great vocabulary discussion and perspective-taking. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
A Fine, Fine School – Written by Sharon Creech, illustrated by Harry Bliss:
This book tells the story of a well-meaning principal who loves his school so much, he keeps adding extra school days—until he learns an important lesson about balance. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
May 2:
⚡ International Harry Potter Day (May 2)
About: This magical day commemorates the defeat of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. Fans around the world celebrate with rereads, movie marathons, and activities inspired by J.K. Rowling’s beloved characters and wizarding world.
Fun Facts:
May 2 marks the date of the Battle of Hogwarts, where Harry and his friends faced Lord Voldemort for the last time.
The first book in the series was published in 1997 and has been translated into over 80 languages.
In the wizarding world, students are sorted into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Sorting Hat Categories: Download this Sorting Hat Categories resource and have students sort vocabulary words (animals, foods, instruments, etc.) under wizard hat category title cards.
Articulation Game: Check out Achieve Beyond's free HP Articulation Game to see if it could fit a need.
WH - Question Potion Bottles: Label small bottles or paper cutouts with who, what, when, where, why. Students choose a “potion” and answer a question to go with it. Grab Bright Learning Clip Art's Colorful Rainbow Bottle Clip Art on TpT to create your own!
Describe a Magical Creature: Students choose (or invent) a magical animal and describe its features, abilities, and where it lives. Great for adjectives and sentence structure.
I Spy: The Paper Trail Design website offers a free I Spy Harry Potter printable.
Memory: Match the Memory has an online Harry Potter Pets Memory Match game.
Create a Wand Craft: Make simple wands with paper straws, pipe cleaners, or twigs. Have students decorate their wand and describe what kind of magic they would want their wands to create.
Wizard Fill in the Blank Story: Download this Wizard Fill in the Blank Story for students to create their own wizard adventure.
Magic Tricks: Check out these 5 Fun Magic Tricks for Kids on SplashLearn.com
Popular Children's Books:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Written by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Mary GrandPré: When eleven-year-old Harry discovers he’s a wizard, he enters a hidden world of spells, flying broomsticks, and a mysterious school called Hogwarts. His first year brings friendships, challenges, and the start of his battle against the dark wizard Voldemort. 📖 [Amazon Link]
Rago Gets a Pet Dragon – Written by Kevin J. Anderson, illustrated by Rebecca Moesta: Rago is thrilled when he gets a pet dragon, but he quickly realizes that taking care of a dragon is much harder than he expected.📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
May 3:
🚀 National Space Day (First Friday in May)
About: National Space Day encourages curiosity about the universe and celebrates advances in space exploration. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn about planets, astronauts, rockets, and the mysteries of outer space.
Fun Facts:
The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong in 1969.
Space is completely silent—there’s no air to carry sound.
Jupiter is so big it could hold more than 1,300 Earths inside it.
There are more stars in space than grains of sand on Earth.
Outer Space Theme Articulation: Work on vocalic /r/ using Language in Content Teacher's Roll then Read Phonics Game for Bossy R on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Rocket Countdown Articulation: Build a rocket using paper shapes while practicing target words 5 then 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 times each. View Willow Therapy's Space Rocket Name Craft for inspiration.
Following Directions: Grab Natalie Lynn Kindergarten's Outer Space Listen and Laugh freebie or Amy Oliden's free Space Theme Direction Following Task Cards on TpT.
Space Jokes: Visit funology.com to read through fun space jokes with students.
Boom Cards: Little Speech Shop created these two free Space Themed Hide and Seek Activities: Hide and Seek for initial /s/ and Hide and Seek for Fronting/Backing, and ArticuLarry's Space Race for /r/. Be sure to preview my Alien Articulation Search ($) on Boom Learning too!
Describe Your Alien: Have students invent and a new alien and describe its features (e.g., "It has three purple eyes and green fur"). Targets adjectives, details, and full sentences.
Make a Paper Plate Planet: Follow Capturing Parenthood's directions for crafting Smoosh Planets. Have students complete speech/language tasks for each "dollop" of paint added to the plate.
Homework Calendar: Grab Easy Peasy Lemon Speechie's Outer-Space Themed Speech and Language Homework Calendars.
Moon Crafts: Teach the different phases of the moon using MsBilingue's free Foldable Moon Phases Activity on TpT or if you don't mind getting messy and/or wearing gloves, create DIY Moon Rocks with your students.
Meteorite Toss Game: Toss foam “meteorites” (cut from sponges) onto articulation word cards or language prompts. Practice each word 5 times or answer a related question before the next toss.
Order of Planets: Have student's create their own Mnemonic device to remember the order of the planets. Use Stephanie Trapp's fun, free Order of the Planets Mnemonic Device craft on TpT.
Coloring Pages: Grab the Itsy Bitsy Classroom's Space Coloring Pages (TpT) and use for an open ended coloring or following directions activity.
Popular Children's Books:
Roaring Rockets – Written by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Ant Parker: With bright illustrations and simple rhymes, this book follows three animal astronauts as they blast off into space, exploring rockets and outer space concepts for young learners. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Moon! Earth's Best Friend – Written by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis: Told from the Moon’s perspective, this nonfiction picture book explains moon phases, orbiting, and the Moon’s role in Earth's life in a humorous, engaging way. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
I Am the Solar System – Written by Rebecca and James McDonald: Kids are introduced to basic space concepts that are made easy to follow and remember. Starting at the Sun and working outward through the planets and belts. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
👟🥾 National Two Different Kinds of Shoes Day (May 3)
About: Created to celebrate individuality, this silly holiday invites everyone to wear mismatched shoes. Started by a workplace etiquette expert, this lighthearted day invites everyone to wear mismatched shoes as a reminder that it’s okay to stand out and be a little different.
Fun Facts:
Some people have entire collections of quirky shoes they mix and match just for fun.
Shoes can reflect personality, culture, hobbies—even favorite colors or characters.
Animal shoes, superhero shoes, and light-up sneakers are popular choices for mismatched shoe day.
Describe My Shoes Game: Students describe the shoes they’re wearing using as many adjectives as possible (color, size, design, material). Or use pictures of different kinds of shoes and students take turns describing shoes or guessing which shoes are being described.
Shoe Sorting Activity: Use cut-out pictures of different types of shoes (sneakers, boots, flip-flops, etc.) and sort them by season, function, or size. This targets categorizing, labeling, and comparing.
“Whose Shoes?” Guessing Game: Students match shoes to people or jobs (e.g., “These belong to a firefighter,” “These are for ballet”). Builds inferencing and WH-question skills.
Shoe - Bean Bag Toss: Line up different kinds of shoes across the room. Have students toss a bean bag and try to get it into a shoe. Label each shoe with different speech targets or language tasks for students to complete.
Shoe Design Craft: Give students a blank shoe outline to decorate. Use The Craft Teacher's free Blank Shoes Template on Teachers Pay Teachers. Then have them name their shoe style, describe it, and explain what makes it special!
Cardboard Slipper Craft: Visit ShineKidsCrafts blog to view the cute paper craft slippers / flip flops. This could be a great open-ended "two different shoes" craft for speech therapy!
Shoe Steps Sequencing: Students explain the different steps to put on a different kinds of shoes (e.g., tennis shoes, rain boots, flip flops, velcro shoes, buckle shoes, etc.).
Popular Children's Books:
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes – Written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean: Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunch room, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
Those Shoes – Written by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones: Jeremy wants a pair of shoes that everyone else is wearing, but they’re out of reach for his family. A thoughtful story about wants vs. needs, empathy, and friendship. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Stand in My Shoes – Written by Bob Sornson, illustrated by Shelley Johannes:
When a young girl learns what it means to show empathy, she begins to notice how people around her feel and how small acts of kindness can make a big difference. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
May 4:
🌌 National Star Wars Day (May 4)
About: National Star Wars Day is celebrated each year on May 4th as a fun tribute to the beloved film franchise. The date plays off the famous line “May the Force be with you,” turning it into the pun “May the Fourth be with you.” Fans of all ages join in with themed dress-up, creative activities, and a galactic sense of adventure.
Fun Facts:
The first Star Wars movie, now known as Episode IV: A New Hope, was released in 1977.
Darth Vader’s voice was created by combining actor James Earl Jones’s deep tone with sound effects.
Chewbacca’s voice is a mix of recordings from bears, walruses, and other animals.
Create a Star Wars Name Generator: Combine two silly words (e.g., first name = favorite color, last name = favorite animal) to invent a Star Wars-style name. Great for describing, categorizing, and using new vocabulary. You can download this Space Character Name Generator on TpT if you want a no prep option:
WH-Question Star Hunt: Hide star cutouts with WH questions written on them around the room. Students find a star and answer the question to practice comprehension and expressive language. Use Sublime Speech's free Star Light Star Bright WH Questions for a low prep option.
Articulation Lightsaber Word Hunt: Students use flashlights (or glow sticks) to search for target words or pictures hidden around the room.
May the Fourth Be With You freebies: Browse through all of the May the Fourth Freebies on TpT for inspiration.
Make a Paper Droid Craft: Students create their own droid (like R2-D2) with paper shapes. Have them describe their droid’s name, purpose, and special features for expressive language practice. Check out Picklebums.com blog post which includes free droid template downloads (with no sign up opt in required).
Create a Story: Download the Let's Tell a Fairy Tale outline and have students use it to create a story about their favorite Star Wars character.
Yoda Talk Syntax Challenge: Rearrange simple sentences in Yoda’s speech style ("Hungry, I am.") for a fun way to work on sentence structure and grammar. Here is how you can explain it: "Instead of putting the subject first (like we usually do), Yoda often puts the action or description first. Here are some examples before creating your own"
I am strong = Strong, I am
You will find the answers = Find the answers, you will
The force is powerful = Powerful, the force is
Popular Children's Books:
Star Wars: A Jedi You Will Be – Written by Preeti Chhibber, illustrated by Mike Deas: Yoda trains a new young Jedi in this beginner-friendly story about bravery, patience, and using the Force. Told in Yoda’s distinct voice, the story invites readers to follow directions and build comprehension. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Star Wars Little Golden Book Library – a collection of six simple, illustrated retellings of the classic Star Wars movies, written for young readers. Each book highlights the main characters, settings, and adventures from Episodes I–VI, using easy-to-understand language and colorful artwork to introduce the galaxy far, far away. 📖 [Amazon Link]
Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles – Written by Landry Q. Walker, illustrated by Diogo Saito and Christophe Foss: A detailed encyclopedia introducing young readers to more than 200 ships, speeders, and vehicles from across the Star Wars galaxy. Organized by type and faction, the book uses simple descriptions and colorful illustrations to bring each vehicle’s features and adventures to life. 📖 [Amazon Link]
🐦 National Bird Day (May 4)
About: A celebration of our feathered friends and the important role they play in ecosystems around the world. Whether observing local species or learning about faraway habitats, Bird Day encourages appreciation for the role birds play in nature.
Fun Facts:
There are around 10,000 different species of birds on Earth.
Some birds, like Arctic Terns, migrate thousands of miles each year between continents.
Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backward.
Not all birds sing—some, like storks, clatter their beaks instead.
Vocabulary: Grab these free Bird Photo Cards by Awareness - SLP Publications (TpT). Print duplicates for memory matching to teach vocabulary. Add articulation words to the back of each bird card to turn it into an articulation memory match game.
Bird Directed Drawing: Students can follow the directions in Blue Skies with Jennifer White's Bird Directed Drawing for Spring activity (TpT).
Bird Nest Plurals Sorting Mat: Use Resource Room with Ms. R's free Bird Next Word Sort Activity for sorting plural -s and -es words.
Feather Art: Use feathers and different colors of paint to create feather prints or "tail feather" swipes. Assign target words or language tasks for each paint color.
Digital Boom Cards: Here are some free bird themed Boom Cards for speech language therapy:
Birdhouse Prepositional Locations by A Perfect Blend
Birdhouse and Nature Walk Communication Board (English/Spanish) by Bluebird Speech.
Initial "Z" Articulation: Find the Birds Eggs by OnTheGoSLP
S Blends Articulation Open Ended Bird Scene by OnTheGoSLP
Winter (Bird) Color It: Prevocalic Voicing by The Speechtress
Nest Egg: A Game for "N" All Positions by Maggie McNamara
Core Words: Take "Out" drag and reveal by Megan's Speech Room
Birds and Birdhouses Color Match by Leigh's Library
Describe an Egg by PicaMeUp
Counting Birds Number Sense by Essie's Classroom Resources (can be used in articulation: practice the same number of target words as number of birds).
Go Bird: Use articulation cards to play a game of "Go Fish" but replace "fish" with a type of bird that starts with the student's target sound. Here are some examples (yes, some are a bit of a stretch):
p, b, m: parrot, peacock, pelican, bluebird, bald eagle, macaw, magpie
t, d, n: toucan, turkey, dove, duck, nighthawk, nightengale
f, v: falcon, finch, flamingo, vulture
k, g: cardinal, crow, cuckoo, goldfinch, goose
s, z: sparrow, swallow, starling, zebra finch
l, r: lark, raven, robin, roadrunner
th, sh, ch, j: thick-knee, shoveler, chickadee, junco
h, w, y: hawk, woodpecker, yellowthroat
Bird Watching Live Cams: Visit Cornell Lab All About Birds live cams.
Popular Children's Books:
Birds – Written by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek: This beautifully illustrated story captures a child’s observations about the colors, shapes, and movements of birds in everyday life. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Have You Heard the Nesting Bird? – Written by Rita Gray, illustrated by Kenard Pak: As two children walk through the forest, they hear many bird calls-except for one silent nesting bird. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Feathers for Lunch – Written by Lois Ehlert, illustrated by Lois Ehlert: A house cat sneaks outside and tries (unsuccessfully) to catch birds in this colorful and rhythmic book. The simple text and bright illustrations are perfect for practicing animal names, colors, and action words. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🌦️ National Weather Observers Day (May 4)
About: This day celebrates amateur and professional weather watchers who help track and report weather patterns. It’s a great chance to explore clouds, storms, temperature tools, and how weather impacts our daily lives.
Fun Facts:
The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134°F (56.7°C) in Death Valley, California.
Meteorologists use tools like anemometers (to measure wind speed) and barometers (to measure air pressure).
Clouds are classified into different types based on their appearance and height—like cumulus, stratus, and cirrus.
Weather Vocabulary: Use My Kind-er Classroom's free Weather Vocabulary Cards for vocabulary visuals. Print duplicates to play memory games. Add numbers to the back side of each card for students to complete the same number of speech targets or language tasks. Use the cards for a Pictionary - type game.
Weather Unit: Itty Bitty Speech offers a full Weather Preschool Language Unit to add to your resource toolbox (to include a free Boom Cards version).
Weather Word Articulation Game: Place articulation target words inside cloud, sun, and raindrop shapes. Students pick a shape and practice the word multiple times before adding it to a "weather map" display.
Rainy Day Articulation: Speechie Adventures offers free Rainy Day Adventure Worksheets that includes pages for 9 different speech sounds (TpT). You could also craft a large rain cloud on poster board and cut out raindrops for students to write their target words, practice them, then add them to the poster.
Create a Daily Weather Report: Students describe the day's weather using full sentences, temperature words, and adjectives (sunny, cloudy, chilly). Give them a whiteboard to draw what they are describing. Or browse these free Weather Chart resources on TpT.
Following Directions/Movement Breaks: Use the Primary Prep's Weather Themed Printable Movement Dice Cards (TpT) for following directions. Glue the pictures to each side of a square tissue box and use as a dice. Use as movement breaks during your speech sessions.
Guess the Weather Riddle: Give clues about different weather types and have students answer using complete sentences or question formats.
I fall from the sky but I’m not a bird. I can be cold and wet, but sometimes I sparkle. You might need an umbrella when I’m around. What am I? (Rain)
I am bright but you can’t look right at me. I warm your face and light your day. When I hide, the world feels dim. What am I? (Sun)
I cover the ground all soft and white. You can catch me on your tongue if you try. Bundle up — I mean it’s cold outside. What am I? (now)
I rumble and grumble across the sky. I follow flashes of bright, scary light. You might hear me after a storm begins. What am I? (Thunder)
I’m soft, puffy, and float way up high. Sometimes I look like animals in the sky. On rainy days, I turn dark and gray. What am I? (Cloud)
You can't see me but you can feel me. I can make leaves dance and kites fly. Sometimes I’m a breeze, and sometimes a gust. What am I? (Wind)
I swirl and twist, touching both sky and ground. I’m strong and spinning, and not safe to be around. People watch out for me when storms are near. What am I? (Tornado)
I fall softly, often overnight.I sparkle in the morning sunlight. But don't step on me — I can be slippery. What am I? (Frost)
I come in colors after rain is through. Look up high — you might see red, yellow, and blue. I stretch across the sky like a magical bridge. What am I? (Rainbow)
I am thick and make it hard to see. I float low to the ground and cover trees. You’ll want to drive slow when I’m around. What am I? (Fog)
Popular Children's Books:
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – Written by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett: In the town of Chewandswallow, food falls from the sky like rain, snow, and storms. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
Like a Windy Day – Written by Frank Asch, illustrated by Devin Asch: A young girl imagines herself becoming the wind, racing through trees and across rooftops. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
May 5:
🇲🇽 Cinco de Mayo (May 5)
About: Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. While not Mexico’s Independence Day, it has become a celebration of Mexican culture, heritage, music, and food—especially in the U.S.
Fun Facts:
Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually celebrated on September 16.
Mole poblano, a rich sauce made with chocolate and spices, is a traditional dish served on Cinco de Mayo.
The largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world takes place in Los Angeles, California.
Mariachi bands, colorful parades, and traditional Mexican folk dances are popular ways to celebrate.
Vocabulary: Bethany Gardner has a flash freebie* Cinco de Mayo Write the Room activity that includes vocabulary cards along with other activities.
Reading Texts on TpT:
All About Cinco de Mayo by Mrs. VanMeter (emergent readers)
Cinco De Mayo Reading Passage and Questions by Standards in Elementary (1st - 3rd grade)
The History of Cinco de Mayo by LaNesha Tabb Teaches (K-2nd)
Free Boom Cards: Green Tea Speech offers a free Cinco de Mayo Sensory Bin on Boom Learning.
Color By Code: Grab Busy Me Plus Three's free Cinco De Mayo Fun Color by Code activity and pair the colors with speech targets or language tasks.
Associations: Check out Major Speech Minor Girl's free Cinco de Mayo Associations activity.
Graphing Articulation: Use GlueSticks and Crayon's free Cinco de Mayo Data and Graphing pages for articulation practice. Assign a target word to each themed image for students to practice as they search, tally and graph the images.
Other ideas: Browse through the National Days February Week 4 blog post to view the National Tortilla Day activities (February 24).
Popular Children's Books:
Cinco de Mouse-O! – Written by Judy Cox, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler: A curious mouse smells delicious food and follows the fiesta through the streets, experiencing the sights, sounds, and tastes of Cinco de Mayo. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Marco’s Cinco de Mayo – Written by Lisa Bullard, illustrated by Holli Conger: Marco helps prepare for his community’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, learning about the holiday’s history and traditions. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Dragons Love Tacos Written by Adam Rubin Written and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri: A humorous story about dragons and their love for tacos, perfect for practicing sequencing and vocabulary. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
Chicks and Salsa Written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Paulette Bogan: A fun farmyard tale where animals throw a fiesta. Filled with descriptive language and playful scenes. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
👨🚀 National Astronaut Day (May 5)
About: National Astronaut Day honors the bravery and achievements of astronauts past and present. It marks the anniversary of Alan Shepard’s 1961 spaceflight, the first American human in space.
Fun Facts:
Alan Shepard’s spaceflight lasted only about 15 minutes, but it opened the door to future space exploration.
Astronauts experience “microgravity,” which makes them float while aboard spacecraft.
A spacesuit costs around $12 million to make.
The International Space Station orbits Earth about every 90 minutes.
Rocket Craft: Color and build a rocket using Stay Classy Classroom's free Build a Rocket craft on TpT. Be sure to have student's draw themselves as the astronaut!
Spacesuit Vocabulary: Use Glo's Goodies' free Astronaut Worksheet (TpT) to color and label the parts of an astronaut suit.
Space Journey Sequencing: Use simple story cards or drawings to have students sequence a space journey (e.g., blast off, orbit, return to Earth).
Astronaut Question Hunt: Hide WH-questions around the room inside mini “rocket” cutouts. Students find a rocket, answer the question, and blast off to the next one.
Who
Who flies a rocket into space?An astronaut flies the rocket into space.
Who helps astronauts prepare for space missions?Engineers, scientists, and doctors help astronauts get ready.
Who lives and works on the International Space Station?Astronauts from different countries live and work there.
What
What do astronauts wear in space?They wear space suits to stay safe and breathe.
What happens when you float in zero gravity?You float and drift because there’s no gravity holding you down.
What do astronauts eat while they are in space?They eat special food in pouches or containers that won’t float away.
Where
Where do astronauts launch from on Earth?They usually launch from a space center, like Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Where do astronauts sleep on a spaceship?They sleep in small sleeping bags attached to the walls.
Where can astronauts look out and see the stars?They can look through windows on the space station or spacecraft.
When
When do astronauts go on spacewalks?They go outside the spaceship to fix things or do science work.
When do astronauts return to Earth?They return after their mission is finished, which could be days or months later.
When did the first human walk on the moon?In 1969, when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon.
Why
Why do astronauts need helmets in space?Because there’s no air in space, and helmets help them breathe and stay safe.
Why can’t astronauts just walk around outside the spaceship?Because space is dangerous—they need special suits and are attached with cords.
Why do people send astronauts to space?To learn more about space, do science experiments, and explore new places.
If I Were an Astronaut: Have students describe a day in space if they were an astronaut. Use Cat Love Teaches If I Were an Astronaut Writing Activity (TpT) to write description of the day and draw the picture.
Anti-Gravity Articulation: Students act out floating in space as they move around the room looking for space themed images with articulation words (or language tasks) written on them.
Rocket Launch Speech and Language Games: Assign target words or WH Question types or language tasks to countdown numbers (e.g. 5 – star, 4 – spin, 3 – snow, 2 – skunk, 1 – smoke ). Students roll a dice to determine which word to practice. Rolling a 6 = Failure to Launch (roll again).
Popular Children's Books:
Mousetronaut – Written by Mark Kelly, illustrated by C.F. Payne: Based on a true story, a small, determined mouse trains alongside astronauts and ultimately proves that even the smallest crew member can make a big difference during a space mission. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
The Darkest Dark – Written by Chris Hadfield, illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan: Inspired by astronaut Chris Hadfield’s childhood fear of the dark, this story follows young Chris as he dreams of exploring outer space. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Roaring Rockets – Written by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Ant Parker: With bright illustrations and simple rhymes, this book follows three animal astronauts as they blast off into space, exploring rockets and outer space concepts for young learners. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
May 6:
🩺 National Nurses Day (May 6)
About: National Nurses Day kicks off National Nurses Week and celebrates the compassion and commitment of nurses. It’s a day to say thank you to those who care for others with skill, heart, and tireless energy.
Fun Facts:
Florence Nightingale, often called the founder of modern nursing, helped revolutionize hospital care during the 1800s.
National Nurses Week ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
Nurses walk an average of four to five miles during a typical 12-hour hospital shift.
There are over four million registered nurses in the United States.
Thank You Nurse Card Craft: Have students create thank you cards for school nurses or local healthcare workers while practicing sentence formulation, descriptive words, and polite expressions. Browse these free nurses day resources on TpT.
Nurse First Aid Kit Items: Show or describe items like a stethoscope, thermometer, bandages, wraps, gloves, etc. Students guess what tool it is and explain it's function. Grab Go Wild with Paper's free Puppet Props image pages on TpT.
Role-Play as a Nurse: Set up a dramatic play area for your younger students to act out common nurse duties.
Healthy Habits: Have students create a list of healthy habits they could then break down into sequenced steps (e.g., washing hands, brushing teeth, putting on a bandage, making a healthy lunch, getting ready for bed, covering a cough, etc.).
Body Part Simon Says: Play a quick round of Simon Says with a focus on body parts (e.g., "Touch your elbow," "Point to your ankle") to reinforce vocabulary and following directions.
Popular Children's Books:
Nurse Clementine – Written by Simon James, illustrated by Simon James: Clementine receives a nurse’s kit for her birthday and takes her new role very seriously, helping her family with all sorts of pretend (and real) medical emergencies. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Sick Simon – Written and illustrated by Dan Krall: Simon loves going to school, even when he feels terrible, but he soon discovers that spreading his germs to everyone else isn’t very fun after all. This humorous story teaches the importance of healthy habits like covering coughs, washing hands, and staying home when sick. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
May 7:
🍎 National Teacher Appreciation Day (May 7)
About: Held during Teacher Appreciation Week, this day spotlights the educators who inspire, guide, and encourage students every day. It’s a time to recognize all the ways teachers make a lasting impact—both inside and outside the classroom.
Fun Facts:
The first official Teacher Appreciation Day was celebrated in 1953 after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt pushed for national recognition of teachers.
There are over 3.5 million teachers working in public schools across the United States.
Traditional gifts for teachers often include apples, handwritten notes, and classroom supplies.
Thank You Letter Writing: Have students write a note and draw a picture for their teacher, focusing on complete sentences, adjectives, and gratitude vocabulary.
WH Questions: Grab Chalkboard Superhero's Reading Comprehension WH Questions resource to use with students working on asking/answering questions.
Teacher Tools: Present common teacher supplies (e.g., planner, rulers, erasers, coffee mug, water bottle, binder clips, white out, etc.) for students to identify, label and/or name functions.
Guess the Teacher Game: Describe different types of teachers (art, music, P.E., classroom teacher) using three clues. Peers guess which teacher is being described.
Popular Children's Books:
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon – Written by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee: A student imagines all sorts of wild and silly possibilities about his new teacher, only to discover she’s not scary at all. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Because I Had a Teacher – Written by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Natalie Russell: A heartfelt tribute to the many ways teachers influence and inspire their students. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Making the Most of May's Week 1 Themes
With themes like Weather Observers Day, Bird Day, and Teacher Appreciation Day, this week blends whimsy, gratitude, and language learning into one easy-to-love mix. Whether your students are pretending to be astronauts or celebrating their principal, these national days make for memorable sessions. Get ready—May Week 2 brings even more creative ways to target communication skills!
See More National Day Themes for May:
May National Days Week 2 (May 8 - 14)
May National Days Week 3 (May 15 - 21): coming soon
May National Days Week 4+ (May 22 - 31): coming soon
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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