Gustavo the Shy Ghost in Speech Therapy: Key Concepts, Activities, & Free Resources
- Sarah Wilde
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
I’m so glad you’re here!
In this post, we’re diving into Gustavo the Shy Ghost, a story about a relatable, shy ghost who wants to make friends.
I’ll give you a quick summary of the book, share ideas for the goals and skills you can target, and link to a mix of free and paid activities to make planning easy.
Whether you’re just finding me for the first time or you’ve been following along for a while, I hope this post leaves you feeling inspired and supported in your work as a busy speech therapist!
A little summary
Gustavo was a shy ghost. He tried his best to make friends but no one seemed to notice him. He was an excellent violinist and decided to invite the other monsters to a Day of the Dead performance. No one showed up to the cemetery, but Gustavo played his violin anyway. The monsters heard his music and made their way to the cemetery. They loved his music and they all wanted to be his friend from that day on.
What Makes Squirrel Me Timbers Great for Speech Therapy
1️⃣ It contains a complete episode, making it perfect for working on narrative skills
2️⃣ It features an engaging main character that is relatable for many of our speech therapy students
3️⃣ It's great for working on pragmatic skills like perspective taking and self advocacy
Key Concepts to Target
Wh questions:
Who is the story about?
What does it mean to be shy?
What did Gustavo want?
When was Gustavo's violin concert?
Where did Gustavo put on his violin concert?
How did Gustavo feel when no one showed up to the concert?
How did Gustavo feel when playing the violin?
How did the other monsters find Gustavo?
How did Gustavo feel at the end of the story?
Articulation:
/g/ words: Gustavo, ghost, get, getting, got
💡 Incorporate literacy support:
Do you hear the /g/ sound at the beginning, middle, or end of the word? (reduce to two options if needed)
Do you see the /g/ sound at the beginning/middle/end of the word? Point to it.
How is the /g/ sound spelled [g, gh]? (have letters available on index card, sticky note, etc. for student to point to)
/v/ words: violin, very, loved, never, even, invite, Gustavo, have
/l/ words: loved, love, loving, life, late, lost, let, like, letter, longed, almost, will, all, soul
/l/ blends: fly, flowers, glowing, glowed, glow, playing, close, place
💡 Incorporate literacy support:
Here is the letter "l" that makes the /l/ sound (point to it). Do you see the letter before it? What sound does it make?
Write the blend each time you see a word that starts with an /l/ blend in the text. Can use a pencil and paper, dry erase marker and white board, just a finger on the table pretending to write it, a finger in sensory box filled in sand, trace it, etc.
Other skills to target:
Story grammar
Story retell, summarizing
Past tense -ed verbs
Vocabulary
Synonyms & antonyms
Perspective taking
Emotions
Problem solving
For more detailed targets, head to the library for the free book guide!
Activities & Freebies to Pair With the Story
To make things even easier for you to use, I’ve pulled together a mix of activities and free resources that pair perfectly with the story!
🎯 Narrative activities included in this bundle
🎯 Nonfiction texts - great as an extension text or to use with older students that you want to use the same theme with
🎯 Free Blank Ghost Outline + pair it with this cotton ball craft idea
Write articulation words, vocab, synonyms
Draw two lines to divide the ghost into 4 squares and have students use pictography to draw the main character, setting, problem, solution
I hope this has been helpful! 🫶🏽
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