Bruce is a lot of things. He is a bear. He is a grump. He is a pretty decent cook. And he is a mother. One thing Bruce is not Santa Claus. But that doesn’t stop the whole forest from lining up to give him their Christmas wishes when he becomes the victim of mistaken identity―again.
This silly Christmas book can be used in speech therapy to target negation, character analysis, and predicting. It is also great for noticing character expressions and targeting /br/ and /s/ sounds! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Santa Bruce in speech therapy below:
Frequent Speech Sounds:
/br/ initial
/s/ final
Themes:
Christmas
Book Details:
Diverse Characters: N/A
Age Recommendation: Elementary, Late Elementary
Santa Bruce
By Ryan Higgins
Key Teaching Concepts
Narrative Structure:
complete episode
Narrative Concepts:
vocabulary
character analysis
sequencing
illustration study
predicting
verbs (action)
text features
negation
inferencing
Sequencing:
order of actions Bruce ends up doing once he is mistaken for Santa
Vocabulary:
Santa Claus, business, hibernation, migration, lethargy, Maine, deck the halls, cheer, mistaken identity, grumble, miracle, glee, persistent, spirit
Character Analysis:
Bruce doesn’t like the holidays however his family wants to enjoy Christmas with him. He is grumpy and doesn’t want anything to do with delivering presents, being cold etc. In the end, even though he still wants to go to bed he realizes that being with family isn’t so bad after all.
Grammar:
verbs (action)
negation
Text Features:
speech bubbles
capitals
exaggerated sounds for emphasis
ellipses
enlarged text
exclamation marks
question marks
Inferencing:
Notice Bruce’s facial expressions and body language. How do you think he is feeling? Why?
When had there been another case of mistaken identify? (Refer back to Mother Bruce)
What is a Christmas miracle?
How were the geese helpful?
Why do you think they have too much weight in the sleigh?
How do we know that they have too much weight in the sleigh?
Who was not happy?
Why was Bruce pulling the wagon now?
How was being Santa Bruce not an easy job?
Predicting:
Who do they think Bruce is?
Where are they going?
What do you think they will do if they think he is Santa?
Who do you think is at the door now?
What do you think the mice will do when Bruce says they don’t have a sleigh?
What do you think Bruce will do at each house?
What do you think will make Bruce happy?
Problem Solving:
The animals think that Bruce is Santa and that he is going to grant wishes and deliver presents, however Bruce hates holidays and refuses to do it at first. Bruce also has difficulty at each house and realizes how hard Santa’s job is.
If you are interested in seeing other Christmas books to use in therapy, then check out the Seasonal Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.
