The following lists contain a variety of suggestions for what to do with students with articulation weaknesses. These strategies may be helpful. If you are still finding your child having difficulty with specific sounds, please contact the SLP in your building for additional information or possible evaluation.
- Model correct sound production
- Encourage imitation of correct sound production – don’t make a big deal but encourage
- Model correct lip, tongue and mouth placement for certain sounds
Discuss mouth positions for different sounds:
F sound - bite your bottom lip and blow
V sound - same as F sound except turn on your voice
S sound - close your teeth and keep tongue inside and make snake sound
Sh Sound - the quiet sound - round your lips and blow
K sound - use the back of your throat to make the sound - open mouth and lift the back part of your tongue.
G sound - same as K sound except also turn on your voice
P sound - put your lips together and make a quiet pop sound
B sound - put your lips together and make a pop sound also turn on your voice
L sound - lift your tongue to the top of your mouth just behind your teeth
R sound - don’t round your lips, lift the middle of your tongue to your middle top teeth - make a lion roar OR make the L sound and drag your tongue back to the middle of your mouth
Additional strategies include the following:
1. During reading activities point out words that include that sound
2. Extend the sound if possible.
*Example: the child says “I have wed shoes”. The teacher says “Oh, I love your rrrred shoes.”
3. Always, always acknowledge the child’s attempt as a “good try” or “you’re getting close”!
4. Never make the child feel embarrassed or reluctant to speak or try again. Do not mock or imitate the incorrect sound production (even if it is cute).
5. Reading books that are highly concentrated with target sound.
6. Play rhyming games including silly words
*Target sound is F:
Let’s make all words rhyme. What word sounds like “hire”. Fire
What word sounds like “bun”. Fun
What word sounds like “core”. Four
What words sounds like “silly”. Filly
7. Give specific feedback: Give students’ specific feedback for saying sounds correctly. For example: “Wow! I heard TWO sounds when you said the word “spot!” I heard “ssssss” and “puh”! Avoid criticizing a student for saying a sound incorrectly in front of other students. Speaking with confidence is important and providing too much negative feedback—especially in a large group—can make them overly self-conscious.
8. Ask for repetition: Asking a student to repeat teaches them that speaking clearly is important without putting them on the spot to say a specific sound correctly. For example: “I didn’t understand, can you say that again?” “What you have to say is important, can you repeat that?” If you still can’t understand the student, encourage them to use a communication strategy like saying the word in a sentence to give context or writing it down. Honor the communication even if articulation is incorrect.
9. Highlight target sounds: Underline or highlight the target sound in advance for read aloud or homework activities to reinforce the student’s awareness of the sound in context. This is also a great carryover activity for older students to complete independently.
10. Recast words: Student: I see the tat. Teacher: Oh look at that cat. I see the cat too
11. Don’t call attention to errors: Calling extra attention to the student’s errors in front of classmates could cause anxiety for the student
12. Provide specific positive reinforcement: Student: I see the cat. Teacher: Wow! You used the /k/ sound on the word “cat”. That’s awesome!
13. Exaggerate pronunciation of target sounds: When working one-on-one with the student, prolong or point out words that contain target sounds
14. Identify commonly used words in the classroom setting that contain their sound and facilitate correct production of these words
15. Auditory bombardment and sound facilitation activities during guided reading practice
16. Use spelling or vocabulary words to facilitate correct sound production. Have the student identify words that contain their sound.
17. Have students make cards with different words/pictures containing their targeted sound. Have the student drill the cards facilitating correct sound production
18. Activities to facilitate correct sound production such as :
*Stations/centers for sound practice
*Have the students draw a number from an envelope to determine the random number of items to say. Use the word/picture cards that the student has created.
19. Have a Sound of the Day or week for younger students. Once you have had a SLP screen and determine a sound to focus on, utilize that sound/not letter as your Sound of the Week.
Examples of how to use it:
1. During reading activities point out words that include that sound
2. Extend the sound if possible.
*Example: the child says “I have wed shoes”. The teacher says “Oh, I love your rrrred shoes.”
3. Always, always acknowledge the child’s attempt as a “good try” or “you’re getting close”!
4. Never make the child feel embarrassed or reluctant to speak or try again. Do not mock or imitate the incorrect sound production (even if it is cute).
5. Reading books that are highly concentrated with target sound.
6. Play rhyming games including silly words
*Target sound is F:
Let’s make all words rhyme. What word sounds like “hire”. Fire
What word sounds like “bun”. Fun
What word sounds like “core”. Four
What words sounds like “silly”. Filly
7. Give specific feedback: Give students’ specific feedback for saying sounds correctly. For example: “Wow! I heard TWO sounds when you said the word “spot!” I heard “ssssss” and “puh”! Avoid criticizing a student for saying a sound incorrectly in front of other students. Speaking with confidence is important and providing too much negative feedback—especially in a large group—can make them overly self-conscious.
8. Ask for repetition: Asking a student to repeat teaches them that speaking clearly is important without putting them on the spot to say a specific sound correctly. For example: “I didn’t understand, can you say that again?” “What you have to say is important, can you repeat that?” If you still can’t understand the student, encourage them to use a communication strategy like saying the word in a sentence to give context or writing it down. Honor the communication even if articulation is incorrect.
9. Highlight target sounds: Underline or highlight the target sound in advance for read aloud or homework activities to reinforce the student’s awareness of the sound in context. This is also a great carryover activity for older students to complete independently.
10. Recast words: Student: I see the tat. Teacher: Oh look at that cat. I see the cat too
11. Don’t call attention to errors: Calling extra attention to the student’s errors in front of classmates could cause anxiety for the student
12. Provide specific positive reinforcement: Student: I see the cat. Teacher: Wow! You used the /k/ sound on the word “cat”. That’s awesome!
13. Exaggerate pronunciation of target sounds: When working one-on-one with the student, prolong or point out words that contain target sounds
14. Identify commonly used words in the classroom setting that contain their sound and facilitate correct production of these words
15. Auditory bombardment and sound facilitation activities during guided reading practice
16. Use spelling or vocabulary words to facilitate correct sound production. Have the student identify words that contain their sound.
17. Have students make cards with different words/pictures containing their targeted sound. Have the student drill the cards facilitating correct sound production
18. Activities to facilitate correct sound production such as :
*Stations/centers for sound practice
*Have the students draw a number from an envelope to determine the random number of items to say. Use the word/picture cards that the student has created.
19. Have a Sound of the Day or week for younger students. Once you have had a SLP screen and determine a sound to focus on, utilize that sound/not letter as your Sound of the Week.
Examples of how to use it:
- Demonstrate and describe HOW to make the sound. Example: sh is the quiet sound, F is the sound where you bite your lip, ch is the train sound, P is the popping sound, etc. Ask the SLP for additional tips.
- Make a word wall – with pictures or words that start or end with the sound
- Notice pictures in the school – during travel to specials, recess, lunch – that include that sound
- Encourage students (or a few students) to say a word with the Sound of the Week in it as they line up.
- Make these activities fun and use as a whole group – not drawing attention to the student who has articulation weaknesses.
- You can make the Sound of the Week activities be for beginning or ending sounds on different weeks. Move on to another sound the next week. Revisit the target sound in subsequent weeks and acknowledge when you see or hear a word with Last Week’s Sound of the Week.