Promoting speech sounds

Promoting Speech
Sounds
in the Classroom
Creating Communicators
Original presentation developed by AHS Speech
Pathologists.

Agenda
• Introduction
• Typical development
• Ideas to encourage sound development
• Next Steps
• Questions
• Evaluation

Objectives
After this presentation you will:
• Have a better understanding of typical
sound development
• Know ways to encourage sound
development in your students

Acknowledgements
• SLPs in Edmonton for developing the
original presentation
• SLPs in Calgary for sharing their diagrams
• Linda Mood and Pro Ed

Disclaimer
 Always have any students with speech
and language concerns assessed by a
Registered Speech Language Pathologist.
 If your school requires speech and
language services email
creaitngcommunicators@hotmail.com or
call Mindy at 780 805-6645.

Introduction
 Learning speech and language involves
listening and practice.
 Some children have difficulties with their
speech and language. They often need more
time and opportunities to listen and practice.
 Remember that normal articulation
development continues beyond the
preschool years into the early elementary
grades.

Listening & Speaking
Typical Development
Children learn how to
make speech sounds
by listening and
watching.

Making Sounds – Typical
Development
 Talking is a complex
skill.
 It takes time to learn
how to coordinate
our breathing, lips,
tongue and teeth to
make meaningful
sounds.
 For example, look in
the mirror when you
say word
‘backpacks’.

Making Sounds – Typical
Development

Learning sounds- typical
development
Sound development starts with
babbling, as babies explore the
sounds they can make.
Some sounds are more complicated
than others. The easiest sounds are
made at the front of your mouth:
 m, p, b, w, h, t, n, d
 Children usually use these
sounds by the time they are 2
years old.

What to expect at what age…
o Your 2 year old…
Uses sounds like m, p, b, w, t, d, n, and h. Most
vowel sounds are said correctly like ah, ee, i,
oh, oo, and so on.
May only use these sounds at the beginning
of words.
Is understood by parents between 50 to 75%
of the time.
o By 2½ years uses some sounds at the
beginning and end of words.
May repeat easier sounds like “bubu” for
bubbles or leave off harder sounds like “ba”
for ball, bat, or bus.
May say many different words that sound
the same.

development
o Sounds made at the back
of the mouth or that are
‘long, flowing sounds’
are more difficult:
k, g, ng, f, s, y
Children usually use
these sounds by the
time they are 3 years
old.

Uses sounds like m, p, b, w, t, d, n, h, k, g, f, s,
vowels, y as in yes, and ing as in sing.
Is understood by parents between 75 to
100% of the time.
o By 3½ years uses sounds at the beginning
of words (bus instead of us) and at the end of
words (boat instead of boa).
Uses vowel sounds correctly almost all of the
time.

development
Later developing sounds
include:
 l, z, r, v, ch, sh, j, th
 putting two sounds together,
like in stop or fly
 These sounds usually develop
between the ages of 4 and 7
years old.
 Children may produce the s,
z, sh, ch, j sounds with the
tongue sticking out between
the teeth (i.e., a lisp) up to 6
years old.

Uses sounds like m, p, b, w, t, d, n, h, k, g, f, y, l,
s, z, vowels, and ng.
Is understood by parents 100% of the time.
Says most sounds correctly except for maybe
r, v, ch, and th.
Uses l blends and s blends, such as blue and
stop.
May say s, z, sh, ch, or j with the tongue
sticking out (a lisp).
Is easily understood by siblings, friends,
parents, and strangers.
Says most sounds correctly except for maybe
r and th.
Is easily understood by everyone.
Says all sounds correctly except for maybe th.
Is easily understood by everyone.
Says all sounds correctly and is easily
understood by everyone.
When to get help
You should get help if…
• Your child is not saying
the sounds that are
listed for his age.
• Your child is frustrated
or hard to understand.
• You did not check off
all of the things listed for
your child’s age.

Intelligibility
Intelligibility is
how well a
stranger is able
to understand a
child.

Intelligibility
Generally…
 At 1 you can
understand 25% of what
a child says
 At 2 you can
understand 50-75%
 At 3 you can
understand 75-100%
 At 4 and older you can
understand 100%
although some errors
may still be present

Common Question
 “My child can say “cat” with a ‘k’ sound
when I ask her to say it on its own… but as
soon as she gets going it’s a “tat” again!”

Why is that?
Let’s try something:
 Make the S sound
 Count to 10 and put the S
sound at the beginning of
each number.
 Do it again with the /f/
sound and/or the /k/
sound.
Did you manage to do it?
How hard did you need to
think about it?

Learning New Sounds Takes
Time
 The more things there are to think about,
the harder it is to say a new sound
Learning to speak is complex. Children must
learn how to control their breathing,
tongue, lips, teeth and vocal cords – and
think of what they want to say!
How do you feel when you are learning
something complex? Remember when
you learned to drive? 

Learning New Sounds Takes
Time
 Remember that because
reverts back to making
their sound incorrectly it is
NOT because they are lazy.
It is a new skill that they are
learning and it takes time,
practice and patience!
 Be encouraging!

Hearing and Speech
Your child’s hearing can have an
impact on his speech sound
development.
 We use a variety of pitches when
we make speech sounds. Some of
these sounds use high pitches (e.g.,
‘sssss’) and some of the sounds use
lower pitches (e.g., ‘mmmm’). It’s
important to make sure that your
child can hear all of the pitches.
 Children who have a history of ear
infections are at risk for having
hearing difficulties.
 Having your child’s hearing
screened is an important first step in
addressing any speech and
language concerns.

How can we encourage
sound development
in the classroom?

How can we encourage
sound development
in the classroom?1. SLOW DOWN
 This gives your child more time to see
how your mouth moves when you
make sounds and words.
 This also gives your child more time
to hear all of the sounds in the word.
 Make sure you have the students
attention before you focus on their
sound.
 If possible get down to your students
level so that they are able to see
your mouth.

Encouraging Sound
Development
2. MODEL
 The goal is that children
see and hear correct
sounds.
 When your child has
difficulty saying a word,
repeat the word back
to him and exaggerate
the part of the word
that was difficult.
 Be face to face with
your child. Draw
attention to your mouth
as you say a sound or
word.

Encouraging Sound
Development
3. PLAY WITH SOUNDS:
• Asking children to repeat the word correctly
can lead to frustration.
• Kids learn by playing, and they listen to things
they’re interested in.
• Learning sounds doesn’t need to be something
extra to do. You can build sounds into your daily
routines and have fun!
• Pick a sound to focus on for one week (e.g.
“fff”) and emphasize that sound often phonics,
phonological awareness and reading activities.

Encouraging Sound
Development
3. PLAY WITH SOUNDS CON’T…
 It’s easier for children to hear a
sound when it’s said by itself
(and part of something fun)
than when the same sound is
used in a conversation.
 Sound play activities:
 Saying “shhh” when
someone is sleeping
 Saying “mmm” or “yum” at
snack/meal time
 Sing your favourite songs that
focus on certain sounds

Encouraging Sound
Development
Environmental sounds:
• cars go ‘vrooom’
• water goes ‘sshhhh’
• bubbles go ‘pop’
• playdough goes ‘squish’
• sirens go ‘ee-oo-ee-oo’
• drinking sound: ‘guh, guh, guh’
• microwave goes ‘beep,’ etc…

Encouraging Sound
Development
Animal sounds:
• cow says “Moo”
• lion says “Roar”
• bee says “Buzz”
• duck says “Quack”
• angry cat says “fffffffffff”
• snake says “Sssssss”

Encouraging Sound
Development
4. HELP THEM EXPLORE THEIR
MOUTH
 An early awareness of
speech structures (lips,
tongue, teeth, jaw) and all
the ways they can move
may make it easier to
learn new sounds.

Encouraging Sound
Development
4. HELP THEM EXPLORE THEIR
MOUTH CON’T…
 Give each child a mirror and
get them to…
 Stick your tongue out and
wiggle it.
 Put your lips together, then
open up wide.
 Feel the bumps behind your
front teeth.
 Make funny faces and sounds.
 At lunch time talk about
different types of food – cold,
sour, spicy, crunchy…how they
taste in our mouth.

Encouraging Sound
Development
5. HELP YOUR CHILD TO SEE AND HEAR
SPEECH SOUNDS
 Attach a name to speech sounds
(e.g. ‘s’ is the snake sound; ‘k’ is the
coughing sound)
 Provide a gesture while you model
speech sounds
 Point to your lips when you say
“f”
 Touch your throat while you say
“k”
 Trace a long snake down your
arm as you say “sssssss”

Encouraging Sound
Development
5. Talk about the sounds you hear as you
read stories, and point out letters in
books.
 What letters are in your child’s name?
What sounds do they make?
 Talk about words that start with the
same letter.
 Remember: sounds can be spelled in
different ways. e.g. king, cat, quick, box
 Sing songs and read books that rhyme.
 Snap out the words while you are
reading or singing.
 Snap each beat of longer words (e.g.
“po- ta- to”).
 Clap to each of the sounds- /k/ /a/ /t/

Encouraging Sound
Development5. Other Activities for Older students
 Reading aloud and keying into the words with the sound is
very important
 Use stories with a lot of emphasis on the sound – help to sound
out written words.
 Find pictures together in books or stories that have the sound.
 Talk about how different sounds are made with your mouth.
Gradually lead up to the sound and show how it is said
differently from the sound used incorrectly.
 Associate the sound with an object, action, or noise to help
practice it in a fun way.
 Develop a secret code with the sound to use at home.
 Play ” I’m thinking of a word that starts with: r, s, th,” (identify
pictures in books). Make matching picture cards with the
sounds to play Go Fish, Memory or Lotto.
 Find objects with the sound/ start a collection. Play “I’m
thinking of a word that starts (or ends) with ______(make the
sound).”
 Tape the sound/letter on your students desk for a verbal
reminder or have a hand gesture.

Let’s practice sounds: s, s
blends and f

Let’s practice sounds: k, l, r

Advice for parents…
 Model and
practice sounds
during activities
that your child
enjoys and is
good at.
e.g. Johnny is working
on the f sound. He
enjoys playing with
cars and trucks and
is good at counting.
 So… you could
model f when he is
playing with his
cars “You’ve got
four trucks and one
of them is a Ford!!
Let’s count them:
1, 2, 3…4!”

What is one sound your child
needs to hear and learn?
What words could you model
for your child? (Choose
words that are meaningful
to your child and that have
the target sound.)
During what activities could
you model this sound for
your child? (Choose
activities that your child
enjoys and is good at!)

Ideas to prevent or deal with
frustration
 Tell your child what you did
understand.
 Be honest when you don’t
know what she’s saying.
 Acknowledge what she was
trying to say, even if she
had trouble.
 Ask her to show you or
to tell you in another way.
 Give her choices.

1. Next Steps
Refer to the Talk Box handouts for
what is expected at each age
 Available at:
• Libraries
• Schools
• Parent Link Centres
• Health Offices
• Online
http://humanservices.alberta.ca/family-
community/talk-box.html

2. Next Steps
Use the strategies discussed today:
 Slow down
 Model
 Play with sounds & explore their mouth
 Help your child to see and hear sounds
 Use books, rhymes and songs
3. Practice sounds in everyday activities
that students enjoy. Have fun!
4. Contact 780 805-6645 or email Mindy
at creatingcommunicators@hotmail.com if
any questions or if you would like to
schedule a speech, language
and/or hearing screen.

Promoting speech sounds

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