Articulation Therapy

As a speech-language pathologist working in the schools, articulation is my middle name. I’m always looking for new and engaging articulation therapy materials for speech sessions. Especially when the school year is winding down or I have been working with a child for some time.  I am always on the lookout for ways to change things up and inject some enthusiasm back into the sessions.

Here is a list of ways to quickly change your articulation therapy so that we don’t bore our students (or ourselves!) to tears.

11 Great Articulation Therapy Ideas

1. Going on a Sound Hunt:  Put artic cards upside down on the floor. Get a flashlight and start searching!
2. Cooperative Drawing:  Draw or have the child draw one part of an animal, house, or thematic item (ex. school bus, pumpkin, etc.) every time a child practices their sound.
3. Puzzles:  Put a puzzle piece in when child practices his or her sound.
4. I Spy:  Go on a scavenger hunt around school and look for objects with the child’s sound.
5. Grab bag:  Create a grab bag with objects with the child’s sound
6. Read a book!:  Have child practice target phoneme while you read. Have them practice the sound 5, 10, or a ‘bonus’ 15 or 20 times to get the maximum number of trials in during the therapy session.

   Predictable Books to Improve Speech Skills

7. Draw from a book: Have child draw items from the book that begin with the target sound.
8. Dice:  Roll dice and have the child practice the target word for the number they rolled.
9. Make matching cards:  Print out 2 copies of artic worksheet. Have child practice target sound, color the pictures, and glue them on construction paper. Voila! You have made matching cards!
10. Sensory bin:  Search for artic cards in sensory bin filled with rice, beans, or shredded paper.
11. Play pretend:  Have the child practice their target sound while pretending to be a Ninja Turtle, Transformer, or Elmo. This activity is useful when a child is nervous to practice his or her speech sound.

Improve articulation therapy with English-language learners with this ASHA CEU course.