About this activity
Ten rows of five words, one row per sound: sun — soap — sock — seal — six; rain — road — rope — ring — rug; leaf — lamp — lion — lock — leg; shoe — ship — shell — shark — sheep; thumb — thorn — three — thick — think. The rows are short and the demand is speed, because a sound that is only accurate when it is slow has not yet been automatised.
How to use it in a session
Run a row at a comfortable pace first, then time it and run it again. The comparison is the point — a student who is accurate at four seconds and breaks down at two has a motor pattern that needs more practice, not a new cue. Pick the row that matches the student's target and leave the rest; ten rows in one session is a survey, not practice. Ten minutes is two or three rows done properly with timing.
What to listen for
Watch the accuracy-speed trade. The useful measure here is not how fast the student can go but how fast they can go while staying accurate, and that number moves over weeks in a way a percentage on a slow list does not. Listen for the last word in a row falling apart, which usually means breath or attention rather than articulation.
Carrying it home
A row of five words is short enough to run in a car, and speed makes it feel like a game rather than homework. Ask the family to time it and celebrate the time rather than correcting the sound, which is the therapist's job and not theirs.
Questions
- Why practise for speed?
- Because conversation is fast. A sound that is accurate only under slow deliberate control tends not to appear in running speech, and speeded practice is how that gap closes.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten rows are free to use with no account.
- What grades is this for?
- First through fifth, for students already accurate at word level and working toward automaticity.