Articulation Word Match
Match articulation target words to pictures.
Words
Match
How to run it
Ask for the word on every selection, right and wrong. The matching is the game and the naming is the practice, and without the naming rule a student can complete the whole board without producing a sound. Ask for a phrase on the pairs the student gets easily — I see the bus — so the harder productions land where the child is already succeeding. Eight minutes is a comfortable pass.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student works through the card on their own, listening for their target sound.Log as correct
- SignalUse a silent signal you agreed on, such as a tap on the table, when their target sound slips.Log as cued
- AskAsk 'Did that sound right?' and let the student try the word again.Log as cued
- ModelSay the word correctly; the student repeats it, then carries on.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer cards and one target sound at a time.
Fade the signal. Record the student and have them count their own errors afterwards.
Matching IEP goal
During this activity, Student will produce their target sound correctly in words and phrases, self-correcting any error, in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a nonverbal signal.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight common target words matched to pictures: cat, sun, dog, fish, bus, moon, star, bird. It is a short board on purpose — for a young child at the very start of articulation work, eight items with pictures is a session's worth of practice, and a longer list mostly produces fatigue rather than more repetitions.
What to listen for
Listen across the different sounds rather than for one. Cat, sun, dog and fish sample four different targets, and for a young child still being sorted out this board is as much a screening as a practice — which of the eight are accurate, and which are consistently wrong, tells you where to start. Notice whether errors are consistent: the same wrong production every time is a different picture from a word that changes each attempt.
Carrying it home
Eight words is a short enough list to actually go home. Ask the family to notice the two or three the child is already getting right rather than the ones they are not — noticing success is the part families can do without training.
What's in this activity
- cat 🐱
- sun ☀️
- dog 🐶
- fish 🐟
- bus 🚌
- moon 🌙
- star ⭐
- bird 🐦
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Kindergarten through third, and particularly the early sessions where you are still working out what a young child can produce.
- Is it free to play?
- Yes, no account and no card needed.
- It covers several sounds rather than one. Is that useful?
- For early work, yes — it samples across targets. Once you know what the student is working on, a position-specific deck gives more practice on the one sound.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.