About this activity
Twelve short phrases to stretch: my new bike, after school, a big brown dog, on the playground, my best friend, in the morning, two chocolate cookies, down the street, over the weekend, my little sister, before dinner, a really long day. Phrase level sits between single words and sentences, and it is the level most often skipped — which is why techniques so often fall apart the moment the utterance gets longer.
How to use it in a session
Stretch the first word and then let the rest run normally. A stretched phrase where every word is slowed sounds unnatural and does not transfer; the technique is a gentle extended start that the rest of the phrase follows. Work up the list by length — my new bike before two chocolate cookies — and stop the moment it starts sounding robotic. Ten minutes is a full pass.
What to listen for
Listen for over-application. A student stretching every syllable has learned a speech pattern rather than a technique, and it will be abandoned as soon as they are around peers. Watch the longer phrases, where the student has to sustain the easier production past the first word — that is the point at which phrase level starts to resemble real speech.
Carrying it home
Phrases this short come up constantly. Asking a family to notice one stretched phrase a day, rather than monitoring all speech, is a request they can actually keep.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through eighth, for students who have a technique at word level and need the next step.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve phrases play with no login.
- Should the whole phrase be stretched?
- No. Stretch the start and let the rest run at a normal rate. A fully stretched phrase sounds unnatural, and students abandon anything that makes them sound different from their peers.