About this activity
Ten words starting with /l/: leg, lap, lip, log, lamp, lake, lime, lace, lane, leaf. All single syllables with simple shapes, which is what a young child needs — initial /l/ is where this sound is usually first targeted, and the word should not be harder than the sound.
How to use it in a session
Use a mirror. /l/ is one of the sounds a child can see being made — the tongue tip goes up behind the top teeth — and watching is faster than any verbal description. Ask the child to hold the sound before the vowel: llllleg gives the tongue time to arrive. Five minutes covers the ten, which makes this a short activity to pair with something else.
What to listen for
Listen for /w/ or /y/ replacing it. Weg for leg means the tongue tip is not making contact at all, and it is the commonest substitution. Watch whether the following vowel matters: leg and lip have front vowels that help the tongue forward, while log and lake are slightly harder, and accuracy that varies by vowel tells you where to start.
Carrying it home
Leg, lamp, leaf and lake are common enough to notice. Modelling the word clearly, rather than asking for a repetition, is the right approach with a young child, since correction reduces how much they say.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through third grade.
- Do I need to sign up?
- No, all ten cards play free in the browser.
- My child says 'weg' for 'leg'. What do I cue?
- The tongue tip. Show them in a mirror that the tip goes up behind the top teeth — /l/ is visible, which makes it one of the easier sounds to cue by sight rather than by description.