Loudness Across the Day: Talk and Rate
Conversation at named volumes, with the student rating their own loudness against the setting instead of being told it was too loud after the fact.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Start with the say it four ways card, because it gives you and the student shared labels for the rest of the session. Then use the rating scale on every card, asking for the student's rating before you give yours. Get their attention without going louder and explain across the room without shouting both ask for a strategy, such as moving closer, pausing or gesturing, and the student should name what they did. Fifteen minutes allows five or six cards.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student uses a comfortable loudness on their own. Listen without reminding.Log as correct
- Visual reminderPoint to the loudness scale.Log as cued
- Verbal reminderSay a short reminder, such as 'Check your volume.'Log as cued
- ModelSay it yourself using the technique; the student copies, then tries the card again.Log as cued
Voice work belongs after an ENT examination. If hoarseness lasts or gets worse, stop and refer back to the physician.
Adjust it
Practise the target loudness in single words and short phrases first.
Move to longer turns, then conversation, then a noisier room.
Matching IEP goal
Student will use a comfortable loudness in structured conversation in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual reminder.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten conversation tasks at named volumes, with the student rating their own loudness: talk for one minute at library volume, then at classroom volume; explain something to a partner across the room without shouting; describe your day and rate each part from one to five; say the same sentence four ways, too quiet, right, a bit loud, too loud. The student judges the volume against the setting, rather than hearing afterwards that it was too loud.
What to listen for
The main thing to track is the gap between the student's rating and yours. A student who rates a four as a two is not yet hearing their own loudness, and that matters more than the volume itself. Listen for strain as the partner moves further away: a voice that gets tight or rough when it gets louder needs a different plan. Persistent hoarseness needs an ENT examination before voice work, so refer before starting if the voice already sounds rough.
Carrying it home
Ask the family to use the same one-to-five scale at home, just once a day, at dinner or in the car. The child rates their own volume first. Keep it a question rather than a correction, so the family does not become the volume police.
What's in this activity
- Describe the loudest place you go in a normal week. Talk about it at the volume you would actually use there.
- Talk for one minute at the volume you would use in a library, then one minute at classroom volume. Compare them.
- Explain something to a partner sitting across the room without shouting. Say what you did instead.
- Describe your day and rate the volume you used in each part from one to five.
- Have a conversation while your partner slowly moves further away. Say what happens to your voice.
- Talk about a game or a concert you went to. Say how your voice sounded on the way home.
- Explain a rule to somebody who is not listening. Get their attention without going louder.
- Talk for two minutes and have your partner rate your volume every thirty seconds.
- Describe a conversation you had recently and how loud each person in it was.
- Say the same sentence four ways: too quiet, right, a bit loud, too loud. Say which one you use most.
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in fourth through twelfth grade working on loudness and self-monitoring, whether their voice runs loud or quiet.
- What if my student rates everything as just right?
- Start with the say it four ways card and record it, then play it back. Hearing too quiet and too loud side by side usually gives the student a reference point for the rest of the scale.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten tasks play free in the browser. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment.
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.