Muscle Tension Check-In
Locate and release laryngeal and jaw tension, then notice what it does to the voice.
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
Take the rating before and after, every time. The number is what makes the exercise convincing — a student who rates a seven before the chewing and a four after has felt something change, and that is more persuasive than any explanation of muscle tension. The chewing exercise looks silly and works; do it yourself first so the student is not the only one. Fifteen minutes covers the sequence with the ratings.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student uses a relaxed throat and shoulders on their own. Listen without reminding.Log as correct
- Visual reminderDrop your own shoulders as a cue.Log as cued
- Verbal reminderSay a short reminder, such as 'Shoulders down, easy voice.'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
Check in at rest first, before speaking, and use shorter turns.
Move to longer turns, then conversation, then a noisier room.
Matching IEP goal
Student will use a relaxed throat and shoulders in sentences 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
Eight tasks for locating and releasing tension: press gently under your jaw — tight or loose right now; yawn and sigh three times, what changed; chew and talk at the same time for fifteen seconds, then speak normally; rate throat tightness one to ten before and after; where do you feel it most — jaw, tongue base, shoulders or chest; what stressor today showed up in your voice.
What to listen for
Listen for the voice sitting lower after the shoulders drop. Tension raises the larynx and thins the sound, and the change is usually audible to the student themselves once they are listening for it. Watch the last two items — the comparison across the school day and the stressor question — since for many secondary students the voice problem is a stress problem wearing a different coat. Tension is a plausible explanation, not a confirmed one. A voice that has been rough for more than about four weeks should be examined by an ENT before tension is assumed to be the cause.
Carrying it home
The yawn-sigh takes five seconds and can be done anywhere. Asking a student to do it before a class they find stressful is a realistic habit, unlike a set of exercises at a fixed time.
What's in this activity
- Press gently under your jaw. Tight or loose right now?
- Yawn and sigh three times. What changed?
- Drop your shoulders and speak. Does the voice sit lower?
- Chew and talk at the same time for fifteen seconds, then speak normally.
- Rate throat tightness 1 to 10 before and after the chewing exercise.
- Where do you feel it most -- jaw, tongue base, shoulders, or chest?
- Compare your tension after first period and after last period.
- What stressor today showed up in your voice?
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth grade, where students can locate and report on their own tension.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all eight tasks are free to use here.
- Why chew while talking?
- Because chewing is an over-learned movement that the jaw does without tension. Talking through it borrows that relaxed pattern, and the contrast when you stop is usually obvious immediately.
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.