What ages is this for?

Kindergarten and first grade, and often preschool.

Do I need an account?

No, all six cards play free with no login.

These are very early sounds. When are they a concern?

When they are still absent well past the age most children have them, or when the errors follow a pattern across many sounds. A single missing early sound in a young child is often within the expected range.

/p/ /b/ /m/ Early Sounds

Early developing sounds drill for young students.

Use with a student — free

Page 1 of 6

This pass0 correct · 0 cued · 0 incorrect · 0/6

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Session summary (SOAP)

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Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.

How to run it

Use a mirror, because these are the sounds most visible on the face. The lips coming together and apart is the whole articulation, and a child can watch it happen. Note the contrast built into the set — map and bat differ by voicing and by the closing sound, while map and mop differ only in the vowel — so the same six words can be used for several comparisons. Five minutes is a full pass.

Cueing ladder

Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.

Step 1IndependentAfter building each word, the student says it aloud. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
Step 2Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /p/, /b/ and /m/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
Step 3Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
Step 4Placement cueLips together for all three: pop them open quietly for /p/, pop with your voice on for /b/, hum through your nose for /m/.Log as cued

Adjust it

Easier

Go back to /p/, /b/ and /m/ on their own or in syllables, and use fewer cards.

Harder

Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /p/, /b/ or /m/ in it.

Matching IEP goal

Given word cards, Student will produce /p/, /b/ and /m/ in single words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.

Send it home through the parent portal →

About this activity

Six short words for the earliest-developing consonants: map, bat, mop, pig, bug, mom. /p/, /b/ and /m/ are made with the lips, which makes them visible and among the first sounds children acquire — a child who is not producing them by school age is usually showing something broader than a single-sound difficulty.

What to listen for

Watch whether the difficulty is one sound or a pattern. A child who omits final consonants across map, bat and mop has final consonant deletion; one who says bat for pat has a voicing pattern. Both are broader than a single sound and are worked as patterns. Notice mom, which has the same consonant twice and is often the easiest word here.

Carrying it home

Mom, map and bug are among the first words most children say. Modelling clearly and responding to whatever the child produces is the right approach at this stage — correction of a very young child usually reduces how much they talk.

What's in this activity

Questions

What ages is this for?: Kindergarten and first grade, and often preschool.
Do I need an account?: No, all six cards play free with no login.
These are very early sounds. When are they a concern?: When they are still absent well past the age most children have them, or when the errors follow a pattern across many sounds. A single missing early sound in a young child is often within the expected range.

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 free

Free for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.