About this activity
Twelve cards for practising the pull-out: slide out of the block on basketball, refrigerator, Wednesday, my phone number, my address, computer, birthday, and on whole utterances like Can I have a turn? What's for lunch? I don't understand. Excuse me, can you help? A pull-out is easing out of a block while it is happening, which is harder than a cancellation and much faster.
How to use it in a session
Practise it on purpose, on words the student did not block on. Voluntary practice is the only way to rehearse a technique that otherwise has to wait for a real moment, and it removes the pressure of catching one. The easing should be a slowing and softening rather than a push — a student who forces their way out has done something different. Twelve minutes covers a subset with real repetitions.
What to listen for
Listen for the tension reducing during the slide. A pull-out that gets louder or harder is not a pull-out, it is a struggle finished successfully, and it will not generalise. Watch which items are hardest: my name, my phone number and my address are the classic feared items because there is no synonym, and this board includes two of them deliberately.
Carrying it home
Families help most by not finishing the word. A pull-out takes a few seconds longer than a fluent production, and the pause is where a well-meaning listener usually steps in.
Questions
- What is a pull-out?
- Easing out of a block while it is happening, rather than stopping and starting again. It is faster than a cancellation and harder to learn, which is why voluntary practice matters.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve cards play with no account.
- What grades is this for?
- Fourth through eighth, where students can attend to their own speech mechanics.