About this activity
A ten-page story with /s/ throughout: Sam sat on the sand by the sea; he saw a small silver fish swim past his toes; Sam's sister Sally sat down beside him; a seagull swooped down and stole the sandwich; Sally was upset, so Sam shared his snack; soon the sun set behind the sea. Longer than a two-passage set, with a real problem and resolution inside it.
How to use it in a session
Read it together, then have the student read it alone, then retell it in their own words. The retell is where carryover actually happens — the text supports the sound and a retell does not, and the story has enough structure that a child can hold it. Ask what the problem was, which is a comprehension question that also produces more /s/ words without the page in front of them.
What to listen for
Listen for accuracy across the ten pages rather than within a sentence. Ten pages is long enough to see monitoring lapse and recover, which is more informative than a short passage. Watch the /s/ clusters — small, swim, swooped, stole, snack — which are a separate target and usually where a long passage first breaks down.
Carrying it home
A story read aloud to a family member is a realistic home task, and this one has enough plot to be worth listening to. Asking the child to retell it afterwards is the part that matters most.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- First through third grade, for students accurate on /s/ at sentence level.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, the whole story plays free in the browser.
- How is this different from the /s/ carry-over story?
- That one is two short passages of four sentences each. This is a ten-page story with a plot, which supports a retell and gives a longer run of connected speech.