Say It! /s/ Initial Words
Flashcard drill for /s/ in word-initial position.
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
Hold the /s/ before the vowel. Sssssun gives the airstream time to be established and lets you hear whether it is going down the middle of the tongue or over the side. Ask for the word, then a two-word phrase — my sock, the sun. Five minutes covers the ten, which makes this a good short activity paired with something else.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to say it.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /s/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueTeeth close together, tongue tip just behind your top teeth without touching them, sides of the tongue against your top side teeth. Send a thin stream of air down the middle.Log as cued
Adjust it
Drop to syllables ('sa' and 'see'), or use fewer cards.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /s/ in it or mix in /s/ words from another position.
Matching IEP goal
Given picture cards, Student will produce /s/ in the word-initial position 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
Ten words starting with /s/: sun, sock, sit, soup, seed, sail, soft, sand, safe, soap. All single syllables with simple structures, which is what a young child needs — initial /s/ is where the sound is usually first targeted, and the word should not be harder than the target.
What to listen for
Listen for where the air goes. A frontal lisp — the tongue too far forward, giving a /th/ quality — is the commoner pattern and the easier to fix; a lateral one, where the air escapes over the sides, sounds slushy and is harder. Watch soup and soap, where the following vowel rounds the lips and can pull the tongue out of position.
Carrying it home
Sun, sock, soap and sand are ordinary words. Modelling them clearly rather than requesting corrections is the right approach with a young child, since correction reduces how much they say.
What's in this activity
- sun
- sock
- sit
- soup
- seed
- sail
- soft
- sand
- safe
- soap
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through third grade.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten cards play with no account.
- What is the difference between a frontal and a lateral lisp?
- A frontal lisp sends the air over a tongue that is too far forward, sounding like a /th/. A lateral one sends it over the sides of the tongue, sounding slushy. The second is generally harder to change and starts with listening work.
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.