How do I show the puff of air on /p/?

Hold a tissue strip or a feather in front of the student’s lips. On /p/ it moves; on /b/ it barely does. Students can see the difference even before they can hear it.

What if a student leaves /p/ off the end of words?

If it happens across many sounds, that is final consonant deletion. Use the final /p/ boards for drill and the final consonant deletion minimal pairs to show that dropping the last sound changes the word, as in “boat” and “bow”.

When should I move from /p/ words to sentences?

When the student says /p/ accurately in words and short phrases without your model. The sentence board keeps /p/ at the start of the sentence first, which is the gentlest way into longer speech.

Free /p/ articulation activities and games

7 free activities · no sign-up

/p/ is made by closing the lips, building up air and releasing it in a small puff, with no voice. A strip of tissue or a feather held in front of the lips shows the puff, a quick visual cue that young children enjoy.

Work through initial and final words, then phrases and sentences. The farm scene hunt keeps younger students naming /p/ things, and the voicing minimal pairs (“pear” or “bear”) help a student who swaps /p/ and /b/.

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Play freeFind the /p/ Things on the FarmOpen full activity →

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All 7 activities

Word level 3

Phrase level 2

Sentence level 1

/p/ Initial SentencesShort sentences loaded with word-initial /p/ for sentence-level practice.FlashcardsGrades K–28 cards

Games, stories and more 1

Find the /p/ Things on the FarmA farm picture scene. Find and say the 5 word-initial /p/ pictures: pig, puppy, potato, pepper, peach.Scene huntGrades PreK–2

Questions

How do I show the puff of air on /p/?: Hold a tissue strip or a feather in front of the student’s lips. On /p/ it moves; on /b/ it barely does. Students can see the difference even before they can hear it.
What if a student leaves /p/ off the end of words?: If it happens across many sounds, that is final consonant deletion. Use the final /p/ boards for drill and the final consonant deletion minimal pairs to show that dropping the last sound changes the word, as in “boat” and “bow”.
When should I move from /p/ words to sentences?: When the student says /p/ accurately in words and short phrases without your model. The sentence board keeps /p/ at the start of the sentence first, which is the gentlest way into longer speech.

Keep the data from every board

With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal. Assign any board as home practice through the parent portal.

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