Free /s/ articulation activities and games
30 free activities · no sign-up
The /s/ boards cover the sound at the start, middle and end of words, the s-blends (sp, st, sm, sn, sw, sl, spl, spr, str and skr), and both kinds of lisp: a frontal lisp, where the tongue comes forward between the teeth, and a lateral lisp, where the air escapes over the sides of the tongue.
Use the frontal-versus-lateral discrimination board first if a student cannot yet hear the difference between a clear /s/ and a distorted one, then move to words, phrases and sentences. The bingo board, the park scene hunt and the sound stories keep drill moving for younger students; the teen sentence and self-monitoring boards are written for older ones.
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All 30 activities
Word level
- /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk)Flashcards targeting /s/ consonant clusters.
- /s/ Medial FlashcardsConventional medial /s/ targets at the single-word level.
- /skr/ Blend FlashcardsThree-element /skr/ (screw, scrub), spelled scr, at the single-word level. The cluster is the only /r/ in each word. Builds on /sk/ in /s/ Blend…
- /sl/ Blend FlashcardsWord-initial /sl/ (sled, slide) at the single-word level, one cluster per deck. Also one of six clusters in /l/ Blend Flashcards (bl, cl, fl, gl…
- /sm/ Blend FlashcardsWord-initial /sm/ (smile, smoke) at the single-word level. Pairs with /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk), which covers the stop clusters.
- /sn/ Blend FlashcardsWord-initial /sn/ (snake, snow) at the single-word level. Pairs with /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk), which covers the stop clusters.
- /spl/ Blend FlashcardsThree-element /spl/ (splash, split) at the single-word level. Builds on /sp/ in /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk) and /pl/ in /l/ Blend Flashcards…
- /spr/ Blend FlashcardsThree-element /spr/ (spray, spring) at the single-word level. The cluster is the only /r/ in each word. Builds on /sp/ in /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp…
- /str/ Blend FlashcardsThree-element /str/ (straw, street) at the single-word level. The cluster is the only /r/ in each word. A "shtr" onset (shtreet) is a common dialect…
- /sw/ Blend FlashcardsWord-initial /sw/ (swing, swan) at the single-word level. Pairs with /s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk), which covers the stop clusters.
- Lisp Remediation: /s/ Word Level for TeensSingle-word /s/ targets drawn from secondary school and work vocabulary.
- Multisyllabic /s/ WordsFlashcards for /s/ in multisyllabic words.
- Multisyllabic Words with /r/ and /s/Long academic and vocational words where residual errors are most audible.
- Say It! /s/ Final WordsFlashcard drill for /s/ in word-final position.
- Say It! /s/ Initial WordsFlashcard drill for /s/ in word-initial position.
Phrase level
Sentence level
- /s/ at the Sentence Level: Teen TopicsSentence-level /s/ practice with multiple targets per utterance.
- /s/ Carryover with Self-MonitoringStructured carryover tasks where the student, not the clinician, catches the errors.
- /s/ Story TimeStory with embedded /s/ targets for carry-over.
- Draw and Say: /s/ Carryover at the Sentence LevelSentence-level /s/ and /s/-blend practice tied to the student's own drawing.
- Frontal versus Lateral /s/ DiscriminationPerceptual training: hear the difference before trying to change the production.
Conversation level
Games, stories and more
- /s/ Auditory Bombardment List14 words that start with /s/, read aloud one card at a time for listening: the student hears the sound many times and does not have to say it.
- /s/ Carry-Over StoryConnected speech story with multiple /s/ targets.
- /s/ Sound Story: The Soccer GameA short read-aloud story loaded with /s/ words in mixed positions, including /s/ blends, for carry-over practice. The /s/ words are highlighted on…
- Articulation Bingo — /s/Bingo game targeting /s/ in all positions.
- Beginning /s/ SortSort pictures by initial /s/ vs. other sounds.
- Find the /s/ Things in the ParkA park picture scene. Find and say the 6 word-initial /s/ pictures: sun, sunflower, seedling, sandwich, salad, soda.
- Minimal Pairs — /s/ vs. /z/Match minimal pairs to build phoneme awareness.
- My Sound Book — /s/Personalized word book for /s/ generalization.
Questions
- Frontal or lateral lisp: does it change the activity?
- The target words are the same; the cue is not. For a frontal lisp, cue the tongue tip behind the teeth. For a lateral lisp, cue a groove down the middle of the tongue so the air goes straight out the front. A lateral lisp is a good reason to spend longer on listening before drill.
- Do s-blends count as /s/ practice?
- They practice /s/ in a harder context, because the student has to move from /s/ straight into another consonant. Most SLPs bring blends in after single /s/ is consistent in words, and log them as their own step with their own data.
- Is /z/ covered?
- /z/ has its own boards in the library, and the /s/ versus /z/ minimal pairs board on this page practices the voicing difference between the two sounds, which share a tongue position.
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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