Target sound cards help link articulation activities and therapy with classroom activities by helping with word recognition and reading skills. Using a book that the children will enjoy, make a list of all the words that contain the target sounds you want to go over. Use index cards to create target sound cards. Read and talk about the story. For older students, you can find the words that have the target sound on different pages of the book. Asking questions after the child has read the story while they respond with their target words gives them a lot of practice during this articulation activity.
Students can get into small groups and take turns playing the "teacher" while reading aloud a book to the group. Younger students that may not be able to read clearly can retell the story in their own words while older children will benefit from this activity by sounding out words properly. This is a meaningful context in which kids can practice their speech.
Weak muscles in the tongue and mouth often lead to articulation problems in children, according to the Kids Health website. Using muscle building exercises can help improve a child's articulation. Gum chewing and sucking through a small straw are two ways that help strengthen mouth and tongue muscles. Chewy foods can also encourage additional chewing, building up these muscles. Doing this every day will help build strength and in turn, help with articulation.
It can help kids to label their target sounds with something related. For example you can tell kids "S is the smoke sound," "Sh is the be quiet sound," "R is the car sound," and "K is the coughing sound." This can help children relate target sounds with real life sounds that they hear every day.