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Topic “Early Years (0-5yrs)”
Early Years (0 to 5 years)
Using a target sound in a single word - activities/games set 1
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Dominoes |
| If your child is able to do this activity you might like to try moving on to: saying a small phrase with the target word in, e.g target word = 'car', your phrase could be, 'a red car'. Some phrase level activities can be found by clicking here.
If your child is finding this activity challenging, try the following steps: - If your child finds it challenging to say the sound, praise them for trying and say the word back with the sound used correctly for them to hear. - Talk about the sound the word starts with, e.g. 'cat' starts with a 'c' sound. - Have a go at breaking the word up for the child to copy, e.g. 'let's try and say this together, 'c' 'at'. |
| 4 in a Row! - Printable template with playing board and counters. - Words containing your child's target sound - click here for printable word cards. | If your child is able to do this activity you might like to try moving on to: saying a small phrase with the target word in, e.g target word = 'car', your phrase could be, 'a red car'. Some phrase level activities can be found by clicking here.
If your child is finding this activity challenging, try the following steps: - If your child finds it challenging to say the sound, praise them for trying and say the word back with the sound used correctly for them to hear. - Talk about the sound the word starts with, e.g. 'cat' starts with a 'c' sound. - Have a go at breaking the word up for the child to copy, e.g. 'let's try and say this together, 'c' 'at'. | |
| Washing Line - Strong string or rope - pegs - Words containing your child's target sound - click here for printable word cards. - small bag to put picture cards in | If your child is able to do this activity you might like to try moving on to: saying a small phrase with the target word in, e.g target word = 'car', your phrase could be, 'a red car'. Some phrase level activities can be found by clicking here.
If your child is finding this activity challenging, try the following steps: - If your child finds it challenging to say the sound, praise them for trying and say the word back with the sound used correctly for them to hear. - Talk about the sound the word starts with, e.g. 'cat' starts with a 'c' sound. - Have a go at breaking the word up for the child to copy, e.g. 'let's try and say this together, 'c' 'at'.
| |
| What's in the bag? Guessing Game - Words containing your child's target sound - click here for printable word cards. - bag | If your child is able to do this activity you might like to try moving on to: saying a small phrase with the target word in, e.g target word = 'car', your phrase could be, 'a red car'. Some phrase level activities can be found by clicking here.
If your child is finding this activity challenging, try the following steps: - If your child finds it challenging to say the sound, praise them for trying and say the word back with the sound used correctly for them to hear. - Talk about the sound the word starts with, e.g. 'cat' starts with a 'c' sound. - Have a go at breaking the word up for the child to copy, e.g. 'let's try and say this together, 'c' 'at'. | |
| Kim's Game - Words containing your child's target sound - click here for printable word cards. - A blanket or tea towel | If your child is able to do this activity you might like to try moving on to: saying a small phrase with the target word in, e.g target word = 'car', your phrase could be, 'a red car'. Some phrase level activities can be found by clicking here.
If your child is finding this activity challenging, try the following steps: - If your child finds it challenging to say the sound, praise them for trying and say the word back with the sound used correctly for them to hear. - Talk about the sound the word starts with, e.g. 'cat' starts with a 'c' sound. - Have a go at breaking the word up for the child to copy, e.g. 'let's try and say this together, 'c' 'at'. |
Resources for speech - sound blends/clusters
various contributors
Created 15 January 2021; updated 10 June 2021.
Hearing the difference between sounds in words (auditory discrimination)
| Activity/strategy name and materials required | How to do the activity | Key principles for doing the activity and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Post it! Materials: - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list. - 2 boxes/containers – you could make your own post boxes using this template and sticking it to a cardboard box. - Paper cut into envelope shapes or click here for a printable template. | Instructions: 1. Choose one pair of words, e.g. ‘door’ and ‘saw’ and attach one to the front of each box/container. 2. Explain to your child that each of the boxes has a word with a different sound. You are going to say a word and they have to post a letter into the right box. 3. Show your child how to do this. 4. Say the words in a random order so your child has to listen to the difference between the word and choose the correct one. 5. If your child gets the wrong word, talk it through with them and show them which sound you used. 6. Swap minimal pairs after a while, e.g. change ‘door’ and ‘saw’ to ‘duck’ and ‘suck’.
| |
| Racing Cars - 2 x pieces of paper and pen - 2 x toy cars or vehicles - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list. | ||
| Block Towers - some wooden/plastic building blocks. - Copy of printable minimal pairs words for the target sounds – if you are unable to print, you could draw some pictures using the pairs of words on the list.
|
What is auditory discrimination - Information Sheet
Created 12 January 2021; updated 24 October 2021.
Resources for Listening and Auditory Discrimination Tasks
Minimal Pair Resources
- Noisy/quiet sounds
- p and b at the beginning of words
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