Articulation
Articulation is the use of speech sounds to make words. We use our lips, tongue, jaw, teeth, and palate. Speech is the way we put sounds together. Examples of incorrect speech/articulation are "ca," for "car," or "tun," for "sun." See developmental norms (what age children acquire speech sounds) below.
Developmental Norms for Articulation
By age 5, your child should say the following sounds: m, n, p, b, w, h, d, t, k, g, f, y
Please keep in mind that while some children may produce the following sounds correctly at age 5 or younger, these sounds may not be mastered until much later: s, z, sh, ch, j, l, ng, r, th, v
By age 7, all speech sounds should be mastered and the student's speech should be 80-100% intelligible.
Practice Practice Practice
Does your child have a specific sound they need to practice? Look below for many activities to make practicing speech fun. Help your child generalize to everyday settings by practicing for 10-15 minutes DAILY. Please scroll to the bottom of this page to find a few links to free articulation games to practice speech sounds and fun tongue twisters for more practice.
Make cards by taking a page of your child's speech words and cutting each picture or word. You can glue onto index cards to make them sturdier.
Book List
Books are a great way to work on speech sounds! Find the sound your child is working on in the table below and you will see a recommended book.
M
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff
P
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allen Ahlberg
The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
Pickles in My Soup by Mary Pearson
W
The Wheels on the Bus (any version)
The Wee Little Woman by Byron Barton
Mrs. Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley & Elizabeth Fuller
H
Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
The Little Red Hen by Rebecca Allen
K
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root
Shake my Sillies Out by David Allender
G
The Day the Goose Got Loose by Reeve Lindenbergh
Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly
Hello Red Fox by Eric Carle
A Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson
Big Egg by Molly Coxe
L
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw
R
The Big Red Farm by Christianne C. Jones
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood
Aaron’s Hair by Robert Munsch
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson
SH
Shoo, Fly! by Joy Cowley
Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw
Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
CH
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! by Laura Dronzek
Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox by Grace Maccarone
J
Jack and the Beanstalk by Stella Williams Nathan
Hot Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
F
Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
The Fire Station by Robert Munsch
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
Give me Half by Stuart Murphy
S
The Day the Goose Got Loose by Reeve Lindenbergh
SM
In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming
Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway
SN
Bear Snores by Karma Wilson
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Stand Back Said the Elephant, I’m Going to Sneeze by Patricia Thomas
SP
I Love Spiders by John Parker
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Keith Chapman
Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill
ST
Sticky People by Tony Johnston
Stone Soup by Anne McGovern & Penny Pels
Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
T
Ten Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss
Five Teddy Bears by Anne Adeney
Who Wants a Teddy Bear? by Ginnie Hofmann
ARTICULATION THERAPY ONLINE GAMES: Please click the link below for a resource on how to practice speech articulation speech sounds at home. Click on the tongue twisters page for a link to practice fun tongue twisters for extra practice. Parents, please listen to your child to see if he or she said their speech sound correctly. Children remember to listen to your own speech as well. Remember the cues that your speech teacher/therapist has given you. Shine on Speech Stars! You can do it!
