Thursday, February 9, 2017

Targeting Articulation in Conversation

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like targeting articulation sounds at the conversation level can get kind of monotonous. It's also so hard to elicit some of those infrequently - occurring sounds, like /z/ or "j." So I set out to create a resource that would be fun for my students and would elicit their target sounds. That's how the Articulation in Conversation Mega-Pack was born. It includes 7 different activities that can span across 10 or more sessions! All designed to elicit target sounds for lots of data!  

First up - warm up activities. These come in single sheet and flash card format. They include making up sentences with target words, repeating sentences, and repeating tongue-twisters. These are designed to help your students get some intense practice quickly. It gets them thinking about the sounds. 

Then there are two fictional reading passages loaded with the targeted speech sounds. Each passages includes at least 10 initial, 10 medial, and 10 final target words. Vocalic /r/ passages include 5 target words for each variation of vocalic /r/. Prevocalic /r/ includes 30 target words per passage. Each reading passages comes in a regular version and a version with bolded target words to act as a prompt for students. You can also use the bolded sheet as a way to take data while the student reads the regular version. Each passage also includes 5 comprehension and 2 opinion questions. 


This packet also includes a functional reading passage for each sound. These include things like menus, schedules, resumes, advertisements, etc. Each functional reading passage also includes 15 comprehension questions and 5 opinion questions. 

There are also 19 conversation prompts per target sound. The conversation prompts are designed to elicit the target sound. I keep them on a binder ring for easy access. This packet also includes a Would You Rather game - 19 cards (except for vocalic /r/, which has 30 game cards). The choices both include the target sound, creating plenty of opportunities to gather data as the students answer the questions. There are also 19 Fact or Fiction cards per target sound. These "facts" contain target words. I have the students read them to gather even more data. The "facts" often prompt further conversation, increasing the number of words containing the target speech sound. 

This packet currently includes all the above listed activities for prevocalic /r/, vocalic /r/, /s/, /z/, /f/, /v/, "ch," "sh," "j," and "th." I will be adding /l/, /l/ blends, /r/ blends, /s/ blends, /k/ and /g/ to the packet as I get them done. The product is currently priced at $5 and can be found here. However, as I add each sound, the price will increase. Get it now so you can get access to the new materials for free!