Supporting young students in speech therapy is a rewarding process— but sometimes difficult as well. As an elementary SLP, you’re already familiar with the unique challenges that students face in mastering speech sound disorders. Intelligible speech is important for academic success, relationships with peers, and so much more. Let’s explore five of the most common speech sound goals, how to differentiate instruction for individual needs, and interactive resources you can use to help students reach these goals.
What to Know about Speech Sound Disorders
Before beginning therapy sessions with your students, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of both articulation and phonological processing delays. Often the ways you treat these disorders will differ!
Articulation disorders focus on a child’s sound errors when making specific speech sounds. Common articulation errors include difficulty with specific sounds like /r/ and /s/. The precise tongue placement and movements required to make these sounds can be hard for young children to master.
Phonological processing delays are NOT due to difficulty producing specific sounds but with sound patterns or rules. Generally, a child develops speech in predictable patterns. They use different phonological processes to simplify the sounds in words as they learn to speak. As children get older, these changes should disappear.
For some children with speech sound disorders, these changes do not go away on their own, or they use phonological processes that are atypical. Children with phonological processing disorders are often more difficult for others to understand. These delays include issues like final consonant deletion, syllable reduction, and fronting.
Understanding the distinctions between different speech sound delays is vital in order to provide comprehensive assessments and set realistic, measurable goals for each student.
Most Common Speech Sound Goals
Setting achievable, individualized goals is key to helping students succeed! Some of the most common speech sound goals include:
- /R/ (initial /r/, R- blends, and vocalic R) in words like rainbow, train, or heart
- /S/ in words like sun, castle, or race
- S- blends like snow, sleep, or school
- Cluster reduction (ie. “nack” for “snack”)
- Final consonant deletion (ie. “ha” for “hat”)
Differentiate Your Approach to the Most Common Speech Sound Goals
Although it is tempting to apply the same speech sound goals to every child who walks in your door experiencing similar challenges, it’s important to pause and consider differentiation. Think about stimulability levels, interests, number of speech sound errors, and eagerness to learn before creating goals.
Also, remember, dialects are differences, not delays! This can play an important role in how you approach the most speech sound goals too.
When you choose to differentiate goals and therapy, speech sessions will be more engaging and productive.
Realistic Milestones for Each Student
Rather than setting broad goals like “master the /r/ sound in all contexts”, break goals down into achievable steps. Set smaller goals for producing sounds correcting (or reducing phonological processes) in isolation, word level, sentences, and conversation levels.
Always consider each student’s stimulability across these levels when you create goals and provide intervention.
Smaller goals can help students stay motivated and help you track progress more easily!
Multimodel Feedback
Be mindful as well that children all learn differently. As you provide individualized treatment, it’s important to use a variety of feedback to help children better understand their progress and areas they need to improve.
Use visual, auditory, and tactile feedback along with mirrors, apps, and visuals to reinforce correct production.
Resources for the Most Common Speech Sound Goals
Differentiation is crucial for providing effective speech therapy, but it’s only part of the equation!
Equipping yourself with the right resources can make a world of difference in preparing for therapy sessions and helping your students achieve their speech goals.
Research supports that young children learn best through play, so integrating games and interactive activities is an easy choice for your therapy sessions (Parker et al., 2022).
Check out these low-prep, highly engaging options you can use while addressing the most common speech sound goals:
/R/ Activities Bundle
This collection of print-and-go activities targets initial /r/, R- blends, and vocalic R.
Choose from a variety of activities to best suit your students’ interests and needs:
- Coloring sheets
- Mini-readers
- Rock, Paper, Scissors game for R
- Fill in the Blank stories
- Lacing activity
- Roll a Pirate Name game
These activities are easy to differentiate as you can choose to target /R/ in various contexts from isolation to multisyllabic words— while still ensuring your students get lots of practice trials in!
Finish sessions by sending home the included /R/ homework booklets to ensure caregivers are involved in their child’s success.
Games & Activities /S/
Use this bundle of best-selling /s/ activities and games to help students learn how to correctly produce the tricky /s/ sound.
Start with the practice pages targeting /s/ in isolation and syllables to help establish correct production of the sound before moving on to the interactive activities and games that target the sound in words and sentences.
As your students become more proficient with the sound, use the carryover activities.
Play-Based Resource for S-Blends and Cluster Reduction
Target cluster reduction of /s/ and s-blends with this fun and motivating resource perfect for early elementary-aged students.
This resource includes over 55 different speech activities for s-clusters and s-blends!
Targeted sounds include:
- SK
- SP
- ST
- SL
- SM
- SN
- SW
A listening list, printable tabletop activity, 6 play-based activities, gross motor activity, and reader are included for EACH targeted sound. Keep things easy by using common objects or toys you already have.
At the end of your sessions, send home the printable s-blend readers for children to share with their families. Keeping caregivers informed about school therapy sessions is a great way to encourage practice and carryover at home!
Final Consonant Deletion
Finally, use this final consonant deletion resource to help students who are struggling to add end sounds to their words.
These fun, interactive activities support children in recognizing and producing final consonant sounds as they play.
Final consonant sounds targeted:
- K
- T
- P
- M
- N
Choose from 11 different activities for each final consonant sound to ensure each student’s individual learning needs are met, and no one gets bored throughout the year (yourself included!)
Having low-prep, interactive resources on hand will make your therapy sessions more efficient as you won’t be scrambling for cards, worksheets, or games anymore. Unlike traditional drill practice, students will stay engaged and enjoy sessions as you provide tailored, effective support to them all.
As an SLP, you have a tremendous impact on young communicators! By setting realistic and achievable speech sound goals, differentiating your approach, and using interactive resources, you can easily and confidently make a difference in their progress. Remember, YOU are exactly who your students need to find their voices and confidence!
You may also be interested in reading:
Everything You Need to Know to Begin Treating Phonological Processing Disorders
4 Tips for School-Based SLPs: How to Have Tough Conversations with New Teachers
3 Considerations to Increase Caregiver Involvement in Speech Therapy
4 Tried-and-True Strategies for Effective Carryover in Articulation Therapy
Resource
Parker, R., Thomsen, B. S., & Berry, A. (2022). Learning Through Play at School – A Framework for Policy and Practice. Frontiers in Education, 7, 751801. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.751801