Listen

 /R/ is a later developing sound and is one of the harder sounds train as the tongue not only has to be in the right position, but it also has to be tight.  It is also a sound that frequently occurs in our speech, so it tends to be very noticable to others that there is a speech problem. 

 

 1. Open your mouth as wide as you can and say y-y-y without closing your mouth. Listen 

 2.  Act like you are curling your hair with a curling iron or driving a car while saying r-r-r.   Listen

 

 3.  Practice discriminating between /w/ and /r/ word pairs.  Play the matchup game.  Speech helper should radomly say one of the words and the speech student can click on the word.  If he identified the correct word of the pair, then the speech student can click the matches and "turn over" the cards. 

Game:  W vs. R Matchup Game

 

Step 1:  Syllables

Listen

Get a piece of paper and draw a circle in the middle.  Put an R in the middle.  Write the vowel sounds a, e, i, o, u around leaving space to draw in an arrow from the R circle to the vowel.  Trace your finger from the /R/ to the vowel sound saying the syllable slowly.  Have the speech student say it three times after you. Do long vowels and short vowels.

Long Vowels:

          A     
                  E 

          R         I 
      
                 O 
          U 

Short Vowels:

          a    
                  e

          R         i
     
                 o
          u 

 

 

 

Game:  R Syllable Practice

Step 2:  Words

Now you are ready to use your good /r/ sound in words. 

W vs. R Games

Game 1: W vs. R Flashcards 

Start with Flash Cards.  Say them in pairs with the /w/ word first.  Speech Helper can help Learner decide whether they should remove card ("Good job" sound is correct) or put it back in the pile ("close").

Game 2:  W vs. R Match Up 

Say a pair of words.  Speech Learner should do imitatively after Helper until they can do it with 90% accuracy, then they should say it on their own.  Turn over cards if /R/ sound was correct.  Learner will most likely need Helper's input to make determination at first.  Later on they will be able to judge for themselves accurately but will need a Helper to monitor and make sure they are saying the words out loud.

Game 3:  W vs. R Concentration 

Speech Learner should say the word they uncover out loud and correctly or it is someone elses turn to uncover two of the cards.  This helps with motivation to keep saying the words out loud.  Start with the  Learner repeating the word after Helper, then when the Learner is 90% correct, they can move on to saying words on their own.

Game:  Word Initial /R/ Games

Game:  Word initial /R/ Blend Games

Starfall Game:  The Letter R - Listen and say each word 3 times each!

R page Printout - Practice saying the R words while doing this activity.

 

Step 3: Sentences

Can the Speech Learner use initial /R/ sound in single words with 90% accuracy?  If so, they are ready to move on to using their good /r/ sound in sentences.  Simply  play these word initial /R/ games making a sentences instead of just the word by itself.

Redwing Blackbird Riddle - Practice saying this riddle with your good R sound

 

 

 

Step1:  ER in Syllables

I call this the /eR/ sound.  There are 6 /er/ syllables:  ar, air, ear, ire, or, er.  Get a piece of paper and draw a circle in the middle.  Put an R in the middle.  Write the vowel sounds a,A, E, I, o, u around leaving space to draw in an arrow from the vowel to the R circle.  Put a line above the second a, the e, and the i or use capitals to show they are long vowel sounds.  Trace your finger from the vowel sound to the /R/ saying the syllable slowly.  Have the Speech Learner say it three times after you.  Sometimes the o sound before /R/ and /L/ sounds are difficult because it is a very unusual sound that we really only use in these contexts - it's not oh, oo, or ah.  Try it for yourself!

Listen

    a      A  
                  E 

          R         I 
      
                 o
          u 

Step 2:  ER in Words

Now you are ready to use your good /er/ sound in words.  Play word final /eR/ and /er/, /or/, /ar/ games saying the words each time you click on a word.  Speech Learner will need to imitate words first until they can do flashcards with 90% accuracy, then can start saying words on their own with no model.  
 

Step 3:  ER in Sentences

Can the Speech Learner use final /R/ sound in single words with 90% accuracy?  If so, they are ready to move on to using their good /er/ sound in sentences.  Simply have them play the word final /R/ games, (/er/, /ar/, /or/ are all word final /R/ sounds), making sentences instead of just saying the word by itself.

Final /R/ Games:

1. Final /R/ Game
2. Final /eR/ in two-syllable words
3. /eR/ in the middle of words
4. Final /eR/ challenge board - no pictures
5. /eR/ Hangman Game - no pictures
6. /aR/ Picture Games
7. /aR/ at the end or in the middle of words - no picures
8. /oR/ Picture Games 
9. /oR/ Challenge Board - no pictures
10. /R/ and /eR/ sounds in the middle of words

Starfall Games:

1. Sort and say /eR/ sound words 3x each  (word level)
2. Surfer Girl:  Practice /eR/ sound by repeating the words in this story 3x each
3. /oR/ sound picture hunt - say each word 3x each   (word level)
4. Peter Piper Tongue Twister - /eR/ sound (sentence level) Click on the peppers in the jar each time the tongue twister is said using good /eR/ sound.
5. Short stories about Artists to read out loud using good /eR/ sound, or make sentences using /eR/ words from story. (Sentence Level)

 

Now that we can say /R/ and /ER/ in sentences, we can move on to where we really want to be - conversational speech!   We want to use our fantastic R and ER sound  not just when we are practicing, but also when we are out and about in our daily lives.

There are many ways you can do this, but make sure to give the Speech Learner get  lots of feedback - you used your good /R/ 7 out of 10 times!  There are some activities you can do in the links listed below. 

Stories about Artists - Short stories about artists to read and talk about using your good R and ER sounds