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Playing with Purpose: Games to Encourage Speech

by | Oct 5, 2020 | Speech

Highly motivating toys and games that require help increase the opportunities for a child to initiate an interaction. You can target sounds while playing with a common toy. Using familiar games to target speech sounds is an effective way to play with your children and provides an interactive way to practice speech, rather than drilling vocabulary. Here are a few games and toys you may already have at home that can be used to encourage speech practice.

Activity #1: Ball Popper Unicorn

Skills to Target:

  1. Requesting: “help me”, “more ball”, “go ball”
  2. Prepositions: verbalize prepositions during play (in, out)
  3. Following directions: first put the ball in the mouth then push the belly

Vocabulary: ball, pop, in, out, go, more, push, help

Activity #2: Potato Head

Skills to Target:

  1. Requesting: “I want ___”, “more ___”, “___ please”
  2. Sing Songs: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
  3. Sound practice: target the vocabulary words and sounds below while requesting or playing

Vocabulary: Final /t/ words: hat, foot, feet, out, put. Final /n, m/ words: in, arm. Final /s, z/ words: eyes, nose, toes, purse, or plurals. Final /p/ words: top, hop. Final /k/ words: take.

Activity #3: Honey Bee Tree Game or Kerplunk

Skills to Target:

  1. Requesting: “my turn”, “your turn”, “green stick please”, “more bees”
  2. Sound practice: target the vocabulary words and sounds below while requesting or playing

Vocabulary: in (putting leaves in, putting bees in), out (pulling leaves out, bees falling out), drop, down, my/your turn, buzz, bees, come/home

Activity #4: Don’t Break the Ice

Skills to Target:

  1. Requesting: “my turn”, “your turn”, “break it”, “hammer please”
  2. Sound practice: target the vocabulary words and sounds below while requesting or playing

Vocabulary: my/your turn, in (setting up ice blocks), gone (knocking out ice blocks), hit, out, knock, break, ice, boom/tap (as you hit the ice)

 

Megan Macilroy, MS CCC-SLP