So a few years ago I started hearing raves in continuing education about how many targets you could reach from reading a picture book or short story in speech therapy.  And I thought, “yeah, but you’d only  maybe get one or two practices out of each book for most of those language goals.  Drilling is far superior.”  Plus…it would take a whole session to read a book.  You wouldn’t have time for anything else.

I kept on with my drilling.  And my students made progress on their little goal chart.  Good progress.  And sure, sometimes teachers would say, “but they can’t do it in my room,” And I’d say, “well, that’s because I’m working on a discrete skill, to make sure they have the ability.  Now we have to broaden it to a longer text.”

Literacy Units – Language in Context

But I started hearing more and more about using literature as an SLP.  I started taking these continuing ed classes that were talking about using a picture book as the anchor for a month of therapy. And it was like there was an actual lightbulb in my head.  “You mean we can use the SAME book for a whole MONTH?!!”  Now THAT, that seemed workable.  In fact, that seemed downright awesome.

Because – context. While my drills were great, and they reinforced the skill, they were like practicing a sound in isolation, and would only take a student so far.  And honestly…sooooo boring. So going over a fun picture book for a month, that sounded like just the thing.

Pick the “Just Right” Story

But I was in a middle school setting now.  And sure, there are picture books that are higher language that would fit the bill for middle school. But it was October.  And now your head is probably going straight where mine went.  How could I not introduce my middle schoolers to “The Tell-Tale Heart”? (OK, it was a draw between that and “Ichabod Crane” but they rolled their eyes and said they read that every Halloween).

Well, first, let me tell you: success hinges on finding the “just right” version.  The middle-schoolers who you see for language are probably not going to do well with the original version of the story.  But you don’t want a version too watered down either, or you lose so much of the lovely language-teaching opportunities.  Another key: do not have the students read the first time.  It seems like a good idea, but if you are reading for meaning, you want an advanced reader who has read the story at least once to read it aloud for the group.

Decide the Order of Teaching

And then…do you pre-teach every vocabulary word and turn of phrase, or do you do a read-through first, then go back over it?  Or, maybe watch a video that had most of the text first, that gives meaning to words they don’t know?  I did a little of everything that first time, each group a little different.  I think it was best when I gave a little minilesson first, then we watched the video, which I would pause every so often to allow them to predict or make sure they knew the big picture of what was happening.  Then we went back, closely, over the text.  This may differ depending on the text you read, too.

Language Skills Galore!

I didn’t spend a month on “The Tell-Tale Heart.”  We spent two, maybe three 30 minute sessions.  Partially because I still have a hard time reconciling my old drill mindset.  But I also only have two in my groups (don’t hate me – it’s a rule for teletherapy where I am).  I also was winging it in large part.  If I had been thoroughly prepared, I would have had more and better questions. 

I’m writing my questions down and keeping documents so next year, I will be better prepared.  If you are interested, you can find my completed guides in my TPT store, Mrs. Speech.  They contain questions addressing context clues, figurative language, sentence writing, predictions, inferences, story craft, story arcs, prefixes and suffixes and other language and literacy skills.

Appreciation of Literature

But the engagement of the kids!!  They LOVED it!  So much that I went out and hunted down short stories in a number of genres, based on what they requested, and found so many lovely stories! 

They are requesting stories now – and they remember exactly where we were in the story from one week to the next.  They ask for more from the same author (yes, they are asking for stories).  And most of these stories I am using are at least 50 years old, some, like Poe, are in public domain.

And I love that I am fostering a love for literature.  Even though when I ask, they say they wouldn’t read the longer version, LOL, they still are listening and responding to these stories with enthusiasm and asking for more.  Which is far more than my drill cards ever got!

Want to see what stories I’ve been using in my therapy sessions?  Find my FREE list on TPT!

Check out more on short stories in therapy with my other articles:

• Activity Magic: Short Stories for Multi-Goal Mastery in Speech Therapy
• Unlock Student Engagement: The Magic of Short Stories in Middle School Speech Therapy
• Level Up Literacy Teletherapy: Unleash FREE Online Resources to Captivate Students!

Subscribe below for a FREE bookmark to help students generalize articulation while reading!

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Motivators

Just like our younger clients, older students love a good reward at the end of a challenging session. The beauty? They’re experts at navigating YouTube, so they can easily cue up their favorite vids. But wait, there’s more! I love introducing them to some lesser-known gems that pack a powerful punch:

Flexible thinking and how the mind learns new things:

Backwards bicycle: this was mind-blowing to watch!

How mistakes are okay and help you learn:

OK Go Rube Goldberg Machine (I talk about how you can see the evidence of how many previous tries – 85 to be exact – they had to get it right, but how awesome it was when they got it right.  BTW, the song itself has a great message of how bad things are only temporary.) It’s also useful to see the TEDTalk on how it was engineered. (Caution, the TEDTalk has one minor cuss word and the band is having a drink of champagne at the end.)  If you don’t know what a Rube Goldberg machine is, it is a YouTube rabbit hole.  I warned you.

The Power of a Stutter

A TedTalk on how accepting your insecurities and even embracing them allows us to become better communicators.  How it frees us from worrying about hiding them to think about how we can speak to and help others. (BTW, she has a very noticeable stutter so this is an excellent video for your fluency students.)

Teaching Support

How to make sounds

I’m probably not alone when I say that I turn to these when I have a kid I just can’t get to make the sound, especially now that I am wholly teletherapy.  My camera just isn’t as professional as what I can find on YouTube.  The two best sources for sound instruction I’ve found are Sharon Turner, who has a animated video model of the tongue inside the mouth for each sound, and Peachie Speechie, who has great teaching videos for each sound.  But there are many, many options to choose from.

Read-Alouds

I’m using short stories in most of my older groups.  When we first read a story, I want it to be a dramatic, cohesive reading, so I actually don’t want the students to read it.  I want them to listen and be drawn into the story.   But you know, a day of that and my voice gets tired.  Cue YouTube read-alouds!  You can find an audiobook of most popular short stories on YouTube pretty easily.  And bonus – most you can turn on Closed Captioning so students can read-along if you don’t have a text that matches well.  And the students actually love being read to.  If I have a student who needs to read for a goal, then I can stop and have them read a paragraph or so, then return to the read aloud. I have playlists of some of my favorites at http://www.youtube.com/@Mrs.Speech-wk4mr.

Background Knowledge

To go along with the read-alouds, a well-made video to give background knowledge is worth so much more than me droning on about what life in a lighthouse is like.  You know what they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Well, a video must be worth a million, right?!  And they are so much more willing to watch a video than listen to me (and let’s be honest, it gives my voice a break).

Movies

And if at all possible, I like to find at least a clip of a movie or animation to go with the story.  It provides so many opportunities for language-rich discussion, with opinions (Which did you like better, and why?) comparing and contrasting, and inferencing (Why do you think the director made this change?).

Social Skills

There are SOOOO many social skills videos out there.  Some of them are tailored toward our autistic population, some are more for introverted young adults, and some are for the ESL population.  Don’t just stick to the videos that tell how-to do something.  Sometimes the awkward videos offer great teaching moments too.  This one is one of my favorites.  While I do touch on what he does wrong, I mainly use it to talk about other people’s responses, and how they are generally kind about it and make an effort to not make him feel bad even though everyone feels awkward.  People are typically kind, so you might as well go out there and try.

Pro Tips 

Now, I mentioned in Read-Alouds to turn on the Closed Captioning if you don’t have a text that matches the reading.  It might be useful to do so with the other videos as well, to make the speech/text connection and fill in any missing gaps in the auditory information.  

I also suggest you turn the speed to 75%.  This is usually not noticeable to the kids, but it allows them more time to process what is being said so they get a better understanding of the information.  

I have more tips in my previous post: Unlocking Language Learning with YouTube: A Speech Therapist’s Guide.

Update 12/24

I recently found the free internet browser Brave and have been using it the past couple of weeks.  It was simple to move my Google bookmarks into Brave, and I am using it solely for use with the kids, so it streamlines my therapy sessions too.  I haven’t had a single youtube ad, and I haven’t noticed other ads popping up on websites.  I will say that, while it does block the ad on a website, there is often still the space where the ad would be.  Often, a reader extension like ReadBee will remove those spaces and focus on the text.

So, there you have it, folks! These are just a few ways to leverage the power of YouTube in therapy sessions with older students. But hey, the possibilities are endless! Got some killer ideas of your own? Drop ’em in the comments below!

Until next time, my e-speechies – keep on clickin’!

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Understanding Slow Processing Speed

First things first, what exactly is slow processing speed? Essentially, it’s like having a little lag time in processing information. Whether it’s following instructions, completing tasks, or participating in discussions, students with slow processing speed may need a bit more time to absorb and respond to what’s happening around them.

Signs of Slow Processing Speed

Keep an eye out for signs like taking longer to complete assignments, needing extra time to process verbal instructions, or struggling to keep up with fast-paced classroom activities. Students with slow processing speed may frequently answer classroom discussion questions with “I don’t know.” Or they may look like they are ignoring the question. Recognizing these signs early on can help us tailor our support strategies to meet each student’s unique needs.

Coping Strategies for Speech Pathologists and Teachers

Visual Aids for the Win

Incorporate visual aids like charts, diagrams, and color-coded organizers to supplement verbal information. These tools provide a visual roadmap that can help students with slow processing speed better understand and remember information.

Break It Down, Step by Step

When introducing new tasks or assignments, break them down into smaller, more manageable steps. This helps prevent overwhelm and gives students a clear roadmap to follow, one step at a time.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Repetition is key! Repeat important information multiple times using different modalities (verbal, visual, tactile) to reinforce learning and boost comprehension.

Time Isn’t Always of the Essence

Offer extended time for completing assignments and assessments to accommodate the slower processing speed of some students. Remember, it’s not about how fast they finish—it’s about understanding and mastery.

Ace Active Listening

Teach active listening strategies like summarizing information, asking clarifying questions, and taking notes during discussions. These techniques help students stay engaged and enhance their comprehension skills.

Speak Slowly and in Shorter Chunks

Like listening to a foreign language, students with processing difficulties need time to process a piece of information before they are given the next piece. Practice slowing your speech down and pausing frequently when introducing material. Everyone in the class will benefit.

Allow Think Time

• Give students a heads-up about discussion topics in advance, allowing them extra time to process and formulate their thoughts. 
• Give students ample think time after asking a question to allow those with slower processing speed to gather their thoughts and formulate their responses. 

• Incorporate a few seconds of think time before a question is answered for every student. 
• Teach students they can signal that they are still thinking with an index finger held up or another signal to ask for more time. 
• Give students more productive alternatives for saying “I don’t know.”  Treasure Clues for Learning is a resource I’ve made to assist. 

Encourage Turn-Taking

Establish clear rules for turn-taking during small group discussions to ensure that all students have an opportunity to contribute at their own pace.

Provide Scaffolded Support

Offer scaffolded support during discussions by breaking down questions into smaller parts, showing them where to find the answer, or providing sentence starters to help students structure their responses. Cuing and prompting can help these students make connections faster.

Conclusion

As speech pathologists and teachers, we play a crucial role in creating inclusive and supportive classroom environments where every student can thrive. By implementing these coping strategies with empathy, patience, and flexibility, we can empower students with slow processing speed to reach their full potential and succeed academically and beyond. And truthfully, these strategies will help every student in your class. 

Keep up the fantastic work, and remember—we’re all in this together!

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Teaching children how speech sounds are made is a great instructional activity for both the therapy room and the classroom!  Phoneme categorization is a highly effective activity for developing strong phonological awareness skills in young learners.

By sorting phonemes based on their place of articulation (where the sound is made), manner of articulation (how the sound is made), and voicing (whether the vocal cords vibrate), children gain a deeper understanding of how sounds are produced.  This can aid early learning as it allows children to make connections and organization of the phonemes.

This knowledge is crucial!

Improved Reading and Spelling

Strong phonological awareness is a foundational skill for reading and spelling. By understanding how sounds are created and how they relate to each other, children can more easily decode words, sound out unfamiliar words, and spell accurately.

For Example:

Why do some “long u” words also have a “y” sound in front?  The process of “yod-dropping”, or losing the “y” sound, in American English, generally occurs when the “ū” following an alveolar sound “t,d,n,l,s,z”.  Labials or velars have retained the original “yū” pronunciation, as well as words beginning with a “ū”.  There are exceptions; however, many of those can be traced back to the origin language, such as “puma”, or dialectal differences.

Enhanced Speech Clarity & Pronunciation

Sorting phonemes helps children become more aware of the subtle differences between sounds, which can improve their speech clarity and articulation.

Early Identification of Speech-Sound Disorders

The phoneme sorting activity can help teachers and SLPs identify children who may be experiencing difficulties with speech sound production.

I’ve created a new TPT Easel Activity to help you!  This resource includes 3 phoneme sorting pages, and a full color oral anatomy image, with labels!

Teaching Tips for Phoneme Categorization

• Prior Knowledge: Before introducing phoneme sorting, review letters and their corresponding sounds. Emphasize saying each phoneme in isolation (e.g., /p/ for “p,” not “puh”).
• Watch videos of speech sounds, such as G – How to Make G Sound
• Multi-sensory Learning:
  • Visual: Use mirrors or self-view cameras to allow children to observe their own mouth movements.
  • Kinesthetic: Encourage children to touch their lips, teeth, and tongue as they learn about the different places of articulation.
  • Auditory: repeat the sound multiple times.
  • Tactile: Have children feel the air movement with their hands or light objects (tissues, feathers) when exploring manner of articulation (e.g., stops, fricatives).
• Modeling: Demonstrate the sorting process yourself, thinking aloud as you categorize sounds.
• Guided Practice: Go through each sort together as a class, discussing the characteristics of each phoneme.
• Differentiation: Start with a small set of sounds for younger children or those who are struggling. Gradually increase the complexity.
• Early Intervention: In early learning classrooms, integrate phoneme sorting with letter and sound instruction, emphasizing how sounds are produced.

Extension Activity Ideas:

• Watch how the mouth works in real-time while someone is speaking! It is constantly making fine-tuned movements to produce recognizable speech.
  • This is a great video that shows an MRI of a person speaking and explains some of the sounds: An Introduction to the Vocal Organs – with MRI video
• Explore vowel production: Discuss the places of vowel production (front, middle, back) within the oral cavity. While these sounds involve less physical contact with the mouth, understanding their placement is crucial for comprehensive phoneme awareness.
  • Interact with the Chart | Color Vowel

• Anatomy of the speech system: In addition to teaching oral anatomy, teach students about the anatomy of the entire speech system, from lungs to the nose. This can be effectively integrated into a unit on the respiratory system.
• Expand Phonemic Awareness: Integrate place, manner, and voicing instruction with other essential phonemic awareness skills such as:
  • Blending: Combining phonemes to form words.
  • Segmenting: Breaking words down into individual phonemes.
  • Rhyming: Identifying and generating rhyming words.
  • Alliteration: Recognizing and producing words that begin with the same sound (not letter)

Connect Phoneme Categorization to Reading & Writing:

Analyze Pronunciation

Introduce the IPA

Introduce the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or dictionary-style phonetic symbols alongside graphemes (letters) and phonemes. This helps students understand the relationship between sounds and their written representations. (The image to the right states “You wish you could read this message!”)

Talk About Production

When breaking down phonemes, discuss the oral movements involved in their production. Explore words with unexpected pronunciations, such as “truck” (often pronounced with a /chr/ sound), “Wednesday,” “library” (/laɪbɝi/), “doubt,” or “knight”.

Explain how sounds influence each other within words

For instance, in “butter,” the /t/ sound is often influenced by the surrounding vowels, resulting in a reduced pronunciation (/bʌdɚ/ or /buhder/). Discuss how the voicing of the plural “-s” changes depending on the preceding consonant.

• See my article: Everyday Phonological Processes & Their Impact in the Classroom
• 3.2: Assimilation and Dissimilation – Social Sci LibreTexts

Integrate with Other Language Concepts:

Spelling

Connect phoneme sorting to spelling instruction by exploring spelling rules, guidelines, and the impact of etymology on spelling.

• Spelling Rules & Guidelines
• Spelling: Instructional Guidelines
• Basics: Spelling | Reading Rockets

Etymology

Utilize resources like Etymonline to investigate word origins and their influence on spelling.

• See my article: The Importance of Etymology in the Classroom
  • Etymology
  • The Impact of English Word Origins on Modern Spelling – Lucky Little Learners
  • Etymonline – online etymology dictionary (shows ads)

Morphology

Explore how morphemes (meaningful units within words like affixes) affect pronunciation and spelling.

• Morpheme Mapper – Phonics & Stuff

Collaboration

Teachers and SLPs can collaborate on this! Consider guest teaching or co-facilitate the activity. Both SLPs and teachers provide valuable insights into student needs and offer specific strategies for addressing individual challenges.

Other resources on Phoneme Categorization:

• Place Manner Voice Chart | The Speech Guide
• Understanding Consonant and Vowel Phonemes in English
• Rethinking Spelling Instruction — Reading Rev
• Word Mapper – Phonics & Stuff – phoneme to grapheme tool
• Teaching Tools – Phonics & Stuff – includes word chain builders, phonemic manipulation tool, and sentence generator. There are games and a worksheet creator on other tabs. Some features require a free account, and others require a subscription.

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Have you ever wondered why we often say “comfortable” instead of “comfterble”? Or why “strength” can sometimes sound like “strenkth”? These seemingly random variations in pronunciation are actually fascinating examples of everyday phonological processes. Every time we talk, sounds influence each other.  You might think of these processes as the “peer pressure” nearby sounds exert on each other.

Why do we use processes?

Imagine typing an essay. What if you are only allowed to strike the keys precisely on the center, with good finger & wrist posture.  Would it take you longer to type?  Would it seem awkward and more fatiguing?

Phonological processes, particularly coarticulation, are not random, or even necessarily erroneous, occurrences. They reflect the efficient and dynamic nature of human speech production. 

Our speech system is incredibly complex. Coarticulation allows us to produce speech smoothly and quickly by anticipating and adjusting to upcoming sounds. By anticipating the next sound, we can position our articulators (tongue, lips, jaw) in advance. This makes speech production more efficient and fluid without (usually) impairing the listener’s understanding.

They Happen All the Time

SLPs often focus on phonological processes as patterns of errors in articulation therapy. However, it’s crucial to remember that these processes are also a natural part of everyday speech for all of us.

It’s important to remember that when children are sounding out words, they are often applying these natural and normal “shortcuts” of speech. This means their pronunciations (and spellings) may not always perfectly match the standard pronunciation. Instead, they reflect the natural and dynamic nature of spoken language.

This blog post will explore key phonological processes that we all use everyday, like coarticulation, assimilation, epenthesis, and elision. We’ll discuss how understanding these processes can benefit both teachers and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in the classroom.

The “Peer Pressure” of Speech Sounds

Assimilation: Similar Sounds Mesh

Assimilation is a specific type of coarticulation where two similarly produced sounds are combined. See the above image where the octagon and circle (similar shapes) combine.  They are both visible, the color of the circle impacted by the color of the octagon. We might compare it to friends who spend a lot of time together, who often start to share similar mannerisms.

Example: “Ten plus two” often becomes “tem plus two.” The /n/ becomes more like the following /p/ sound.  In “I miss you”, the /s/ responds to the “peer pressure” of the /y/, becoming more like the /sh.

Coproduction: Sounds Overlap

In coproduction, another type of coarticulation, sounds that use different articulators are overlapped. In the illustration above, the two circles overlap, but both circles are still visible.  Using our analogy of typing, we anticipate the next key and position our finger accordingly before the current keystroke is fully completed.

Example:   Lips begin to round for the /u/ in “suit” while still producing the /s/.  Words ending with a vowel + nasal, such as “can”, often have some nasality in the vowel.

Epenthesis: Adding Sounds

Epenthesis involves the insertion of a sound that doesn’t exist in the underlying form of a word. Look at the image above, where two shapes become three.  Imagine trying to keep your pants up. You could use a belt or suspenders, or you could even add a small clip to help keep them in place. Epenthesis is similar. It’s like adding a small “clip” (an extra sound) to a word to make it easier to pronounce.

Example: We often pronounce “Athlete” as “ath-uh-lete.”  “Tenth” often has a slight /t/ sound between the /n/ and /θ/.

Elision: Deleting Sounds

Elision is the omission of a sound within a word. See how one of the shapes above is omitted.  Imagine you have a pair of pants that are slightly too long. To make them fit better, you might hem them, essentially “deleting” a portion of the fabric. Elision is similar – we “delete” or omit sounds from words during speech to make them easier and quicker to pronounce.

Example: Frequently, we omit one of two /r/ sounds in a word, such as “caterpillar” or “governor.” We also typically remove the middle “e” in “camera.” We use “shortcuts” like “gonna” instead of “going to”, or “dunno” for “don’t know”.  In fact, contractions are really a form of elision themselves!

Why Do These Everyday Phonological Processes Matter in the Classroom?

Understanding these common speech patterns is crucial for both teachers and SLPs. It provides valuable insights into the complexities of speech, language, and literacy development. Here are some key benefits:

Improved Reading:

• Understanding how sounds change in speech is crucial for developing strong reading skills. Recognizing that sounds can influence each other helps students bridge the gap between spoken and written language.
• Coarticulation plays a key role in fluent reading. When students understand how sounds are produced and how they influence each other, they anticipate how words will sound. This makes reading more fluent and accurate.
• For example, we typically pronounce the /t/ in “butter” as a flap (soft, rapid /d/). Knowing this helps students anticipate and decode the word more easily. It allows students to become more flexible and adaptable readers, able to recognize words in a variety of spoken contexts.
• Furthermore, understanding phonological processes can help students navigate the complexities of dialect in literature. It aids underastanding the regional or cultural “peer pressure” of sounds. This empowers students to better understand and appreciate the diversity of spoken language, and its written representation.

Enhanced Phonics Instruction: 

• Phonological processes help explain the “why” behind seemingly inconsistent spelling rules. For example, to help students understand why “camera” is spelled differently than it sounds, we might teach the concept of elision.
• This knowledge empowers teachers to go beyond rote memorization of phonics rules. By understanding the underlying reasons for these rules, teachers can provide more meaningful and insightful phonics instruction.
• Teachers can use this knowledge to address common student misconceptions about spelling. For example, students may consistently misspell words with frequent elisions. Teachers can explicitly address these patterns and help students understand the connection between pronunciation and spelling.

Spelling:

• Understanding phonological processes can help students become more aware of the discrepancies between how words are spoken and how they are written. Students who know that they pronounce the /t/ in “butter” with a flap understand that it’s still spelled with a “t.”
• Phonological processes can explain why some words are spelled differently than they sound. For instance, knowing about elision can help students understand why “camera” can be pronounced “cam-ra” and why the spelling reflects the full pronunciation.
• This knowledge can help teachers identify patterns in students’ spelling errors and provide targeted interventions. If a student consistently omits sounds that are often elided in speech, teachers can provide specific instruction and practice to address this pattern.

Phonemic Awareness:

• Understanding typical phonological processes helps students develop a deeper awareness of the sounds that make up words. By recognizing how sounds can change and interact within words, students become more attuned to the subtle nuances of speech.
• This enhanced awareness of individual sounds is crucial for developing strong phonemic awareness skills. Phonemic awareness, the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in words, is a foundational skill for reading and writing development.

Essential for the Understanding of Everyday Processes:

Before students can truly grasp the intricacies of these everyday phonological processes, they must have a solid foundation in the basics of speech sound production. Understanding place, manner, and voice is paramount. 

Place refers to where in the mouth the sound is produced (e.g., alveolar ridge, lips). Manner refers to how the sound is produced (e.g., stop, fricative, nasal). Voice refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during sound production. 

This knowledge is essential for recognizing how sounds influence each other and understanding why certain changes occur. For example, to understand why the /n/ in “ten plus two” assimilates to an /m/, students need to know that both /m/ and /p/ sounds are produced with the lips.

See my recent blog post, Developing Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Categorization by Place, Manner, and Voice, for more information on speech sound production!

“Peer Pressure” of Speech Sounds – Activities for the Classroom:

• Minimal Pair Activities: Use minimal pairs (words that differ by only one phoneme) to explore how sound changes affect meaning.
• Sound Sorting: Have students sort words based on how sounds change within them, or where a sound is made.
• Read Aloud: Encourage students to pay attention to how sounds change during reading.
• Discussion: Discuss with students how sounds change when speaking carefully or when in a hurry.  Discuss different dialects and accents.
• Identify Examples:  Find more examples of the above processes, and have students read them carefully with good enunciation. Then have them say them quickly, as if talking to a friend.  Have students identify what sounds changed.
• Tongue Twisters: Use tongue twisters to explore how sounds interact.  Have students identify WHY the tongue twister was difficult!

Conclusion

By explicitly teaching students about the “peer pressure” among sounds – how they influence and shape each other – we can help them become more aware of the subtle nuances of speech. This awareness can significantly enhance their understanding and use of speech, language, and literacy, ultimately leading to more confident readers and writers.

Happy Processing!

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