There are a ton of great online resources for practicing speech sounds! Here at the BAC, we love to use books and games to work on different speech goals. These are some of our favorites for practicing the ‘sh’ phoneme.
Books:
Reading books together is a great way to get repeated practice with target sounds in a natural, functional context. While reading these books, ask your child to say, “We should turn the page” or “Show me the next page.” You can have your child describe what they see or help you finish your sentence as you read (e.g., Pete the Cat is swimming in the …. ocean!)
1) "Pete the Cat - Scuba Cat” by James Dean
Target words include: ocean, fish, splash, swordfish, blowfish, jellyfish, angelfish, shadow
2) Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw
Target Words: sheep, shop
3) Sheep in a Ship by Nancy Shaw
Target Words: sheep, ship, slosh, ocean, short
4) Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Target words: sheep, push, shove, splash, shrug, should
5) The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss
Target words: shape, machine, ships, marshmallows
6) Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway
Target words: shark, ocean, fish, splosh, splish, splash, angelfish, shiver, shook, swish, pufferfish, starfish, she, jellyfish, catfish, dashing,
7) The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Target words: fish, ocean, shade, shimmer, shocked, shining, share, flashing
8) One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Target words: fish, sheep, brush, should, wish, swish, dish,
Games:
Playing online games is a great way to elicit your child’s target speech sounds through comments, directives, and requests! Try taking turns controlling the game. When your child is playing, ask them to describe what they are doing. When you are playing, ask your child to give you directions. You can get a lot of practice with the “sh” sound by asking your child to tell you “Push the button!”
While you are playing, keep in mind the complexity of the task. If your child is doing well with the single word “wash,” gradually increase the phrase length: “wash it, wash the puppy, the puppy needs to be washed.”
1) Scrub-a-Pup
Target words include: wash, brush, shower, lotion, push
2) Hair Salon
Target words include: wash, brush, shower, push
3) Fish Maker
Target words include: fish, ocean, splash, push
- Written by Megan Romanczyk, M.S., CF-SLP
