Articulation therapy and drill cards can be boring and repetitive for students…and SLPs! Here are low-prep ways to mix-it-up and keep your students motivated! These ideas work well for one-on-one or group speech therapy to work on the sound, word, or sentence level.
Card grid with dice
Create a grid with the cards (ideally 6×6). Number the rows and columns in sequential order. Play by rolling 2 dice and locating the card intersecting the numbers. You can then remove the card or place a bingo chip or other fun object on it.
Sensory Bins
Hide the articulation cards in a sensory bin! Go digging with your hands or a shovel. You can make it more engaging by putting other items in the bin to find between trials. Read more about how to create and use sensory bins here!
Paper clips fishing
Attach a paper clip to each card and place it face down. Use a magnetic fishing pole to catch a card!
Bingo chips and wand
Bingo chips and a magnetic wand make for a versatile reinforcer. Lay out the cards and place a bingo chip on the card after it is practiced. Once all the cards are covered, use the wand to magically pick up the bingo chips!
Ned’s Head
Ned’s head is a well-loved SLP toy. If you have one, just stuff the cards inside and the child can go digging to find a card per turn!
On the wall!
Tape cards to the wall and use a ball popper or bubbles to hit a card. Whichever card is hit, take down, and practice.
Bowling
Place a card under each bowling pin. Go bowling and say the card of the pin that was knocked down!
Hide-and-Seek
Hide the cards in your therapy space! This is great to way to get moving. You can also have the child hide a card for you to find. They love being in charge but can take awhile to hide the card. I recommend setting a timer or counting down for when you “open your eyes”.
Board games & turn-taking toys
Grab a novel board game or toy to use. Use their turn in the game as a motivator and reward after saying their target word. You can even use cause-effect toys for younger students, such as bubbles or wind-ups toys. There are tons of game options out there, really the only thing to look out for are ones in which the turn is quick. Here are some game ideas you can easily find online or at your local stores:
- Candyland
- Pop-up Pirate
- Cariboo (discountinued – find used)
- Chutes and Ladders
- Don’t Break the Ice
- Hi Ho Cherry-O
- Elefun
- Train set (or any toy where you get a piece to assemble)
The articulation cards shown above are from Super Duper and my articulation resources.
I want to hear from you! What are the fun ways you use articulation cards in your speech room?
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Hi!
Love these ideas! Ive recently done a flashlight scavenger hunt where I put arctic cards (or other cards we are working on) taped around the room. Then turn off the lights and give the child one or two cards to find. Once they have found it, they have to say the word on the card 3 times. They absolutely love it! I also have friends who have done a playdoh smash pancake game where they say the word on each card and can smash the ball of playdoh on the card and then stack them up one by one as they go.
I will definitely use some of your suggestions!
Thanks!
Those are great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
This is truly helpful, thanks.