Fun, Low Prep Activities to Use With Your Classic Articulation Cards
Articulation cards are a traditional staple in an SLP’s toolbox. They’re great for their versatility, BUT they can get really boring and repetitive, very quickly. Through years of experience and brainstorming with co-workers, I wanted to share some fun and easy ways to make these classic articulation card sets a little more interesting for your students.
Cut and Paste Activities:
- Incorporate your traditional articulation cards with a cut/paste/color worksheet. Below is an example worksheet completed by a 1st-grade student. Classic articulation cards targeting s-blends were used for this activity. The clinician copied the words onto the pumpkins, and the student glued and colored the cauldron and pumpkins. You can also have your students write the words and cut out the pumpkins (targeting motor skills too!).
Smash Mats:
- Smash Mats are another fan favorite. Place your cards or a worksheet like the one completed above, into a clear sheet protector. Use balls of playdough to “smash” onto each word after producing the target word 3-5 times. This activity requires no prep and few materials. If you already completed a cut/paste activity in one session, you can use the same worksheet for your next session.
100 Articulation Trials:
- Articulation trial trackers can be found all over the Internet. They are great for tracking the number of target sound attempts with your traditional articulation cards. Below are some examples of festive articulation trial trackers.
- PRO TIP: laminate your trial tracker or use a protective sheet with your cut/paste/color worksheet created above to reuse your trial tracker again and again. Once laminated, you can use bingo dabbers, dry erase, or regular markers, and wipe them clean when done.
Roll a Dice
- Grab a giant dice from your nearest dollar store. With your classic articulation cards, have the child roll the die to determine how many attempts they will make of the target word on the card. My students LOVE this activity! The die I use is the size of a basketball. My students LOVE throwing the die around the room and running around to grab it. This keeps them engaged while using limited materials and your traditional articulation cards.
Turn-taking toys:
- You can never go wrong with a fun board game or toy. Below are a few of my favorite toys and games to pair with traditional articulation cards to make a therapy session more interesting!
- Pop up Pirate
- Pop the Pig
- Banana Blast
- Jenga
- Greedy Granny
- These games allow for quick reinforcement after an articulation trial. These are great for groups and turn-taking, and do not take up much of your session time, as each turn is short.
I hope you find these activities to be as useful as I do! With such a diverse caseload, these are fun, no-prep, or low-prep activities that can be used repeatedly!
Author: Jessie Lopez, M.A. CCC-SLP