Saying sounds in sentences – game ideas

Your child is now ready to practice saying their target sounds in sentences. Here are some ideas for games and activities you can play while working with your child at home. Your speech and language therapist will provide you with the picture cards.

1. Go Fish

You will need two sets of pictures.

• Shuffle the picture cards and deal out six to each player.
• Place the remaining picture cards in a pile face down in the middle.
• Each player should find any pairs of pictures in their set and present them onto the table saying “I’ve got …… and ……”
• Each player takes a turn to choose a picture card from their set and ask the other player “Have you got a….?”
• If the other player has the picture, they hand it to the player and the pair can be presented. If they don’t have the picture card, they say “no, go fish” and pick another card.
• The player picks up a picture card from the pile in the middle and play passes to the other player.

2. Barrier Game

You will need two sets of pictures.

• Draw two grids of 3X3 squares and write in the numbers 1-9, one number for each box.
• Place a barrier between the players so you cannot see each other’s grid.
• One player chooses a picture and places it on their grid. They give the other player an instruction e.g. “Put the ………. on number 2” or “Put the ………on number 9”.
• Carry on until the grid is full. Remove the barrier and compare grids.
• Swap roles.

3. Object Match

You will need two sets of picture cards and a two sets of the same objects.

• Place a barrier between players.
• One player chooses a picture card and gives an instruction about where to place it e.g. “Put the ………. under the book” or “Put the ………. in the box”.
• When all pictures have been placed, remove the barrier and compare placement of pictures.
• Swap roles

4. Silly Sentences

• Choose two picture cards. Make up sentences containing both target words. For example, if the target is ‘s’ and the two words are ‘sock’ and ‘soup’ you could say “the sock is eating the soup!”
• Try thinking of some action words that begin with your child’s target sound. Make up a sentence containing the action word and a picture card. For example, if the target is ‘s’ you could say “the seal is sitting” or “Santa is singing”.

5. I went to the market

• Players take a card and place it face up on the table.
• Say the picture in the sentence “I went to market and I bought a ……”.
• The next player takes a card and places it next to the first picture. The player must now use both target words in their sentence e.g. “I went to market and I bought a ……. and a ……”.
• How long can you make the list without making any errors?
• Try turning the pictures face down after you’ve said your final sentence. Can your child still remember the pictures?

Top tips

• Write down the target sound(s) on a piece of paper. This will provide a visual reminder for your child about the sound(s) they are working on.
• Give your child lots of praise when they use their target sound e.g. ‘well done, I heard a brilliant ‘s’ sound’ when you asked for the sock”.
• Make it fun! Try and practice little and often. 2-3 times a week for 10 minutes is better than once a week for a longer session.