Easy Steps to Producing a Proper S

Easy Steps to Producing a Proper S

Increase awareness of the position of the tongue behind the upper teeth.

           Usually children can produce a /t/ sound correctly

           Use this skill to closely approximate the position needed for the /s/

           Have the child tap the tongue to get the feel of movement and placement

           Practice words that begin and/ or end with the /t/  *avoid words with /s/.

                      Ex.  Team  tool       cat   mitt               tent    melt

Tell your child to put the tongue in the /t/ spot and blow air over the top.

           Start with a slight blowing and increase until the /s/ sound starts

Practice words that end in –ts

                      Ex.      Plurals:                    cats    bets   mitts  dots           boots

                                 Contractions:              what’s    let’s   it’s   Matt’s     

                                 Verbs:                      bats    gets    sits               rots    cuts

           Practice words that begin with s using the ts exercise

                      Ex.      Tsee              tsoup            tsand

                                 Numbers beginning with /s/ then try rote counting

           Try saying the ending ts-words with the beginning ts words.

                      Ex.      Matt’s  tsoup                      bats tseven        let’s tsing

          

Finally try dropping the /t/ for a true /s/ in words, phrases, sentences, and finally in reading and conversations.

Following these steps should result in accurate /s,z/ sounds.

                                                                 

 Waldkirch, 2014