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List of Multisyllabic Words for Speech Therapy

Multisyllabic words are simply words that contain more than one syllable (or vowel sound). Multisyllabic words are often used in speech therapy for a variety of purposes. Commonly, in speech therapy, multisyllabic words are used to target articulation skills, but are occasionally used for word decoding or phonological awareness skills as well. This resource provides a comprehensive list of multisyllabic words, both broken down by syllable and by word type. We hope this resource will be helpful for parents and speech therapists alike who are working on multisyllabic words with their children.

What Are Multisyllabic Words?

Multisyllabic words are longer words containing at least 2 syllables. Multisyllabic words in speech therapy are very important and often a goal therapists will set for children. There are many reasons a speech therapist may work on multisyllabic words in speech therapy, such as:

• Deleting weak syllables in words (“Nana” for “Banana”)
• Deleting consonants in words (“Able” for “Table” or “Buh-er” for “Butter”)
• Articulation errors
• Difficulty with phonological processing or phonological awareness

Understanding how to correctly pronounce, combine, or decode multisyllabic words is very important. Multiple syllable words are important for speech development, word decoding, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and overall effective communication.

Why Do We Target Multisyllabic Words?

Many children have difficulty producing all the sounds and syllables in multiple syllable words. For some children, this is because of a phonological process called “weak syllable deletion”. In weak syllable deletion, a “weak” syllable in a word is omitted, for example, saying “batty” instead of “battery” or “ah-gator” for “alligator”. Other children may have difficulty producing multiple syllable words because of specific speech sounds in the words. For example, a child who says /t/ for /k/ may have difficulty producing the word “crocodile” in a way that others can understand. For many children, both of these may apply. 

List of 100+ Multisyllabic Words

The following is a comprehensive multisyllabic word list, separated by category. When working on multisyllabic words in speech therapy, it is important to remember to use words that are common and meaningful to your child. The more meaningful or common the word, the more likely the child is to generalize it to their conversational speech. This list gives many suggestions of words, but is not a complete list of all words that can be targeted for this goal.

Multisyllabic Word Lists by Word Structure

Multisyllabic words are found in all parts of speech. Depending on the age or language ability of the child, certain word forms may be more appropriate to target with your child. For example, younger children such as preschoolers do not use as many adjectives or adverbs, so it may be better to work on multisyllabic words that are nouns or verbs so targets are more meaningful. Below, you can find a list of multisyllabic words broken down by word form:

Pronouncing Multisyllabic Words

Because multisyllabic words are more complex, they can be more challenging for children with moderate to severe articulation or phonological disorders, or apraxia of speech. However, there are several techniques that are effective for helping children learn to pronounce multisyllabic words.

Touch cues can be a great way to help children identify all the syllables they hear (or should hear) in the word, and a great way for adults to give feedback on how many syllables the child is saying. Touch cues can be things like a tap on the hand, arm, or table. Sometimes, pairing touch cues with a visual cue as well, like a dot or circle to represent each syllable, can further help children with their pronunciation. 

Mouth cues can be a little trickier than touch cues, and it is beneficial to have support from a speech-language pathologist to incorporate this one into home practice. That being said, mouth cues can be very simple, such as a point to the mouth, or more complex, such as different hand signs to represent different sounds. Typically, the more complex hand cues are more beneficial for children working on multisyllabic words. This is because the different cues help children understand the different sounds they are hearing so they can reproduce them more easily. 

Word Segmentation

Word segmentation is a great strategy when you are working on words that contain prefixes or suffixes. For this, you would take the base word that the child can say more easily and then pair it with the prefix or suffix with a slight delay. For example, if you were practicing the word ‘Unhappy” you would say “Un…happy” to give the additional syllable some extra emphasis. This strategy can often be paired with others as well.

Visual Aids

Visual aids can take many forms! A visual aid could simply be the word written down, dots or other images to represent syllables, or visuals for the specific speech sound the child is practicing. Visual aids are best used in conjunction with other strategies, but can be very helpful for children. 

Knowing Where to Start

When working on multisyllabic words, we typically don’t recommend starting with the most complex words. Instead, we usually start with 2 syllable words, then 3 syllable, and continue working up as children master each level. Starting at the correct level is important for your child. If it is too hard for them at the start, they may lose the motivation to continue practicing. 

Games & Activities for Multisyllabic Words

If you are working on multisyllabic words in speech therapy, as a parent or SLP, some of the games and activities below may be useful for you. Engaging activities for multisyllabic words are very important to help keep childrens’ attention and make faster progress.

Coloring is an engaging activity for children of all ages. To use coloring as a multisyllabic words activity, simply choose 10-15 words appropriate for your child and either draw them or print them out. As your child colors the pictures, have them practice saying each word using all the syllables and their best speech sounds.

Drumming Syllables

Kids love to drum! On the table, on the wall, or on an actual drum (if you have one). This activity is great for building awareness of how many syllables are in words, and there are so many ways to practice it! You can say the word while drumming out the syllables and the child can imitate, you say the word and they drum the syllables, show the child a picture and have them drum the syllables, or even make up songs using the words they have been practicing.

Silly Sentences

This activity is targeted more for children who have been practicing for a while, but are having trouble using the longer words in conversation. For this game, pick 2 words from our word list and take turns making up silly sentences using both of the words. For example, if you chose the words “flamingo” and “alphabet” your sentence could be “The flamingo sang the alphabet.” You can also write them down for later practice.

Discrimination Activities

Discrimination activities are helpful for children who are just starting out, or who are moving up to words with more syllables. One way to practice this is to gather a large group of items together. The child can then sort the items based on how many syllables are in its name. So, if you got together scissors, tissue, tablet, pencil, a stuffed kangaroo, a lollipop, and a telephone, the child could sort them into 2-syllable and 3-syllable words. This can also be done without physical items using pictures or just telling the words to the child.

Reading with your child is a great activity, no matter what speech therapy goal they have. To work on multisyllabic words while reading, first identify which level your child is at (2, 3, 4, or 5 syllables). While you are reading, stop each time you come to a word at their level and practice it together. If they are older or are working on carryover, they can try and practice using it in the whole sentence.

Using Forbrain For a Better Sound Practice

Forbrain is an auditory stimulation headset that uses bone conduction, allowing your voice to reach your brain at a much faster speech. It also makes your voice more vibrant by highlighting high frequencies and attenuating low frequencies.  

Forbrain is an excellent choice for working on multisyllabic words in speech therapy because it allows immediate feedback of the word produced, including the speech sounds and number of syllables. This immediate feedback will help children learn to self-monitor, and can help them to correct their pronunciation or responses without additional prompting. Forbrain can lead to improved progress on learning to produce all sounds and syllables in multisyllabic words

For more information regarding Forbrain’s use in speech therapy, see this ASHA article.  

Final Word s

Many children have difficulty correctly producing multisyllabic words. They may have difficulty using all the syllables, pronouncing specific sounds, or both. Being able to correctly pronounce multisyllabic words is very important for children to be able to effectively communicate with others. If you have concerns about your child’s ability to pronounce words with multiple syllables, please consult with a licensed speech-language pathologist to see if speech therapy may be right for you. You can search for a speech-language pathologist in your area using this tool if you need a place to start. In the meantime, some of the resources, games, and activities mentioned in this article may be helpful for you as you work with your child at home.

Natalie Fitzgerald

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Multisyllable Words & Speech Therapy

Multisyllable words are essential for speech therapy since they can be quite challenging for children with motor speech, articulation, and phonological disorders. 

In this post, I will dive into why multisyllabic words may be difficult and what we should do about it!

What are multisyllable words? 

Just to make sure we are all on the same page...multisyllable words are words that have more than one syllable, from simple two-syllable words to more complex ones.

Multisyllable Words & Apraxia

Anyone with apraxia most likely will have trouble with multisyllable words for the following reasons:

• Motor planning difficulties:  Apraxia is a motor speech disorder characterized by difficulties in planning and coordinating the movements necessary for speech. The longer the words the more motor planning is necessary. So, due to the motor plannings demands, children with apraxia most likely will struggle with multisyllabic words. Makes sense!
• Challenges in Prosody:  Prosody (stress and intonation patterns within a word) can be difficult for a child with apraxia. This may be especially true for multisyllable words since the prosody demands increase as the length of words increase

Multisyllable Words & Phonetic/Phonemic Speech Sound Disorders

Children with phonological disorders (phonemic) and articulation disorders (phonetic) may also struggle with multisyllable words. 

*To review different types of speech sound disorders, click here.

The reasons are a bit different than apraxia. Children with phonemic and phonetic disorders may have trouble consistently producing their target sound/phonological pattern when the length and/or complexity of a word increases.

For example:

• A child who is backing may be able to say /d/ with relative ease in words such as "day" or "add." 
• However, when challenged with a multisyllabic word such as "honeydew", accuracy may decrease due to the complexity and length of the word.

Multisyllable Words & Speech Therapy Materials

When reviewing the role multisyllabic words play in speech development and speech therapy, I realized I didn't have very many materials to systematically target this area of need.

So, I am correcting that! I am creating drill materials, games, and language based materials needed for generalization of progress!

Stay tuned for those by subscribing below and/or checking your email in a few weeks!

• https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/childhood-apraxia-of-speech/
• Speech Disorders: What are they and how you can help
• Apraxia of Speech: What Is It? What are the available treatments?
• Multisyllables Words & Speech Therapy

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Here’s How To Teach Multisyllabic Words in Speech Therapy

Younger children with speech sound disorders may have trouble saying multi-syllabic words. This may be the result of motor planning or phonological difficulties. Longer words can be more challenging to say. Speech-language pathologists might therefore wish to select multisyllabic targets during speech therapy sessions. A multisyllabic word list for speech therapy is included in this article and contains 1-syllable, 2-syllable, 3-syllable, 4-syllable, and 5-syllable words. Strategies for teaching multisyllabic words in speech therapy are provided, and multisyllabic words speech therapy activities are also recommended. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended.

Why Target Multisyllabic Words Speech Therapy

There are many reasons why speech-language pathologists might choose to target multisyllabic words in speech therapy.

One main reason SLPs might target multisyllabic words is to help increase a child’s intelligibility. Multisyllabic words can be especially difficult for children with speech sound disorders to produce. 

Multisyllabic words also provide a way to help children learn appropriate prosody. Stress, intonation, and rhythm all contribute to how intelligible a child’s speech is.

Targeting multisyllabic words also helps increase language skills, specifically in the area of vocabulary development.

It is also useful to target multisyllabic words as a way to help children prepare for reading and writing. There are many multisyllabic words in written language. 

Finally, SLPs might also wish to target multisyllabic words as an additional way to increase phonological awareness skills.

Articulation and Phonological Disorders

A speech therapist may work on multisyllabic words with children who have articulation disorders or phonological disorders.

According to ASHA, an articulation disorder is the ‘atypical production of speech sounds’. It can involve substitutions, omissions, additions, or distortions. Speech intelligibility can be negatively impacted.

A phonological disorder involves  patterns  of rule-based errors. 

Reference: 

Definitions of Communication Disorders and Variations. (2023). Retrieved 12 July 2023, from https://www.asha.org/policy/rp199300208/#:~:text=An%20articulation%20disorder%20is%20the,that%20may%20interfere%20with%20intelligibility.

Weak Syllable Deletion

Children with phonological impairments may exhibit a process called syllable deletion. This happens when a syllable is omitted. An example of syllable deletion is saying ‘nana’ instead of ‘banana’.

Learn more about  the different phonological processes .

Apraxia of Speech

Children who are diagnosed with apraxia of speech may have difficulty with the production of multisyllabic words. Read more about  the characteristics of childhood apraxia of speech .

CAS (childhood apraxia of speech) is a neurological speech sound disorder that is characterized by difficulty with planning and programming movement that is required for speech.

Learn more about  childhood apraxia of speech . 

Children’s Books with Multisyllabic Words

Speech therapists often use books in speech therapy.

It may be useful to choose books that feature multisyllabic words as a way to engage young children.

The book  Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin  is hilarious ( bonus! ) but also features multisyllabic words such as dragons, tacos, salsa, totally, gigantic, tortillas, tomatoes, accordions, comforting, jalapeno, conversations, decorations, and samaritan!

Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal  is another great choice for working on multisyllabic words! This book features words such as: golden, swirly, rainbows, unicorn, magical, wonderful, important, magnificent, enchanted, and discover. 

SLPs might also wish to check out this  ultimate list of children’s books for speech therapy .

Multisyllabic Word Puzzles

Why not use puzzle pieces as an engaging way to teach multisyllabic words?

Younger children will enjoy this  puzzle set   featuring fruits and vegetables. Many of the featured fruits and vegetables are multisyllabic words. 

Another option is  this puzzle set  which features 3 puzzles showcasing the world, the United States, and space. There are tons of states with multisyllabic names! 

7 Strategies for Teaching Multisyllabic Words

It is important that children learn how to say all of the syllables in a multisyllabic word.

Speech pathologists might wish to try a variety of strategies for the speech production of multisyllabic words.

• Backward chaining: this involves teaching the child to say the last syllable, then slowly go backward and add to it. An example would saying “fly”, then “terfly” and finally, “butterfly”.
• Forward chaining: this is the opposite of backward chaining! Start at the beginning, then slowly add syllables, like this: “buh”, “butter”, “butterfly”.
• Use pom poms or some sort of object to represent each syllable in a target word.
• Make a pacing board by drawing circles on a piece of paper. Tap a circle as you say each syllable.
• Emphasize the vowel or dipthong in each syllable. 
• Use gestures, such as circling your lips with your finger for the ‘oh’ sound, to highlight the vowels.
• Seeing the written word can be beneficial! Write out the word, then underline each syllable.

Phonological Awareness and Multisyllabic Words

Phonological awareness involves identifying and manipulating the sounds of spoken language. It is important to note that phonological awareness skills can have an impact on reading and writing.

In order to produce multisyllabic words, children need to have an understanding of phonological awareness tasks- specifically, syllable segmentation and blending. 

Syllable Segmentation

One example of a phonological awareness task is syllable segmentation. This involves segmenting words into syllables.

Syllable Blending

Another example of a phonological awareness task is syllable blending. Children will blend the syllables together in order to form a new word. 

Speech Therapy Phonological Awareness Activities

As previously mentioned in this article, speech-language pathologists may work on phonological awareness skills. 

Need a great resource to work on phonological awareness skills in speech therapy? Here are two activities and worksheets that speech therapists will want to check out!

• Frog Syllable Segmentation

Check out  this digital product that targets syllable segmentation .

Each word contains lily pads beneath it. 

For example, if there is a 3-syllable word, there are 3 lily pads beneath the picture.

Your students will love watching the frog hop from one lily pad to the next with the click of a button!

Ocean Animal Phonological Awareness Worksheets

These  ocean-themed phonological awareness worksheets  provide engaging ways to work on a variety of skills!

One worksheet has students clap out the number of syllables in a word, then trace a line to the correct answer choice.

Another worksheet has students identify if the words in bubbles rhyme or not.

 If they do, students give a thumbs up. If not, they give a thumbs down.

Multisyllabic Word Lists for Speech Therapy

Speech-language pathologists might enjoy using these multisyllabic word lists in speech therapy sessions.

Pair these word lists with a  board game  or another fun activity!

1-Syllable Words

This is a list of 1-syllable words that could be used in speech therapy. 

2-Syllable Words for Speech Therapy

Enjoy using these 2-syllable words in speech therapy.

3-Syllable Words Speech Therapy

Here is a list of 3-syllable words for speech therapy.

4-Syllable Words 

Need some 4-syllable words for speech therapy? Here you go!

• celebration
• championship
• caterpillar
• firefighter

5-Syllable Words

These 5-syllable words will be perfect to use in your speech therapy session!

• congratulations
• determination
• imagination
• organization
• participation
• articulation
• unforgettable
• examination

Multisyllabic Words Speech Therapy Activity

Looking for multisyllabic words speech therapy activities? Try out this recommended resource!

Mini Smash Mat Multisyllabic Words Speech Therapy Activity

Speech-language pathologists will want to check out this  Weak Syllable Deletion activity  for speech therapy! 

It is especially useful and engaging for preschool children with articulation and phonological disorders. 

Target words contain 2 and 3 syllables. 

The words are broken down into simple visuals that make it easy for kids to understand.

Students can point to the small circles, or even smash play dough!

Speech-language pathologists might also wish to hide these cards in a sensory bin or some sort of fun container!

There are a total of 24 on-the-go mini smash mats for your speech therapy sessions. 

Each card contains a unique shape. The cards can be hole punched and arranged together using a binder ring. 

These cards are perfect for younger children with speech sound disorders. They provide a great way to really focus on all syllables in a target word.

The included picture visuals for each syllable emphasize the importance of saying  each  syllable in the word. 

In summary, a speech-language pathologist may wish to target multisyllabic words for a variety of reasons.

Targeting multisyllabic words may help increase a child’s speech intelligibility. Working on multisyllabic words can also assist with learning new vocabulary words and increasing phonological awareness skills. Finally, SLPs might also wish to target prosody skills while working on multisyllabic words. 

There are several strategies that speech therapists could use to teach multisyllabic words. 

This might include using backward chaining: in other words, teaching the child to say the last syllable, then slowly going backward and adding to it. 

SLPs might also use pom poms or other objects to represent each syllable in a word, and a pacing board might also be beneficial.

Speech therapists may wish to check out these phonological awareness and multisyllabic words speech therapy activities:

• Ocean-Themed Phonological Awareness Worksheets
• Mini Smash Mat Multisyllabic Words Speech Therapy Task Cards 

Related SLP Articles:

• 30 Vocabulary Goals for Speech Therapy (Based on Research)
• The Different Phonological Processes (List for SLPs)

4 Easy Consonant Cluster Reduction Speech Therapy Activities

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Conquering Multisyllabic Words: Effective Speech Therapy Techniques and Strategies

Young children who have speech sound disorders often have difficulty saying words with multiple syllables. In some instances, this is the result of phonological or motor planning difficulties. In general, longer words can be more challenging for all children to say. Therefore, speech-language pathologists may wish to target multisyllabic words during speech therapy sessions. Strategies for teaching multisyllabic words in speech therapy are essential to helping young children master longer words, and multisyllabic words in speech therapy activities are also highly important.

If your child is struggling to say longer or multisyllabic words, or you think they would benefit from speech therapy, get started by scheduling your free introductory call today!

Why is Targeting Multisyllabic Words in Speech Therapy Important?

There are a wide variety of reasons why speech therapists choose to target multisyllabic words in speech therapy sessions.

One of the primary reasons that SLPs choose to target multisyllabic words is to help improve a child’s speech intelligibility. Multisyllabic words can be particularly difficult to produce for children with speech sound disorders.

Multisyllabic words also provide opportunities for children to learn the appropriate prosody or rhythm of words. Stress, rhythm, and intonation all contribute to the intelligibility of a child’s speech.

Targeting multisyllabic words in speech therapy also helps to promote language skills, particularly in the area of vocabulary development.

In addition, by targeting multisyllabic words, the speech therapist is also helping each child to prepare for the development of reading and writing skills, as there are a multitude of multisyllabic words in written language.

Finally, speech and language pathologists may also choose to target multisyllabic words as an additional method of promoting phonological awareness skills.

Why Do Children Need Help with Multisyllabic Words?

Speech and language pathologists commonly work on saying multisyllabic words with children who have been diagnosed with articulation or phonological disorders.

An articulation disorder is defined as the ‘atypical production of speech sounds’ and can involve frequent substitutions, additions, omissions, or distortions. In many cases of articulation disorders, speech intelligibility is negatively impacted.

A phonological disorder, however, involves patterns of rule-based errors. A child with a phonological impairment may demonstrate a process referred to as syllable deletion. This occurs when a syllable is omitted. For example, the child may say ‘nana’ instead of the full word: ‘banana.’

Children who are diagnosed with apraxia of speech may also have difficulty producing multisyllabic words. Childhood apraxia of speech (also referred to as CAS) is a motor speech disorder characterized by difficulties relating to motor planning of the necessary movements for speech.

If your child is struggling with multisyllabic words or you are concerned about your child’s communication skills in general, help is available. Get started with one of our amazing therapists by scheduling your free introductory call today!

How do you Treat Multisyllabic Words in Speech Therapy?

In order to master longer words, children must first learn how to correctly say all of the syllables in a multisyllabic word. Speech pathologists will often try various strategies to encourage the proper speech production of multisyllabic words, including:

Backward Chaining: this method involves teaching the child to say the last syllable first, then slowly going backward and adding to it. For example, when working on the word “butterfly,” the child would begin by saying “fly”, then “terfly”, and finally, “butterfly”.

Forward Chaining: this method is simply the opposite of backward chaining. Start with the beginning syllable, then slowly add syllables, for example: “buh”, then “butter”, then finally “butterfly”.

Use Pom Poms: Using pom poms or some other small object to represent each syllable in a target word can help break down the word into syllables. Each object represents each syllable in the target word and can be practiced in isolation at first.

Emphasize the Vowel in each Syllable: Emphasizing the vowel in each syllable takes the focus off the beginning or ending sounds of each syllable. This can help the child produce longer words more easily. The speech therapist may use gestures, such as circling their lips with their finger to demonstrate the ‘oh’ sound to highlight the vowels.

Show the Written Word – For some children, seeing the written word can be highly beneficial. The speech therapist may write out the word and then underline each syllable.

What is the Most Effective Strategy for Decoding Multisyllabic Words?

Phonological awareness involves the identification and manipulation of the sounds used in spoken language. It is important to understand that phonological awareness skills often have an impact on reading and writing skills. In order to produce multisyllabic words effectively, children require an understanding of phonological awareness tasks such as syllable segmentation and blending. This is also known as decoding.

Syllable segmentation simply means that the words are segmented into syllables. Syllable blending Involves blending the syllables together to form a new word. These strategies are proven to be effective in helping children to decode and eventually master multisyllabic words.

The Bottom Line

Targeting multisyllabic words during speech therapy sessions can help increase the intelligibility of a child’s speech. Focusing on multisyllabic words can also help children improve phonological awareness skills and learn new vocabulary words. There are many techniques and approaches that speech therapists may use when teaching multisyllabic words. When it comes to mastering multisyllabic words, speech therapy can be one of the most valuable resources for your child. In fact, speech therapy is proven to be highly beneficial even for children who are on track with the development of their communication skills. Research has shown that early intervention offers the best outcome for children who may need additional support as they work on their speech and language abilities. Our amazing speech and language pathologists are waiting to connect with you, so don’t wait! Get started by scheduling your free introductory call today!

Free Multisyllable Worksheets

 Three bundles of multisyllabic worksheets totaling 60+ words ready to use with your students and children who have apraxia of speech or phonological disorders. Parents and therapists can use these sheets to improve speech intelligibility and clarity.

For first timers, please follow the instructions below!

Getting started guide

The 2 syllable sheet contains 36 words with early speech sounds in medial word position for toddlers. The 3 and 4 syllable worksheets contain 12 cards each. Feel free to cut, laminate and put these on a ring for easy use.

Select the group of sounds you would like to work on. We offer 2, 3 and 4 syllable words.

Have the child “touch the button” on each syllable as they say the word aloud to isolate each syllable and receive hands-on feedback.

If appropriate, have the child use the target word in a sentence to increase the difficulty.

Cool Tools for Targeting Multisyllabic Words in Speech Therapy

Source: topteacher.com.au

Speech therapy operates on a continuum. For most aspects of speech and language, children might master one aspect before moving to another. When children master single syllables, the next step is two then three and so forth. Multisyllabic words in speech therapy can have many challenges for children with articulation disorders and apraxia. Similarly, finding and making motivating materials can be equally frustrating for SLPs. Try these cool tools, tips and word lists.

Multisyllabic Word Lists

First and foremost children need targets. What words should they practice and where do we come up with them? For children who aren’t yet reading, high quality photographs are often best, but sometimes hard to come by when you’re looking for specific syllable lengths.

For great visual materials already divided up by syllable length (3 syllable, 4 syllable words) try Playtalklearn.com

To get creative on your own, search for multisyllabic word lists of the length you need then find the cards/visuals you need. Lists can be found on SLP websites or ESL websites. A quick Google search will yield many lists, but then it’s up to you to find visuals.

A great resource for flashcards is Insidestoryfashcards.com where you can print free high quality materials for great concepts and vocabulary words!

As for what to put the pictures in, try an online template for activities such as memory games that will provide a nice grid, already made.

Pacing Materials

A pacing board is often helpful in getting a child to slow down and segment each word into syllables (e.g., “bas-ket-ball” would be three segments). This could also work at the sentence level (e.g., “I” + “see”+ “you”). A pacing board provides a nice visual and tactile reminder or cue to each syllable in the word or phrase.

There are many neat and new pacing board ideas. Check out this example using tap lights (below):

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com

Here the child will tap each light with each syllable, “Po-lar-bear.” A visual is placed here to help illustrate the target word.

Or try getting motor movements involved by having children jump or hop from sound to sound. This idea, from Heather a first grade teacher , shows how:

Source: heathersfirstgradeheart.blogspot.com

Her directions are: “A kiddo starts by standing to the left side OUT of the first box. If the word is bus, he hops into the first box and says /b/. He then hops into the 2nd box and says /u/. He hops into the 3rd box and says /s/. Finally, he hops OUT of the box and says the word bus.”

Activities that can be used in speech therapy can often be found in early literacy and reading activities too. Tasks such as sorting by syllables (like the shopping picture at the top of the page) encourage children to be aware of how many syllables are in a word, and might not necessarily have the goal of correct sound production. The key might initially be to help students identify longer words as one, two or three syllables by listening with a model. This brings awareness before expression is targeted.

Some other ideas include: a parking garage place mat where cars part on the first, second or third sound in a written word, shooting syllables by  hoops (a three pointer for a three syllable word) or playing a musical instrument in accordance with each syllable (think drum or xylophone to mark each sound).

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Tips for Teaching Multi-Syllabic Words

Multi-syllabic words can be a tricky task for some students to take on. Distinguishing the break in words with three or four syllables can best be taught by visually separating the word and repetition.

Use Visual Aids

I like to use visual aids to show students a clear representation of how the word is broken down by sounds. You can even use a mirror and tell your students to say the words and see how their mouth changes shape with each syllable. You can tell them to repeat words like balloon, basketball, and carrot, and tell them to pay close attention to how their mouth is opening with each syllable as they pronounce the words. 

Help Them to See The Break

Writing down words can be beneficial as they can see each break on paper. Having them identify the break by using color coded systems helps them to visually distinguish the sound separations in the word. This drill and data set is a great resource to use to give your students paper practice. There are word cards and dot mats that give color separated examples of 2, 3 and 4 syllable words broken down by color. These can show your students to relate the sounds they saw in the mirror to the word on paper.

Practice always makes perfect, right? Repetition, even at home, gives students the opportunity to use this skill and master it. You can also assess their skills by having them break apart the words by pointing to a different color for each syllable. Multisyllabic words are vital to read and pronounce words and physically seeing the break helps students to know how to pronounce the word correctly. 

These are just a few activities I like to do to teach this skill. Comment below if you have any questions!

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Hey there! I’m Maureen Wilson, a school-base SLP who is data driven and caffeine powered. My passion is supporting other pediatric SLPs by teaching them how to harness the power of literacy and data to help their students achieve their goals…without sacrificing time they don’t have.

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Visual aids are a great idea- I’m going to use that next time I’m targeting multisyllabic words.

They are such a game changer

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Multisyllabic Words Speech Therapy: Basic Lessons and Fun Activities

By the age of seven, most children can break words down into syllables and phonemes.

Learning about syllables is an important step that your child must master when learning to read longer and more complex words.

There are v arious ways to help your child develop phonological awareness at home , and one is via multisyllabic words speech therapy.

Syllabication activities can help your child achieve their multisyllabic word goals.

Keep reading to find out how to teach multisyllabic words, as well as some fun multisyllabic words activities you can engage your kindergarten-aged children in.

How To Teach Multisyllabic Words

Separating syllables, multisyllabic words activities, practice playing, multisyllabic words speech therapy.

Around half of four-year-old children can already recognize syllables within words.

Mastering syllables will not only help your child read, but it will also help enormously with spelling and comprehension.

When teaching multisyllabic words, your child should first master how to recognize a syllable within a word.

Recognizing Syllables

If your child struggles to recognize different syllables within a word, then have them hold their hand under their chin as they say the word.

Their chin will touch their hand at each syllable, syl-la-ble , to help them count out the different sounds in words more easily.

Clapping Syllables

Once they have a slightly better grasp of what syllables are, you can clap along with the syllables within different words.

Have a list of simple, single, multisyllable words ready for practice.

Try to stick to using words that they already have in their vocabulary.

Two syllable words you might use for clapping syllables include yellow, kitten, cactus, winter, picnic, puppy, tractor , window, and chicken.

For three syllable words, you may use: fantastic, December, dinosaur, afternoon, elephant, and ladybug.

But don’t forget to throw some single-syllable words in there, too, so they can count the difference.

Later on in your child’s education, you might want to teach syllables using structural analysis, namely prefix, stem, and suffix.

Still, syllable division is a simpler introduction to syllables for younger children.

There are six syllable types in total, but we usually teach two types, open and closed syllables, at kindergarten age.

Just like when you’re teaching phonics, you use the word igloo over ice; you also need to limit the multisyllable words you use as examples.

That because there are lots of exceptions to the rules that they’re just not ready for yet.

Open and Closed Syllables

Before teaching them basic syllable division, establish that they know the difference between open and closed syllables.

• Open Syllables:  These end in vowels and have a long vowel sound; words like “ he ”, “ no ”, and “ hi ”.
• Closed Syllables:  These end in consonants and have a short vowel sound; words like “ hem ”, “ cat ”, and “ sun ”.

Once they understand how to pronounce single syllables like this, they can start reading slightly longer words that have been broken down into parts.

If you’re helping them read a  book , always have a whiteboard or pen and paper with you so you can break down multisyllabic words for them.

Then when they’re ready, you can teach them how to break them down by themselves.

Syllable Division Patterns

Start by having them circle all of the vowels or vowel graphemes within the word and tell you what they are.

It will help them identify how many sounds or syllables they should expect when reading the word out loud.

• First Pattern: VCCV

The first syllable division pattern to look out for is a vowel, followed by two consonants and another vowel.

You split these patterns between the two consonants (VC-CV), for example, fan-tas-tic and hap-pen.

Have them split words that contain this pattern into sections by drawing a line in the space between where two consonants appear together.

When they come across blended consonants, like  th ,  sh , and  ch , they should count them as one consonant.

Simple words to start with include compound words, like sunset, bathtub, and pigpen.

• Second and Third Patterns: VCV

The other two patterns to look out for involve only one consonant (VCV), so the line will go either before the consonant or after.

They will only be able to figure out where it goes by sounding the word out both ways to see if they recognize it.

Sample words you could use for this include trav-el or tra-vel , and rob-ot or ro-bot .

Encourage them to try VC-V first every time, and then if they don’t recognize the word, try V-CV.

If you want your child to enjoy learning, then it’s important to make your syllabication activities fun and engaging.

Separated Syllables Game

We call this the silly syllables game in our house, and you can make your very own “ silly ” or separated syllables game together with your child.

This activity will combine learning, crafts, play, and practice, all in one go!

Start by separating a list of two-syllable words into separate syllables together (as above).

You can do this either on a piece of paper or on a blackboard or whiteboard.

You can do the first few and then encourage your child to try the others.

Once you’ve worked out how all of the words separate, write them out clearly on pieces of card, leaving small gaps between the letters.

Then have your child cut them into pieces so that each piece has one syllable written on it.

Keep the first syllables in a separate pile from the second syllables and give each pile a good mix-up.

Once all of the syllables are cut out and shuffled then you’re ready to play.

How To Play

• Lay all of the syllable cards face down on the floor, keeping the first syllables separate from the second syllables.
• Each player takes it, in turn, to turn one syllable over from each pile.
• Then they have to say the “ word ” it makes out loud.
• If this is a real word, they get to keep the cards, and if not, they must turn them back over for the next player to have a turn.
• The player with the most sets of cards at the end wins the game.

How To Make this Game Easier

To make this game easier, adjust the gameplay so that each player has their first syllable and just needs to find the second syllable that matches it.

Once matched, then they are dealt a second syllable and so on.

How To Make this Game Harder

To make this game more challenging, you can use three-syllable words.

To make it really hard, you can play with two and three-syllable words at once.

If the word doesn’t sound right with two syllables, maybe it will with a third one?

A Variation to Incorporate Movement

If your child is getting fidgety, then it’s time for some movement.

• Stick one set of syllables, either all of the first syllables or all of the second syllables, in different locations around the room.
• Give your child one of the matching syllables and start a timer.
• Have your child stick it up next to the correct matching syllable to make a word and then run back to you so you can pass them another one.
• Stop the timer when all syllables are matched correctly.

You can play this with a group of children where they all get one syllable each, and it’s a race to see who can make their match first.

Children love to play games, compete, be timed, and they also love to move!

Instead of clapping your multisyllabic words together, why not have them jump up and down?

Take your lesson outside, draw a ladder on the floor and then have them jump from one rung to the next for each syllable they count.

Every small change you make will help keep the lesson more interesting for them.

Multisyllabic words speech therapy can be really fun for your child when you have a few games and activities up your sleeve.

We hope that you find these ideas and activities useful and, most importantly, have fun playing them!

Related: Bilingual Speech Therapy

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Free virtual and printable words lists for practicing artic words in speech therapy!

If you are in need of no-prep, virtual, or printable free speech therapy materials, we hope you enjoy our free slp word list materials each sound and phonological process has free materials and activities to target sounds at the initial, medial, and final positions. our materials also target sounds in isolation, word, phrase, sentence, story,, and tongue twister levels in our reading passage exercises, target sounds are in a different color., privacy overview.

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• Mar 31, 2020

Multisyllabic Words Resources

Multisyllabic words are words that contain more than one "beat" to the word. This video gives an overview on how to clap out syllables. Clapping out syllables reminds us to say every sound in the word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT0_PI4AgyM

Syllable reduction is a phonological process, which means that instead of it being one single sound errors, like "w" for "r", it occurs in words as a pattern. So in the case of syllable reduction it happens in words with two or more syllables. The next video provides information on this process and strategies for addressing (visual cues).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfgdbHncHl4

For practicing these words feel free to visit any of the specific sounds in Articulation Nation and select "medial". All medial sounds in any of the targeted sound posts will have at least two syllables. You can practice this in words, phrases, and sentences. For more ideas (with an additional video or list of ways to work on this) visit the Speech and Language Kids site .

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Here you'll find practice pictures, word lists, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs (bonus tongue twisters at the end!). Here is a short video on correctly producing "s" - however, many children are a

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Here are great resources and practice sheets from others! I am not going to reinvent the wheel and all of the material posted here is compliments of those I pay credit to! The sites that I direct yo

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• May 2, 2014

I am currently working with a client who has a really hard time producing multisyllable words.  In an effort to help her, I found some great free materials on TpT.  Here’s what I came across:

I hope that you enjoyed this week’s freebies! If you’re looking for some more great freebies, head on over to Speechie Freebies for their Friday FreeBees Linky Party!

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Interactive Multisyllabic Words

by Shannon Archer

Interactive Multisyllabic Words!

Research has shown that cueing supports speech production.

There are many levels of cueing that can support increasing utterances. When working with multisyllabic words , I have found that demonstrating the number of syllables is an important cue. Ideas for syllabic cueing:  clapping, tapping, physical representations (like blocks or dots), hand gestures, and even playdoh. The first is how to demonstrate the number of syllables in the word.

I created the following multisyllabic activity to support syllable expansion in a fun and interactive way.  

Components of this activity:, using multi-modalities.

This multisyllabic activity includes tactile and physical movement. The students cut, color, glue, and move the flaps and syllables!

The first part of the activity includes a two-page activity. The top page has an image of the word along with the word. The term is separated by syllables and is meant to be cut apart. This also allows you to use a backward chaining approach for building syllables.

The bottom page has a picture of the item and dots for each syllable. The pages can be used separately or combined to create an interactive page.

Backward chaining

You can use a backward chaining technique with the interactive flap pages. I use the flips to emphasize the syllables. So, for example, butterfly you would build like this:  1. fly, 2. tter (der)- fly, 3. bu-tter-fly.   You would fold up the flaps to only show the syllable(s) you are working on.

Minimal preparation

As a busy school and private therapist, I always look for new and fun activities. However, I am also crazy busy! So I need things that are simple to create but effectively target skills. This activity included two types of interactive pages to make, fun cut and color speech crowns and some color and practice pages.

Check out this fun activity on TeachersPayTeachers!

NEW try out our FREE Interactive Multisyllabic StarWords activity!

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Multisyllabic Words for Childhood Apraxia of Speech

One common speech disorder affecting children is childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). CAS is a neurological disorder that affects a child's ability to produce the correct sounds for words. This can make it difficult for children to communicate with others. However, there are strategies that can help improve your child's ability to speak multisyllabic words. In this blog post, we will discuss some of these strategies. We will also provide tips on how you can support your child as they work to overcome CAS.

In this article we will discuss:

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

How can speech therapy help.

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a neurological speech disorder. Children with CAS have difficulties positioning their tongue, lips, and jaw to make intelligible speech sounds. It affects the part of the brain that controls motor planning which results in difficulty programming and planning speech movements.

The child’s speech is difficult to understand due to trouble putting speech sounds together. Longer phrases, sentences, or words are even more difficult for the child to say. This is because of the additional motor planning required which causes more errors. In addition, the child may be able to produce a sound or word correctly one time. However, they are not able to say it correctly the next time.

Children with CAS can benefit from speech therapy

Speech characteristics of childhood apraxia of speech

Just like any other speech sound disorder, children with CAS have criteria. The characteristics that can be evident that may be present include:

Inconsistent errors on consonants and vowels in repeated productions of syllables or words. This means that a child produces the same sound in a word differently (i.e. “op” for “pop”).

Lengthened and disrupted co-articulatory transitions between sounds and syllables. A child produces choppy or disconnected speech due to trouble transitioning between sounds or words.

Inappropriate prosody, especially in the realization of lexical or phrasal stress. A child may sound robotic, have incorrect phrasing, or stress the wrong words or syllables.

Increased errors with utterance length and/or complexity. Children with childhood apraxia of speech may have a hard time producing longer sentences or multisyllabic words.

Childhood apraxia of speech requires specific evidence-based treatments that are unique to their specific needs. Therefore, a differential diagnosis between apraxia of speech and speech sound delays or disorders is crucial to ensure the best therapy solutions for each child. Consulting a qualified speech-language pathologist who has experience diagnosing or treating apraxia that will accurately assess a child’s speech and language abilities is a must!

If you are suspecting your child has childhood apraxia of speech, consult a speech-language pathologist for a formal diagnosis. A good differential diagnosis will lead to a better therapy plan and outcomes. For speech therapists, early intervention is key to maximizing your child’s potential. Apraxia of speech treatment can be very beneficial the earlier it starts!

Treatment for Children with Apraxia

Therapy for your child should be individualized to meet your child’s specific needs. However, there are some common features you should see in a child with CAS. Remember, if your child is just starting their therapy journey, their therapy might initially look like therapy for severe CAS. But they should progress to therapy for mild CAS as they make progress and their deficit in motor planning/programming decreases. Therapy for mild CAS usually includes the ff.:

Prosody includes the rhythm, rate, smoothness, and inflection of speech.

It is often disrupted for children with CAS. Their speech may seem “robotic” or lack emotion. Therefore, you should see this targeted in apraxia speech therapy early intervention. The speech-language pathologist will be helping your child say words, phrases, and sentences in lots of different ways. May it be as a question, with varying emotions, slower or quicker, or with different pauses. This can help them produce naturally sounding conversations and express their thoughts with emotions.

Multisyllabic words, or words that are three syllables or longer, are often difficult for children with childhood apraxia of speech.

When the speech-language pathologist is working on these words with your child, the goal should be for the words to be produced smoothly, at a normal rate and rhythm or stress – not choppy, monotone, or super slow. There are different tips & strategies to improve the production of multisyllabic words. These includes:

Clap out the syllables of words as you say them. Say them nice and slow so your child has time to clap with you. This gives them auditory and visual cues as to how many syllables they need to produce. It can also cue them to produce more syllables than one. It can also help them plan motor skills better.

Tap out syllables using body parts such as head, shoulders, knees, and toes. Touch a different body part for each syllable. Physical cues can help a child get physical feedback as to how to produce words and sentences.

Move a part of your body such as your head or shake an arm for each syllable.

Tap on a table, drum, or another item while producing words with multiple syllables. Again go slow so your child can hear the syllables and tap to them.

Use items with 3 – 4 dots on them for your child to touch while saying each syllable of the word. This strategy can also be used to decrease speaking rate, by tapping on a circle for each word in a sentence. A pacing board teaches a child to slow down and segment each syllable or word in a sentence.

Having your child sort items with your help can increase awareness and production of multisyllabic words. All you need is 3 or 4 baskets or buckets and random items with 2 – 4 syllables. Label each basket with 2, 3, or 4. Then provide your child an example. For instance, I found an airplane. The airplane has two syllables, this goes in the 2 buckets. Continue taking turns finding items and putting them in the bucket that represents the number of syllables.

Many children with CAS have expressive language deficits that affect their grammar.

As your child’s ability to motor plan for speech improves, they should be using longer and longer sentences. The SLP should be helping them to do this, including working on the right prosody so that your child’s speech sounds smooth and interesting (has normal inflection).

You should see your child working on language goals like using pronouns (such as she, he, it, her, him) or using past tense verbs (action words) correctly.

If your child is not yet producing all of their speech sounds (vowels and consonants) correctly, they should be learning a new movement to produce new sounds.

If you are suspecting your child has childhood apraxia of speech, don’t hesitate to chat with a professional. At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.

About the Author

Mikee Larrazabal

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist with 14 years of experience working with children and adults who have communication difficulties. I completed my Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science at Cebu Doctors' University and have been helping people overcome their communication challenges ever since.

I have worked with individuals of different ages, including toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged children, adults and seniors. I'm passionate about speech therapy and take great satisfaction in helping people overcome their communication challenges and improve their lives through better communication skills. In my spare time I like reading books, going hiking in nature and taking care of my dog Locas.

• Expressive Language Speech Therapy
• Articulation Speech Therapy

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Structured Literacy: Reading and Spelling Multisyllabic Words

By Kristina Arcuri , M.A. Ed., Educational Services Manager

Reading is a fundamental skill that requires explicit instruction and evidence-based approaches, as emphasized by the science of reading . A crucial aspect of this process is the ability to decode multisyllabic words, which is pivotal to reading fluently and spelling accurately.

A syllable is a unit of language consisting of a vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants. Every syllable has one vowel sound. Knowing how to break words into syllables can help with reading accuracy, pace of reading, and spelling.

Reading single-syllable words is usually straightforward. For example, the words cat and dog each have one syllable (one vowel sound). When provided with explicit instruction and practice, students can typically map each sound in a one-syllable word onto its corresponding letter(s) with comparatively little confusion as to which letter(s) maps to which sound. However, multisyllabic words—words containing two or more syllables—have more sound/spelling correspondences and syllabic units to process and remember, making it more challenging to read and spell correctly.

For example, the word category has four syllables: /cat-eg-or-y/. The third syllable, “eg” has the schwa sound / ə /, which can make it more challenging to pronounce and spell it correctly. Similarly, the word beautiful has three syllables /beau-ti-ful/ but doesn’t follow the usual English spelling rules. The /ū/ in the first syllable is spelled based on the French word for beautiful, beau , making it more difficult to spell the syllable correctly.

Multisyllabic words are very common in the English language. In fact, most of the words in the Oxford English dictionary are multisyllabic. Not being able to read and spell multisyllabic words accurately can seriously hinder fluency and, thus, comprehension, causing a student to lose out on much of what they’re reading.

Effective reading and spelling instruction follows a systematic sequence that helps students grasp the concept of syllables as they progress from monosyllabic to multisyllabic words.

How to Help Students Read Multisyllabic Words

Many single-syllable words can be sounded using basic phonics rules taught in kindergarten and first grade. For example, with single syllables, /a/ is the vowel sound in the word cat. There is little confusion in pronunciation.

However, things can get complex as students progress to multisyllabic word reading. These words are longer and have more than one vowel sound to identify. The vowel sounds (and spellings) are critical for the accurate pronunciation of longer words. 

Therefore, we teach students to recognize six common syllable types based on the vowel sounds: closed (one vowel letter, short sound); open (single vowel at the end of a syllable, long sound); vowel team (vowel or vowel-consonant combination, short, long or diphthong sound); r-controlled (r+vowel spelling); vowel-consonant e (long vowel sound); and consonant -le (final syllable with the schwa vowel sound. More information about the six syllable types can be found on pages 262-263 of the Teaching Reading Sourcebook .

These syllable types are the underpinnings for the four most common syllable division principles: VC/CV , V/CV or VC/V, VC/CCV or VCC/CV , and Consonant-le.   These divisions are taught to support students’ accurate pronunciation of longer unknown words.

In addition, common prefixes and suffixes (affixes) are explicitly taught to help students notice these common parts of longer words and to read them with increased automaticity. Teaching the meaning of each affix supports students’ morphological knowledge and can be applied when encountering new, longer words in texts.  

These examples of multisyllabic word instruction affect both fluency and comprehension. If a student struggles to read a multisyllabic word, they will also struggle to understand its meaning. This is because multisyllabic words often carry the most meaning in the text: if a student misses these words, they are likely to miss the main point of the text. Therefore, it’s essential to provide students with instruction on reading and understanding multisyllabic words.

How to Help Students Spell Multisyllabic Words

In general, one of the best ways to teach spelling is through guided dictation. Guided dictation allows students to work specifically on the sound-spellings relationships, giving them an opportunity to listen to the sounds in syllables and write the spellings and patterns of written English. 

With guided dictation, the teacher says a multisyllabic word and then asks students to repeat it aloud. By pronouncing the word, the students create a phonological representation of the word. Next, the teacher guides students to spell the word syllable by syllable, writing one syllable at a time. The teacher monitors the students as they write and gives immediate and affirming corrective feedback. Unlike a weekly spelling test, this is guided practice to spell multisyllabic words. 

CORE Learning partners with Collaborative Classroom, the publisher of SIPPS . In the Challenge level of SIPPS, guided dictation with multisyllabic words occurs. (SIPPS refers to this instructional routine as Guided Spelling .) In this instructional routine, educators follow the steps outlined above. In the Beginning and Extension levels of SIPPS, guided dictation of single-syllable words occurs. 

Here is an example of how a teacher guides students’ practice during guided dictation: 

When the teacher dictates the word fright, for example, which is a long “i” vowel sound, there may be questions or confusion as to how to spell the long i in that word because the long i can be spelled multiple ways, e.g., igh, i_e, -y or just i. Teachers train students to ask, “Which [long] i?” as part of the spelling practice. In response to the question, the teacher explicitly shows the students the correct spelling for long i by pointing to the sound-spelling card for long i. This process that provides constant feedback, over time, helps students internalize the correct spellings. 

The Role of Morphology in Reading Longer Words

Morphology is the study of the structure of words. It’s concerned with how words are formed from smaller units of meaning, such as prefixes and suffixes, as well as Greek and Latin root words. Instruction that focuses on morphology can help students develop a deeper understanding of how longer words work, enabling them to read and spell multisyllabic words more efficiently and accurately. This focus is supported through vocabulary instruction on word-learning strategies. 

This blog focused on the decoding aspects of reading and spelling multisyllabic words. In an upcoming blog, we will address the role of morphology and how it can help students read, spell, and understand multisyllabic words.

CORE Learning Teaching Reading Sourcebook

CORE’s Teaching Reading Sourcebook is a comprehensive resource that seamlessly combines a research-informed knowledge repository with tangible sample lesson plans. It serves as an instructive tool for educators, imparting the fundamental components of a successful reading program: phonemic awareness, decoding skills, vocabulary enhancement, fluency, and comprehension. 

This valuable resource offers a hands-on approach, serving as an essential guide for teachers as they work to enhance students’ reading proficiency. You can preview the sourcebook by clicking here . 

This is the second piece in a series on Structured Literacy. You can read the first piece, “What Is Structured Literacy? An Introduction” by Dale W. Webster, Ph.D., Vice President of Language & Literacy, here .

M.A. Ed., Educational Services Manager

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Structured literacy has gained widespread recognition for its effectiveness in supporting students with dyslexia and other reading challenges. However, structured literacy isn’t limited to students who struggle with reading. In fact, it offers benefits to every student, regardless of their reading proficiency. But, an important caveat should be stated here – instruction needs to be […]

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1100+ S Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Reading Passages Grouped by Place, Syllable, & Blend

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grasshopper

SC/SK - Blends

Sl - blends, sm - blends, sn - blends, sp - blends, st - blends, sw - blends, see also:   the best free app for speech therapy.

Initial S by Syllables

Central Park

self-control

soccer ball

celebration

certified mail

safety glasses

satellite dish

seeing-eye dog

sewing machine

subdivision

superficial

supermarket

supervision

symmetrical

sympathetic

civilization

psychological

self-analysis

superintendent

supervisory

systematically

Medial S by Syllables

tennis shoes

disadvantage

participate

policewoman

vice-president

association

classification

disobedient

electricity

necessarily

potato salad

precipitation

unnecessary

vice presidency

water moccasin

Final S by Syllables

White House

apple juice

lemon juice

adventurous

camera case

nevertheless

opera house

praying mantis

table tennis

tomato juice

appendicitis

hippopotamus

magnifying glass

metamorphosis

simultaneous

tuberculosis

Initial S Phrases and Sentences

circle of hands

fast sailboat

healthy salad

tasty sandwich

sharp scissors

playful seal

gray seatbelt

number seven

street sign

bathroom sink

garden sunflower

They made a circle with their hands.

She is so sad she is crying.

They are taking the sailboat on the water.

We ordered a salad for lunch.

The salt was dumped out on the table.

The desert had endless hills of sand.

You made a tall sandwich.

Don't run with scissors.

The seal rolled over on his back.

Put on your seat belt before leaving.

The seed will grow into a tree.

They made a seven out of stars.

She can sew the hole closed.

She is too sick to go to work.

The sign said 106 more miles.

She was not nervous to sing.

Get some water from the sink.

She would sit and wait everyday for the bus.

Wash your hands with soap.

They always want to play soccer.

The sock is hanging on the fence.

She told her dad sorry for not listening.

I ate chicken noodle soup when I was sick.

She found out that lemons are sour.

The sun was starting to set.

A sunflower grew in the garden.

Medial S Phrases and Sentences

blue bicycle

metal bracelet

ballet dancer

December holiday

scary dinosaur

wood dresser

pencil eraser

water faucet

wear glasses

tiny grasshopper

flying insect

kissing her

listen carefully

medicine bottle

secret message

small motorcycle

short pencil

nice policeman

bright popsicle

horse racing

credit card receipt

recycle bin

His bicycle is the blue one.

Her grandmother gave her the bracelet.

She was a ballet dancer.

Christmas is a holiday in December.

There was a dinosaur in the park.

The dresser is made of wood.

He used an eraser on his paper.

The faucet started to drip.

His glasses helped him see.

The grasshopper has big legs.

The insect has orange wings.

She is kissing the horse

Listen with the headphones.

He is holding the medicine bottle.

There was a message in the bottle.

He needed to clean his messy room.

We ride the motorcycle in the field.

His muscle is so big.

It is a beautiful day outside.

He needs to sharpen his pencil.

He has been a policeman for 10 years.

The popsicle is cold.

They are racing on the horse track.

The waiter gave him his receipt.

This is the best cookie recipe.

She is showing people how to recycle.

Final S Phrases and Sentences

green cactus

night class

wooden doghouse

yellow dress

erase a mistake

beautiful face

white fence

water glass

two story house

orange juice

green lettuce

little mouse

silver necklace

empty office

police officer

tied shoelace

tennis ball

I ran to catch the bus.

Cactus grow in funny shapes.

He took a night class.

The pug likes his doghouse.

She is wearing her yellow dress.

If you make a mistake, erase it.

She has a beautiful face.

The fence went around the land.

Pour me a glass of water, please.

I need to cut the grass.

The horse is running fast.

They moved into their new house.

The ice is melting quickly.

I want juice for breakfast.

The farmer grows lettuce.

She has pink lips.

The mouse wanted some cheese.

She is holding her necklace.

The office workers were all gone.

The police showed up at the crime scene.

She takes her purse everywhere.

They all wanted to race together.

Tie your shoelace before jogging.

Tennis is her favorite sport.

The walrus has huge tusks.

He said "Yes!" after being chosen for the job.

S Reading Paragraphs

Last December I was sad because my favorite baseball team lost in a tournament. You should have seen my face, it looked like someone erased my smile.

To cheer me up my dad took me out on our sailboat. It was a little messy so we took some soap and cleaned it up first. We took some sandwiches, soup, and juice and left the house early on Saturday morning.

We spent a few hours sailing around the lake. It was relaxing to just sit and listen to the water against the boat and soak up some sun. Dad told me he was sorry about the baseball team losing.

"They will have more chances to win in the future," he said. I told him I wasn't too sad anymore. "I just really wanted them to win," I said. Dad suggested that we sing the team song. He thought that would help us get excited for next years tournament.

"Next year we will sit outside on the grass behind the fence to watch the game," dad said. "We can take some salad, popsicles, and your toy dinosaurs. It will be the most fun we've ever had at a baseball game." I love my dad. He is so good at helping me be happy. 

No-Kissing Club

Kissing is gross. It makes me sick. On Valentine's Day my dad gave my mom some sunflowers in a glass vase. But that wasn't all. He also bought her a new purse, a bracelet, and a red dress. Mom was so surprised! She was so excited about all of her gifts that she threw her arms around dad and gave him a big kiss.

Yuck! It's one thing for them to say that they love each other all the time, but the kissing is too much for me. I have decided to start a club called "Anything But Lips" for people like me who don't like kissing.

I posted a sign outside and told all of my friends to come. We are going to meet in my dad's office once a week at six o'clock. We will talk about anything that is not related to kissing.

I have put a list of different topics together that we will discuss which includes: grasshoppers, motorcycle's, seat belts, soccer, tennis, soup, car racing, and insects, to name a few. Before I will let them come in the office, everyone will have to sign a contract saying they won't talk about kissing.

We have our first meeting tomorrow. I hope some people come. 

The Ice Hotel

My family and I want to see the ice house. It is really called "IceHotel", but I call it the ice house. It is located in a small town in Sweden called "Jukkasjarvi", I don't know how to say it but that's o.k. Everything inside of it is made of ice. Really!

There are ice sculptures, ice beds, ice walls, an ice roof, ice chairs, ice couches, and even an ice restaurant. People get married there, see the Northern Lights, snowmobiling, dog-sledding, and learn how to ice sculpt. It looks like so much fun, if you don't mind the cold.

Some of my friends have wondered how someone would sleep on a bed of ice. I told them you sleep on a bed of ice the same way you sleep on your bed at home...with blankets! I have wondered if the hotel has ice showers with ice soap but my mom told me it would be too cold for people to do that. I did read that they have a sauna in one of the deluxe rooms though.

Our family is going to save our money this year so we can go to Sweden in December and experience everything the ice hotel has to offer. We are so excited that we have already started packing! 

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SEE ALSO:   The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

Initial SC/SK Blends by Syllable

schoolhouse

scholarship

scorekeeper

scoutmaster

Medial SC/SK Blends by Syllable

grade school

grass skirt

high school

butterscotch

fire escape

ice skating

public school

roller skates

stethoscope

discontented

discontinue

Easter basket

figure skater

kaleidoscope

microscopic

picnic basket

private schooling

roller skating

San Francisco

Final SC/SK Blends by Syllable

school desk

mammoth tusk

office desk

reading desk

Initial SC/SK Phrases and Sentences

really scared

school room

white skirt

furry skunk

skydive jump

She is scared to get a shot.

The scarf keeps her warm.

The school built three new rooms.

She wanted to skate on her own.

She is learning how to ski.

She is wearing her favorite skirt.

The skunk was walking in the dirt.

The sky was blue and bright.

To celebrate they want to skydive.

Medial SC/SK Phrases and Sentences

warm buscuit

secret escape 

high school club

learn to ice skate

go to preschool

rescue swimmer

long whiskers

Their lunch was in the basket.

The butter melted on the warm buscuit.

The mouse made his escape.

They are all in high school.

The husky is playing in the snow.

She knows how to ice skate well.

My son goes to preschool.

They were able to rescue the swimmer.

The cat has long whiskers.

Final SC/SK Phrases and Sentences

ask questions

ripe corn husk

classroom desk

wear gas mask

wood school desk

blue swim mask

clean whisk

You learn more if you ask questions.

The corn husk was ready to be picked.

I will sit in my favorite desk.

The gas mask kept him safe.

Wear a mask to the party.

She kept books in her school desk.

He left his swim mask by the ocean.

The elephant has a long tusk.

Use the whisk to mix the eggs.

SC/SK Reading Paragraphs

Scared to ski.

Scarlet had been scared to ski since high school. It had been 3 years since her skiing accident. She twisted her knee while skiing down a steep hill. She still didn't remember what had gone wrong.

All she remembered was that she was wearing her red scarf, black ski mask, and sky blue snow coat. She had brought a basket with some home made biscuits for her and her friend Skip to eat at lunch.

As she skiied down the hill she remembered one ski caught an edge in the snow and the next thing she knew her knee was in a lot of pain and she was being rescued by the ski patrol.

While she was in the hospital, the doctor asked her a few questions about how she was skiing on the hill. She remembered he had a deep husky voice. He told her that skiing accidents happen all the time and sometimes for no reason.

As she sat at her work desk she rubbed her knee just thinking about how bad it had hurt. She wanted to ski again, but she couldn't escape the fear of hurting her knee again. She didn't like feeling scared to ski. She had skiied for almost 10 years and didn't want to give it up.

She decided she would go skiing the coming weekend. "If I take it easy and go with a friend, maybe I can get past being scared," she thought.

Adventurous Skunk

Skylar is the most unique skunk you will ever meet. She wears pink skirts and likes to sky dive. Her favorite color is pink. If you ask her why she likes to sky dive she will simply say "I like the wind in my face." Skylar likes the wind in her face so much that she also ice skates, water skis, and scuba dives. She isn't scared of anything.

I asked Skylar why she scuba dives because you can't feel the wind in your face under water. She just smiled and simply said "I like the water in my face, as long as I have my mask on, it feels good on my whiskers."

I asked Skylar how she learned to do these types of sports. She told me she has been interested in ice skating since she was in preschool. As she got older she began to water ski and scuba dive. "I only started sky diving last year after I finished high school," she said.

I asked her where she gets the money to pay for these sports. She told me she works two jobs. She sells biscuits and other breads at the bakery during the day. At night she makes computer desks and sells them to furniture stores.

Skylar works hard and she plays hard too. I told her to have fun and be careful.

Initial SL Blends by Syllable

sleigh bells

slalom course

sledgehammer

sleeping bag

sleepwalking

slide trombone

slow motion

slow moving

sluggishness

Medial SL Blends by Syllable

cross legged

purposeless

super slide

translation

wrestling camp

wrestling coach

wrestling match

wrestling team

dislocation

legislation

legislative

Final SL Blends by Syllable

blood vessel

Initial SL Phrases and Sentences

light sleep

shirt sleeve

playground slide

toy slingshot

fuzzy slippers

dog slobber

He went fast downhill on his sled.

Sleep on the couch for a nap.

He fixed the sleeve under his coat.

He went fast down the slide.

His mom let him play with a slingshot.

She left her fuzzy slippers on the couch

I hope the dog doesn't slobber on me.

Sloths hang upside down in trees.

Drive slow, children are playing.

Medial SL Phrases and Sentences

fast asleep

race bobsled

dogsled race

big mudslide

quiet ski slope

English translator

loud whistling

They fell asleep on the couch.

Bobsled is a sporting event.

The dogsled team was out in front.

Stay far away from the mudslide.

He was excited to get on the ski slope.

Our translator speaks 4 languages.

He is whistling at the car.

The boys are in the championship wrestling match.

Final SL Phrases and Sentences

tiny blood vessel

vitamin capsule

kings castle

ancient fossil

big missile

You can see the blood vessel on her eyelid.

She prefers to take a vitamin capsule.

The castle is on top of a cliff.

The fossil is of a fish.

He will get tackled if he doesn't hustle.

The truck has a missile on the back.

The sumo's are starting to wrestle.

SL Reading Paragraphs

Dogsled racing.

I have a dog named Sylvester but we call him Sly for short. When we wrestle he likes to lick and slobber on me. We compete in dogsled races.

Dogsled races are hard work and we don't sleep much when we train for them. We don't go slow, we hustle...for many days. Some days it is hard not to fall asleep on the trail.

I talk to Sly through words and whistling. Dogsled races can be dangerous. One time we almost got caught in a mudslide and another time I pulled a muscle and needed help from another dogsled team. 

Sly and I help each other though. He is my best friend.

A Spy in Pajamas

My friend Sloan sleeps a lot. He told me about a crazy dream he had yesterday. In the dream he was a spy. He was being chased by bad guys on sleds down a ski slope. He had taken an expensive bracelet and destroyed the bad guys' castle. The bad guys were launching missiles at him and trying to slow him down.

When Sloan reached for something to defend himself, all he could find was a slingshot. He fired rocks from the slingshot as fast as he could. The bad guys began to laugh at him. Not because of the slingshot, but because Sloan was doing all of this wearing pajamas and pink bunny slippers.

Sloan didn't care though.

He remembered he had a special capsule that could help him. He reached up his sleeve, grabbed the capsule and ate it.

A few seconds after he ate the capsule, Sloan was invisible. The bad guys couldn't see him. Just as he was about to escape, he woke up. It was a funny dream. 

Initial SM Blends by Syllable

smoke screen

smart aleck

smelling salts

smoke chase

smoke jumper

smorgasbord

Medial SM Blends by Syllable

businessman

Christmas card

Christmas Eve

Christmas tree

first baseman

locksmith shop

second baseman

silversmith

third baseman

embarrassment

junior classman

lower classman

senior classman

upper classman

Initial SM Phrases and Sentences

smash glass

happy smile

black smoke

smooth rocks

fruit smoothie

He feels small next to him.

She is a very smart girl.

He didn't mean to smash the window.

He stopped to smell the flower.

She has a beautiful smile.

Many large cities have smog.

The smoke was high in the sky.

The black rocks are smooth.

Would you like a drink of my smoothie?

Medial SM Phrases and Sentences

empty basement

tool making blacksmith

important businessman

favorite classmate

skilled first baseman

nice locksmith

square placemat

He does laundry in his basement.

The blacksmith makes old-fashioned swords.

The businessman had many important meetings.

She sells Christmas trees.

Sue was her favorite classmate.

The first baseman caught the fly ball.

The locksmith is fixing it.

I will put my food on the placemat.

SM Reading Paragraphs

Smart locksmith.

Smitty is a clever businessman. He is smart, a smooth dealmaker, and always smells like pizza. Some people might not like that but since I love pizza, it's o.k. with me.

I am a locksmith and Smitty is the person I order parts from. When people break, smash, or ruin their door handles or locks, they call me. There are thousands of different types of locks and handles, but Smitty knows all of them. That's why I think he is so clever.

He and I were classmates at Smith High School and have worked together for 10 years now. He always answers my questions and has just the right locksmith tools and products I need to help my customers. I have wondered if he has a secret locksmith lab in his basement. That way he can be around locksmith parts and tools all the time.

When I asked him how he knew so much he smiled and said he was given a book at Christmas 10 years ago. The title of the book was "Everything You Need to Know About Locksmithing". "It isn't a small book," he said. He has learned everything he knows from that book.

Of course, he still has to be smart and remember the information in it, and being a smooth salesman helps too. There is a lot to be learned from reading. I should start reading some of the books I have in my basement.

Dumb Robber

As the policeman looked at the crime seen he saw some clues. The robber who had broken into the house was not that smart. He had smashed the window to unlock the door. But the door wasn't locked. The handle had just been replaced by the locksmith and didn't have a lock on it.

Then the robber had made himself a smoothie and left fingerprints all over the blender, the glass he drank the smoothie out of, and the placemat he had put the smoothie on. The robber even spilled some of the smoothie on the ground, stepped in it, and left footprints in the kitchen. Now the policeman had fingerprints and a shoe size.

The policeman followed the footprints past the Christmas tree. The robber had knocked some of the ornaments off so the policeman could tell that he went down the stairs to the basement. The home owner was a businessman who worked out of his basement office.

When he reached the basement, the policeman could smell some of the smoothie so he knew the robber had been there. The policeman looked around the basement. There were pictures of the home owner playing baseball. Judging by the pictures the policeman thought that the home owner was a first baseman.

The policeman saw a small ashtray on the home owner's desk. It looked like the robber had smoked while he was in the basement which would give the policeman more evidence to catch him. "This will be an easy case to solve," he thought, as he walked back upstairs. 

Initial SN Blends by Syllable

snake charmer

snowball fight

snow blower

snapping beetle

snapping turtle

Initial SN Phrases and Sentences

healthy snack

green snake

snap in half

going to sneeze

use snorkel

cold snowman

She is eating a midnight snack.

The snail has a hard shell.

The snake in the grass made me jump.

He showed us how to snap the pencil.

Allergies made him sneeze a lot.

He would snore loudly during his nap.

He uses the snorkel to breath under water.

The pig put his snout through the fence.

We will make a snowman this winter.

SN Reading Paragraphs

Sneezing and snacking.

Sometimes I snore at night. I sneeze a lot too. I can't help it. My wife told me to go see a doctor, but I haven't yet and I'll tell you why. I love midnight snacks too much.

Before my snoring and sneezing problem I would have to sneak out of bed at night to go to the kitchen. My wife is a light sleeper and I woke her up a lot. When she did she would get a little snippy with me, so I had to be more careful.

There was one night that my daughter caught me eating my snack in the kitchen. I asked her to go back to bed. The next day she snitched on me and my wife said eating midnight snacks can be unhealthy if you eat bad food. I told her I eat healthy food and she said it was o.k. then.

Don't get me wrong, I love my wife, and I love to sleep, but I get to see a lot of cool things at midnight too. Since eating snacks at midnight I have seen a snake in our yard, snow storms, and one night I watched a snowplow run into a snowman in my neighbor's yard. I was surprised that I didn't wake everyone up because I was laughing so hard. My neighbor is kind of a snob, so I thought it was funny it happened to him.

I will go see the doctor about my snoring and sneezing some day. There are too many fun things about having a midnight snack that I don't want to give up. I just hope my wife doesn't get sneaky and make a doctor's appointment for me.

My friend Terri plays the snare drum in her band. The band's name is "Snakebite". Terri told me that the band's guitar player was bit by a snake when he was a teenager and wanted to name a band after it.

When I went to listen to them play I started to snooze. They were good, but I didn't like their style of music. When Terri asked me how I liked their sound, I told her she played the snare drum well. She knew I was being sneaky and asked what I really thought.

I told her that I had fallen asleep during their song. "I thought I heard someone snoring during the song," she said. "You all play really well, it just isn't my type of music," I said. "Next time I listen I will have to bring some snacks to help me stay awake."

The guitar player heard me talking to Terri and snickered "You wouldn't know good music if it sneezed on you."

"I think you sound great," I told him. "I just don't like the type of music you play. I think Snakebite is going to be very successful." He apologized and told me that I was a nice guy and that he liked my sneakers. Then he gave me a firm hand shake and snapped his fingers. "We'll remember you when we're famous," he said. 

Initial SP Blends by Syllable

space heater

space station

Spanish rice

speed limit

spelling bee

spinal cord

sponsorship

sporting goods

sportsmanship

sportswriter

spectacular

speech therapist

speech therapy

speedometer

spider monkey

spinal column

spiral notebook

spontaneous

Special Olympics

specialization

specifically

specification

Medial SP Blends by Syllable

Shakespeare

loudspeaker

mispronounce

outer space

transparent

correspondence

desperation

disposition

inspiration

perspiration

respectable

respiration

responsible

tablespoonful

unspeakable

hospitality

indisputable

irresponsibly

respiratory

inspirationally

respectability

responsibility

Initial SP Phrases and Sentences

speeding car

spill juice

green spinach

spooky night

silver spoon

play sports

It would be amazing to go into space.

The police chased the speeding car.

The spider waited for flies in the web.

Don't spill on the carpet.

Spinach is very healthy for you.

She squeezed the water out of the sponge.

The graveyard was spooky at night.

I eat cereal with a spoon.

You can choose to play many sports.

Medial SP Phrases and Sentences

asparagus stalk

crispy chicken

disposable dishes

high-speed train

big hospital

blue passport

brown suspenders

one tablespoon

whisper softly

I eat my asparagus steamed.

They made crispy chicken.

It's easier to clean with disposable dishes.

She was riding on a high-speed train.

We are going to the hospital tonight.

You must have your passport to enter.

He wears suspenders instead of a belt.

The recipe says to use one tablespoon.

She whispered into the girl's ear.

SP Reading Paragraphs

My friend spring.

Her parents named her Spring because she is happy despite what is going on in her life. Spring loves to eat asparagus and go to the spa. She spends most of her time studying space because she wants to be an astronaut. Either that or she wants to be in the hospitality business.

I have known her for one year, but Spring and I have only been on one date. We have spent a lot of time together during the last year. She speaks softly but is confident. She is an amazing cook and loves to eat spicy food. She uses spices I have never even heard of. She chews spearmint gum and likes spooky things, especially at Halloween.

She and I met in a speech therapy class in college. We have had many of the same classes and spent time doing homework, studying for tests, and working on class projects together. She is amazing at spelling. In addition to taking college classes, Spring volunteers for Special Olympics. She is inspiring to watch. As a coach, she sparks happiness in people even when they are really sad.

Spring also likes to speed when she drives. Don't tell her I told you though. I told her she is special to me and that I don't want her to get hurt. I think she respects my opinion. I told her I would spy on her to make sure she slows down. She just laughed and said she will try and be better.

Sports Crazy

Spike is a sports nut. Some people might say he is a sports lunatic. He knows specific statistics about almost every baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, hockey, tennis, rugby, and cricket game that has been played in the last 6 years. The first basketball game he watched sparked his interest. From that time on, he has almost become a specialist in most sports and their players.

I think he should be a sports writer. If he had it his way, he would eat spoonfuls of sports for breakfast. When I told him that he responded by saying "They might be a little crispy!"

Recently, he has become more interested in motor sports like car, motorcycle, and speedboat racing. A few months ago he was changing spark plugs in his car. He realized there were sports that use machines and he didn't know anything about them. Since then he has spent every day watching and researching motor sports.

He spends a lot of time and money learning about sports. That way he can speak to others about them and answer questions they might have. Some people have asked him to speculate about what teams or drivers will win so they can bet on them. Spike won't do that though. He says he has too much respect for sports to "sell them out". 

Initial ST Blends by Syllable

stateswoman

stepbrother

stepping stone

stomach ache

storm cellar

storm warning

storm window

study group

station master

station wagon

Medial ST Blends by Syllable

bus station

distinguish

gas station

outstanding

post office

question mark

consistency

constitution

establishment

grocery store

interesting

investigate

misunderstand

pessimistic

questionable

solar system

superstition

T.V. station

understanding

United States

constituency

investigative

unquestionable

Final ST Blends by Syllable

hornet's nest

pathologist

psychologist

ventriloquist

audiologist

cardiologist

ophthalmologist

Initial ST Phrases and Sentences

bright star

juicy steak

stir around

sore stomach

clothing store

I see more than one star.

The steak is on the grill.

The gum on my shoe is too sticky.

I need to stir to soup.

His stomach was sore from the pain.

Always stop when you see the sign.

It was their favorite store to shop at.

It was a big lightning storm.

Mom read a story to her son.

Medial ST Phrases and Sentences

at the bus stop

busted criminal

bamboo chopsticks

Halloween costume

red lipstick

old postcard

ask a question

rusty metal

long yardstick

The man waited at the bus stop.

The man was busted for theft.

His chopsticks were made from bamboo.

He wore a costume to the party.

She is putting on red lipstick.

Send us a postcard when you get there.

She raised her hand to ask a question.

The rusty containers were in the field.

A yardstick is 3 feet long.

Final ST Phrases and Sentences

eat breakfast

dentist visit

dressed man

thick forest

green toothpaste

I love bacon, eggs, and orange juice for breakfast.

His chest is muscular.

I went to the dentist for a check-up.

He was dressed for work.

You can tell that the horse is fast.

Many trees are in the forest.

There are eggs in the nest.

Toothpaste will help keep your teeth clean.

He is holding his wrist.

ST Reading Paragraphs

Spicy chinese.

Stan's stomach began to ache from eating spicy Chinese food. It started about 2 hours after he finished lunch. He used chopsticks so he wouldn't eat too fast but the food was catching up to him.

He stopped at the store on the way home from work because his chest was burning. He hoped that he could find something to help stop the burning.The antacid pills he bought didn't cost too much, especially if they would help.

It was starting to storm outside and Stan thought it would be a good night to stay in and relax on the couch with his favorite book "Stewart Little". He had plans to make steak for dinner, but he chose something lighter since his stomach was bothering him. When he got home he walked up the stairs to his bedroom and dressed in his most comfortable lounge clothes.

After changing and eating a light dinner Stan tuned his stereo to some classical music, sat down, and started to read his book. He read for about an hour and decided to stop and go to bed. He had thought about eating his leftover Chinese food for breakfast in the morning but he quickly changed his mind. The storm had passed and everything outside was still. Stan drifted off to sleep.

Running Stars

Steve and Dusty were the fastest runners on the high school track team. No one messed with them. Last August the both ran the longest races and finished in first and second place.

One time, someone asked them the question "How did you become such good runners?" Both of them had different statements. Steve said "I follow a constant and consistent training program and meal plan. I use a stopwatch to time my speed every race and I try to beat that speed everytime."

Dusty said "I run stairs everyday in the football stadium for thirty minutes without stopping. I can run long distances because I have established endurance in my lungs and muscles."

A woman came from the TV station wanted to ask them more questions like when they started running and how they became interested in it. Steve said "My grandpa told me stories about himself when he was a runner and that is what interested me in it." Dusty said "When I was a middle school student, I was always restless at night. I started falling asleep during the day. Running helped me stay calm, stop being anxious, and go to sleep. If I felt restless, I would go on a short run, and afterward, I would go right to sleep at night."

The woman from the TV station told them they were fantastic runners and wished them good luck on their next race. Steve and Dusty thanked the woman and headed to the shoe store to buy some new running shoes. 

Initial SW Blends by Syllable

sweat gland

sweat pants

sweat shirt

sweet tooth

Swiss cheese

swimming hole

swimming pool

swinging bridge

swinging door

Switzerland

sweet and sour

Initial SW Phrases and Sentences

dripping sweat

red sweater

The swan is a beautiful bird.

His shirt is covered in sweat.

She will buy the red sweater.

Their mom asked them to sweep up the leaves.

The dessert tasted very sweet.

He likes to swim in the lake.

She likes to swing at the playground.

Swipe your card to pay for it.

She will switch the light off.

SW Reading Paragraphs

Swap meet switch.

The swap meet was every Saturday at 10 a.m. Sweeney looked forward to the swap meet, there were so many fun and new things to see there.

Last week he had seen a swan with 4 ducklings and the week before that he saw a swarm of bees which was a little scary.

In the past, he had eaten sweet and sour chicken with Swiss cheese, bought a new swimming suit, and found the perfect broom for sweeping his floor at home.

During breakfast Sweeney was reading the newspaper and saw a new swap meet that was in town. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Two swap meets?" he thought. He wondered if he should switch which swap meet he went to.

He nervously searched the advertisement to see what time the second swap meet happened. His hands began to sweat. The newspaper said the second swap meet was on Saturdays at 2 p.m.

"Sweet!" said Sweeney. He knew exactly what to do. He would simply go to both swap meets! For a moment, Sweeney had thought he might have to switch which swap meet he would go too. He was so happy that he could go to both of them.

To celebrate he went into his room and put on his swap meet sweater and danced to his favorite Swedish music, both of which he had bought at a swap meet.

Sweet Birds

Have you ever met a swan or a swallow that loves sweets? There is a lake by our house that we go swimming in all the time.

Last week we were getting ready to eat lunch. We had brought ham sandwiches with Swiss cheese that were made from sweetbread and some sweets, chocolate cake and licorice. We began eating.

Just then a big white swan flew over by us. Then a tiny swallow flew down and landed on the ground by the blanket we were eating on. Both of them walked right up to the cake and stuck their beaks in it.

I swiped the cake away from them but they only switched their position to the other side of the blanket where I had put the cake.

I swatted at the swan. It didn't bother him and he just kept eating. I swatted at the swallow. He flew away from me but quickly came back to eating the cake.

I was working so hard to get the swan and the swallow away from our sweets that I began to sweat. I had never seen a swan or swallow with such a strong sweet tooth.

I worried that my wrists would be swollen from swatting at the birds so much. Luckily they weren't. Next time we go swimming at the lake I think I'll leave our sweets at home.

This list of functional words was professionally selected to be the most useful for a child or adult who has difficulty with producing the "S" sound.

We encourage you to use this list when practicing at home.

Home practice will make progress toward meeting individual language goals much faster.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are only able to see students/clients 30-60 mins (or less) per week.

This is not enough time  for your child to overcome an articulation disorder with the "S" sound. But with high caseloads...

...it's all SLPs can do.

There's  only so much time  in the day.

Every day that your child goes without practice  it becomes more and more difficult  to correct an "S" error because he/she continues to say it incorrectly. 

We know life is busy , but if you're reading this you're probably someone who cares about helping their loved one as much as you can.

Practice 5-10 minutes whenever you can, but try to do it on a consistent basis (daily).

Please, please, please use this list to practice.

It will be a great benefit to you and your loved one's progress.

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100+ Initial GR Word Blends for Speech Therapy with Word Lists

Are you a speech therapist or parent looking for initial gr words for speech therapy to practice with your child or student? Then this blog is just what you need! It has over 100 initial gr words that will help strengthen your child or student’s /gr/ sound. 

Initial GR Words Speech Therapy

Speech therapy is an invaluable service that provides support and intervention for individuals facing challenges with speech and language development. We often see challenges with consonant blends, and words starting with ‘GR’ are frequently found to be difficult for adults and children to pronounce correctly. 

In this post, we will cover the importance of the ‘GR sound, as well as techniques, tools, resources and activities to help strengthen the GR sounds. To make your therapy planning easier, we have created 25 GR flashcards, a word list of over 100 GR words, phrases and sentences as well as an engaging freebie to practice the GR sound!

Key Takeaways

• Speech therapy services can help individuals struggling with GR sounds.
• Customized therapy techniques increase confidence and speech proficiency.
• Interactive tools and activities contribute to successful speech development.

Consonant Blends and Clusters

Consonant blends, also known as consonant clusters, are groups of two or more consonants that are pronounced together, with each letter keeping its sound.  

The “GR” sound is a common initial consonant blend found in the English language, which includes words like “great” and “ground”. Mastery of these blends is crucial for clear articulation.

Progression and Complexity

As SLPs, we recognize the importance of a structured approach to speech therapy that integrates progression and complexity thoughtfully. We aim to facilitate speech development from the earliest stages through to more complex speech patterns.

Early Intervention and Speech Development

Early intervention is crucial for laying the groundwork in speech therapy. By engaging with simple words and r blends early on, children are better positioned to progress in their speech development. We start with simple, easily imitable sounds and words, which helps with speech intelligibility . 

For example, we might introduce words like ‘soup’ or ‘sun’ to enhance the child’s ability to produce s-blends.

From Simple to Complex: Structuring Therapy

As children master simple words and sounds, we introduce the next level of complexity. Our complexity approach suggests that moving on to more challenging sounds, like z words , prompts greater improvements. Here’s how we can structure therapy to transition from simple to complex:

• Initial Mastery: Focus on mastering simple words and phrases.
• Next Step: Introduce slightly more complex words, using familiar sounds.
• Ongoing Progression: Gradually increase the difficulty, ensuring the therapy remains approachable.
• Different Words: We incrementally introduce a variety of words to enrich the child’s vocabulary.
• Speech Intelligibility: As the child’s vocabulary grows, we aim to refine clarity and fluency.

Implementing Speech Therapy in Various Settings

Diverse settings demand tailored approaches to meet the unique needs of individuals. Let us explore how GR Words Speech Therapy can be effectively implemented in both school and home environments.

School-Based Speech Therapy

In the school setting, we focus on integrating speech therapy within the educational framework. For 1st grade students, speech therapy activities are often woven into engaging games that promote articulation and language development. Within middle school , therapy might address more complex linguistic skills and work within social studies class or other subject areas to support curriculum understanding.

Special education services often include small group sessions, allowing us to provide targeted interventions. These small groups are advantageous for practicing communication skills in a socially interactive environment. 

Home Speech Therapy Practices

Our approach to home speech therapy underlines the critical role that a familiar environment plays in reinforcing a child’s speech progress. By creating a consistent routine at home, we empower parents to implement strategies that complement the work done in more formal settings.

At home, speech therapy can involve daily exercises that promote correct articulation, boosting the child’s confidence. We provide parents with specialized tools and advice for creating a supportive speech development environment. For instance, engagement in story reading can enhance vocabulary and narrative skills.

Key Home-Based Strategies :

• Routine : Establishing a daily practice schedule.
• Materials : Utilizing provided tools for exercises.
• Reinforcement : Praising efforts to encourage progress.

By addressing the unique demands of both school and home settings, we ensure that our speech therapy services are comprehensive and effective, suiting a range of individual needs and situations.

Speech Therapy Techniques

Incorporating games and interactive activities.

Engagement during therapy sessions is crucial, and to this end, we can use different games and interactive activities to keep our clients motivated. Below our word lists, we have listed free TPT resources for you to use when practicing GR consonant blends! 

Interactive Game Examples:

• Boom Cards: digital, interactive flashcards
• Board Games: customized with our target word lists
• Computer Games: for real-time feedback and rewards

Articulation Therapy Strategies

For articulation therapy, we adopt a structured approach from word level to sentence level practice.

• Word Level: Use of flash cards to practice specific sounds.
• Sentence Level: Incorporation of carrier phrases to blend sounds into speech.

Example Articulation Exercise:

• Flash Card Word Level: “green”
• Flash Card Phrase: “green shirt”
• Flashcard Sentence: “He is wearing a green shirt.”
• Carrier Phrase: “I see a _____.”

We aim to help clients produce accurate phonemes in various contexts, gradually increasing the difficulty as their proficiency improves. 

<<Check out our 25 ‘GR’ Articulation Flashcards Here! <<

In addressing speech impediments, we can employ a variety of targeted therapy techniques that are effective at various levels of language learning, from simple words to more complex sentences. We love using word lists in our speech therapy sessions, and we have included a free and engaging word/phrase/sentences level freebie below, as well as 100+ GR words to use in your articulation therapy sessions.

Target Words

Here’s a list of Initial GR articulation sounds for you to use in therapy or at home practice to work on your student or child’s new skill.

• 1 Syllable:  green, grace, gram, grow, great, graph, ground, grey, grand, grape, group, grain, grant, grove, grade, greed, groom, groove, greek, growl, grim, grid, grief, grin, grown, grave, growth, grad, grill, grip, Greece, grasp, groan, gross, grease, grab, grate, grze, grit, grime, grub, grunt, greet
• 2 Syllable:  grandma, graham, gracious, greatest, grunge, grammar, grandpa, Gracie, graphite, granny, greatness, gravy, growing, grinder, grapple, griffin, greasy, graveyard, groovy, greetings, graphics, greeting, grinning, grouchy, grievance, grenade, grieving, grooming, groggy, grimace, gravel, griddle, grading, graphing, growling, grazing, gruesome, grooving
• 3 Syllable:  gravity, graduate, graffiti, graceful, Gregory, grandparents, groundbreaking, grasshopper, groceries, grandmother, granola, grandchildren, grapefruit, grapevine, grandmaster, grandfather, grateful, gravestone
• 4 Syllable:  graduation, gracefully, gradient

Use of Word Lists

We often utilize word lists that include blend words, phrases and blend words at sentence level as well as words of increasing complexity. These lists help us systematically approach articulation therapy at the word level and sentence level . For instance:

• Blend Words : green, grandma, grass
• Phrases: “ green shirt”, “cut the grass”
• Sentence Level : “He wears a green shirt”, “He cut the grass”

Creating structured lists allows us to progressively challenge our clients, adhering to the complexity approach which says that that working with more complex sounds can generalize to simpler ones.

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

Short sentences or phrases.

When working on initial gr sound production, it’s important to work on short phrases once your child or student has mastered the sound at the word level at or near 80% or higher accuracy.

Here is a list of initial gr word phrases to try:

Initial GR Words Speech Therapy in Phrases

Sentence Level: Initial GR Words Speech Therapy

The next step after working at the word and phrase levels is to work on the initial gr sound at the sentence level.

For example, you could give your child or student a list of sentences to read aloud while they work on their initial gr sound. 

Another idea would be to give your child or student pictures with their initial gr sound in them and then have them create a sentence about those pictures.

Below is a list of sentences to use with your child or students.

Initial GR Words Speech Therapy in Sentences

SEE ALSO: Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

Speech therapy tools and resources.

At Speech Therapy Store, our focus is on providing speech-language pathologists with materials that enhance therapy sessions, digital resources for versatile intervention, and engaging games and exercises to support speech development.

Including Inclusive Materials for Diverse Needs

It is important to recognize that a “one size fits all” approach does not suffice when addressing the unique challenges of our diverse clientele. Including differentiated comprehensive K-12 strategies are fundamental in our resources, allowing us to support students at different educational levels. For instance, using real-life photos for articulation therapy is one way to align with early education up to senior high school curricula, ensuring relevance and engagement.

For clients requiring support with foreign language articulation, resources can incorporate phonetic patterns and practice drills that not only include English sounds but also common phonemes found in other languages.

In special education , personalization is crucial. Speech therapy services can emphasize the use of adaptive materials such as picture cards, simplified text, and voice output communication aids to support a spectrum of learners.

Using tailored approaches ensures that each individual receives the respectful consideration of their personal learning style and educational requirements. Through our deliberate effort to be inclusive, we strive to assist our clients in overcoming their speech and communication challenges, equipping them with the skills needed for everyday interactions and long-term success.

Speech-Language Pathologist Materials

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) require a variety of materials tailored to address specific speech patterns, like the ‘GR’ blends. Here are some things we recommend having at your articulation therapy session:

• Physical Cards: With large thumbnails providing visual cues.
• Activities that offer Instant Feedback: To students when practicing different sounds.
• Printables: Essential for in-person sessions, offering tangible interaction. Check out Speech Combo Dice Game by Just Peachy Speechy with Jenn is an engaging dice roll game with 6 R blends, including GR!
• Progress Trackers: Charts and logs are invaluable for monitoring improvements. You won’t want to miss the Articulation Production Tracker by The Speech Bubble SLP which will help you track 100 trials.

Digital Speech Therapy Resources

In the age of technology, digital speech therapy resources are a great way to supplement traditional methods.

• Software and Apps: Offering a range of exercises that can be used for remote play and provide instant feedback.
• Online Platforms: These allow for interactive activities and can be accessed from anywhere, making them a convenient option for SLPs and their students. For example, here is a list of free articulation games to use online.
• Reinforcement Games: Are a great way to work on any articulation sound while having fun. For example, check out our complete list of 21 reinforcement games including games like connect four and battleship.
• Computer Games are a great way to get your student engaged with the GR sound, but also receive immediate rewards and real time feedback. 

Here are some we recommend!

• Quia R Blends – GR and KR by Mrs. Place on Quia is a fun memory matching computer game that practices the R blends GR and KR
• Quia Initial GR Concentration by Kathy Woidtke on Quia is an engaging concentration game. Have students say the target sound Gr Word as they find pairs.
• Build A GR Monster by Pink Cat Games is an engaging game to play with students on the computer while they practice GR articulation.

Key Advantages:

• Flexibility: Can be accessed on various devices.
• Engagement: Interactive elements keep students interested in their exercises.

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

Speech Therapy Games and Exercises

Incorporating games into therapy is the best way to keep students engaged while learning new speech patterns.

• Articulation Game: A fun approach that encourages students to produce different sounds correctly in a playful environment. For example, Pirate Articulation: R-Blends by School SLP is a great freebie that comes with 5 engaging worksheets to practice GR and other R blends.
• Role-Playing Exercises: Students practice real-life conversations that incorporate challenging sounds and blends. For example, you could use our wh-question section while the articulation flash cards. Simply scroll up to find those flash cards.
• Board Games: Encourage turn-taking and use of specific phonemes. For example, R blends (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, tr, pr) CONNECT 4: digital/PPT version by old sol new world is a fun, digital connect 4 game to practice GR articulation! 
• Online Puzzles: These can be used as a fun reinforcement game for parcticing different articulation sounds. For example, watch how to use the picture reveal game here to work on any articulation sound.
• Boom Cards: Boom cards are another fun and engaging way to strengthen your child or student’s articulation skills.

Here are a few favorite boom cards to work on the initial gr sounds: 

• Break The Ice – Maze Game for r-blends Freebie by The Speech Banana TPT is a fun way to practice the consonant sound blend GR with engaging clip art pictures. Students will break the ice to reveal target sound blends to practice! 
• FREE Build-a-Pet R-Blend BOOM Cards™️ by Creative Speech Lab is a highly rated boom card set to practice 18 different R blends, including GR sounds. 
• Articulation Game – FREEBIE! R Blends – Don’t Set Off The Bomb PPT & Boom Card by Little Speech Shop is an engaging boom bard and powerpoint slide game that is engaging and fun!

In Conclusion: Initial GR Words Speech Therapy

We hope you have found this article helpful for working on your child or student’s initial GR sound. 

Be sure to grab your freebie of 20 words to start practicing 5 minutes a day!

<< Click Here to Grab Your Free Initial GR Words Lists! >>

Grab our initial gr words list, frequently asked questions.

In this section, we address common inquiries about utilizing GR blend words in speech therapy, providing practical resources, activities, and strategies.

How can I find printable worksheets to practice GR blend words in speech therapy?

We often recommend visiting educational websites that specialize in speech therapy resources. These sites frequently offer a variety of printable worksheets designed to enhance pronunciation and recognition of GR blend words.

Where can I locate a comprehensive list of GR blend words for use in speech therapy sessions?

Our go-to is our speech therapy articulation lists that provide extensive word lists. These lists categorize words by blends and are perfect for structuring sessions around GR sounds.

What are some engaging activities that incorporate GR blend words for children’s speech therapy?

We create games like ‘GR bingo’ or ‘GR word fishing’ to make learning fun. Interactive activities like these help children practice GR blends in an enjoyable and memorable way.

Can you suggest methods to help a child pronounce GR blend words correctly?

We suggest repetitive practice with a focus on the initial ‘GR’ sound. Using mirrors to visualize lip movement or recording and playing back the child’s pronunciation are also effective methods.

What are effective sentence-building exercises using GR blend words for speech development?

We support the use of sentence completion tasks where a child is given a sentence with a missing GR word, or picture-based sentence creation to enhance their comprehension and construction of sentences using GR blends.

How could I use visuals, like pictures, to reinforce the learning of GR word blends?

We advocate for incorporating flashcards with images that represent GR words and asking the child to identify and articulate the word. This visual association can significantly aid in the retention of correct pronunciation.

Want Even More Initial GR Words Speech Therapy?

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Speech is Beautiful

Enhancing Multisyllabic Skills in Speech Therapy: A Must-Have Resource for Spanish-Speaking Students

Products in Action · Speech Therapy

Spanish is a multisyllabic language

When students who speak Spanish struggle to string syllables together, it impacts their intelligibility quite a bit. My Spanish Multisyllabic Words Puzzles resource was created with Spanish-speaking students in mind. This resource is intended for EL students and for students in special education who work with an SLP. If you enjoy this resource and want even more check out the following resources:

• Spanish Phonology Minimal Pairs Puzzles
• 60 PUZZLES – Palabras Compuestas – Compound Words in Spanish — Print and Go!
• 67 PUZZLES – Sinónimos – Synonyms in Spanish — Print and Go!
• 54 PUZZLES – Antónimos – Antonyms in Spanish — Print and Go!
• 52 PUZZLES – Modismos – Idioms in Spanish — Print and Go!

Your Spanish-speaking students are sure to enjoy this resource. And as a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), you’re going to LOVE  how it supports students’ multisyllabic goals. This resource provides great visuals for students to see and think about how to link up syllables to make words. It is a hands-on activity of cutting out the puzzle pieces and putting them back together. Your students will be actively engaged in creating multisyllabic words. 

The Spanish language is full of two and three-syllable words which is why this resource is so crucial. It supports your students struggling to produce these words. With 21 pages of two-syllable word puzzles and 25 pages of three-syllable word puzzles, you’ll have plenty of practice for your speech therapy sessions!

Using this activity is easy. Simply download the desired pages, print, and begin! I suggest copying on card stock and cutting the pieces you intend to use session after session/year after year yourself so that they can be laminated and reused. Using the puzzles in therapy sessions, as homework practice, and as a warm-up or wrap-up game are just a few options when you can use this resource. 

Puzzles are Easy and Fun!

These Spanish Multisyllabic Word Puzzles are a valuable tool for Spanish-speaking students who struggle with stringing syllables together. Designed with ELL students and those in special education in mind, this resource provides support for students’ multisyllabic goals. When students master the production of multi-syllabic words, it improves their intelligibility. The wide range of puzzles included offers a variety of ways for students to practice and expand their language skills. The emphasis is on two and three-syllable words is important because they are abundant in the Spanish language. Whether used in therapy sessions, as homework practice, or as a warm-up or wrap-up game, this resource provides a versatile and effective way to support Spanish-speaking students’ language development.

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• Learning Color Names in Spanish and English: Red Flags for Learning Disabilities
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• Spanish Articulation Phonology Screener

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The Method Behind Trump’s Mistruths

A close examination of every public word from the former president during a crucial week of his campaign.

By Angelo Fichera

Since the beginning of his political career, Donald J. Trump has misled, mischaracterized, dissembled, exaggerated and, at times, flatly lied. His flawed statements about the border, the economy, the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 election have formed the bedrock of his 2024 campaign.

Though his penchant for bending the truth, sometimes to the breaking point, has been well documented , a close study of how he does so reveals a kind of technique to his dishonesty: a set of recurring rhetorical moves with which Mr. Trump fuels his popularity among his supporters.

In the week starting with Mr. Trump’s victory speech in Iowa through his win in the New Hampshire primary — the contests that put him on the path to becoming his party’s nominee for the third consecutive time — The New York Times analyzed all of his public statements, including speeches, interviews and social media posts.

His words focused heavily on attacking his political rivals, self-aggrandizing and stoking fear to make his case for 2024. In doing so, Mr. Trump often relied on repeated falsehoods and half-truths. He has yet to deviate from this approach in the general election.

Here’s a look at how he does it.

He grossly distorts his opponents’ records and proposals to make them sound unreasonable.

Trump Presidential Campaign via C-span

Atkinson, N.H., rally, Jan. 16, 2024

While Joe Biden is pushing the largest tax hike in American history – you know, he wants to quadruple your taxes .

President Biden has not proposed quadrupling taxes. In fact, he has consistently vowed not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000.

Sean Hannity interview, Jan. 22, 2024

I mean, what he’s doing with energy with an all-electric mandate, where you won’t be able to buy any other form of car in a very short period of time .

Mr. Biden has not implemented an electric car mandate. The administration has announced rules that would limit tailpipe emissions from cars and light trucks, effectively requiring automakers to sell more electric vehicles and hybrids. It doesn’t ban gas cars.

Truth Social, Jan. 16, 2024

Nikki Haley, who hung in against Mr. Trump until Super Tuesday, did not raise the issue of the gas tax in South Carolina and rebuffed calls to do so as a stand-alone measure. She said in 2015 that she would support raising the gas tax — by 10 cents, over three years — only if lawmakers agreed to reduce the income tax rate to 5 percent, from 7 percent, and made changes to the state’s Department of Transportation.

He exaggerates and twists the facts to make his record sound better than it is.

Newsmax via Youtube

Newsmax interview, Jan. 21, 2024

And think of it, for four years we had no terror problem .

There were in fact terrorist attacks in the United States during the Trump administration. In 2017, to name one, a native of Uzbekistan plowed a pickup truck down a bike path in Manhattan, killing eight people. The Justice Department said the driver, Sayfullo Saipov, carried out the terrorist attack in the name of ISIS.

We had the best economy. We had no inflation .

The economy wasn’t the “best” under Mr. Trump. Even setting aside Covid, the average growth rate was lower under Mr. Trump than under former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. And inflation was low , but it wasn’t nonexistent.

Hannity interview, Jan. 18, 2024

We had gasoline at $1. 87 .

The national average price of a gallon of gasoline dropped to that price during one week amid the Covid lockdown in 2020, when demand was extraordinarily low. But when Mr. Trump left office in January 2021, the national average was $2.42.

He relies on both well-worn and fresh claims of election rigging to suggest he can lose only if his opponents cheat.

RSBN via Youtube

Portsmouth, N.H., rally, Jan. 17, 2024

The radical-left Democrats rigged the presidential election of 2020, and we’re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election of 2024 .

The 2020 election was not rigged. Mr. Trump has uttered hundreds of inaccurate claims to support the false claim that it was — mischaracterizing voting processes, citing baseless cases of supposed fraud and sharing conspiracy theories about voting machines.

As you know, Nikki Haley in particular is counting on the Democrats and liberals to infiltrate your Republican primary .

Registered Democrats were not able to vote in the New Hampshire Republican primary. The contest was open to registered Republicans and independents. Any Democrats who switched parties or re-registered as independents to vote in the Republican primary — and some did — had to do so before an October 2023 deadline, months before the contest.

Laconia, N.H., rally, Jan. 22, 2024

The Republicans went up to vote and none of the machines were working. This was not good. But of course, they said, Well, this was just the way it goes. You know, thousands of people were not allowed to vote. But she, uh, she’s a great person, and she’s going to be a U.S. senator very soon. Kari Lake .

The claim that “thousands” of voters were blocked from casting their ballots in Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election — at the expense of Mr. Trump’s preferred candidate, Ms. Lake — is false. There were some glitches in Maricopa County , but voters were largely able to cast their votes.

He has turned his criminal cases into a rallying cry, baselessly asserting that he is being persecuted by his successor.

Fox interview with Bret Baier, Jan. 20, 2024

These are all Biden indictments .

Mr. Trump has not offered any evidence for his contention that Mr. Biden has orchestrated the criminal charges against him. Two of his four cases were brought at the state level. At the federal level, Mr. Trump’s criminal charges — in relation to his effort to remain in power after losing the 2020 election and, separately, over his retention of classified documents after leaving office — are handled by a special counsel and were put before grand juries.

I’ve been indicted more than Alphonse Capone .

Mr. Trump has been indicted four times. Mr. Capone was indicted at least six times, according to A. Brad Schwartz, a historian and biographer of the infamous gangster.

He makes unverifiable claims about what the world would have been like had he secured a second term.

Concord, N.H., rally, Jan. 19, 2024

We wouldn’t have Russia attacking Ukraine. We wouldn’t have inflation. We wouldn’t have the attack on Israel .

There is no evidence that these events wouldn’t or couldn’t have occurred had the 2020 election outcome been different — and it’s impossible to prove. But experts say the context surrounding those events render his claims highly questionable .

China had a crash yesterday in their stock market. You know why? Because I won Iowa .

There is no proof that China’s stock market woes were related to Mr. Trump’s victory in the Iowa caucuses.

He describes the United States as a nation in ruins.

We are a nation that screens its citizens viciously at all ports. But if you are an illegal alien, you’re allowed to flow through our country with no check whatsoever .

Undocumented immigrants caught crossing the border are processed, whether they are returned to other countries or later released into the country awaiting future proceedings.

Manchester, N.H., rally, Jan. 20, 2024

And now we are a nation that wants to make our revered and very powerful Army tanks – the best anywhere in the world – all electric .

There are no plans to make Army tanks all electric.

We are a third-world nation .

This is, of course, false.

We are no longer energy independent or energy dominant as we were just a few short years ago .

Energy production — including oil and gas — has boomed under President Biden. Under both administrations, the United States has been a net exporter of petroleum and natural gas, but it still relies on imports.

I don’t know what it is with Catholics, but the F.B.I. is going after Catholics .

Mr. Trump’s claim is most likely based on an F.B.I. field office memo that warned of the potential for extremism among adherents of a “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology. But the memo was withdrawn and repeatedly condemned by the nation’s top law enforcement officials.

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Our Coverage of the 2024 Presidential Election

News and Analysis

President Biden  and Democrats  seized on a ruling by Arizona’s highest court upholding an 1864 law  that bans nearly all abortions, setting up a fierce political fight over the issue.

By the time his first term was over, Donald Trump had cemented his place as the most anti-abortion president in U.S. history. Now, he’s trying to change that reputation .

Allies of Trump are discussing ways to elevate third-party candidates  in battleground states to divert votes away from Biden.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, more voters identified as Democrats than Republicans. But four years into Biden’s presidency, that gap has shrunk .

Protests over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza are disrupting the activities of Democratic officials, complicating their ability to campaign during a pivotal election year .

For all Trump’s populist rhetoric in 2016, his presidency proved to be business-friendly. But Trump and those around him are signaling that a second term would be different .

It’s usually a given that Republicans will win voters 65 and over, but that’s not the case in this election. Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, explains Biden’s strength among seniors .

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The Real Reason Elon Musk Is Throwing a Tantrum About 'Free Speech' in Brazil

E lon Musk being awarded the Defense Order of Merit medal as he shakes hands with Brazil’s then-president Jair Bolsonaro, in Porto Feliz, Brazil on May 20, 2022.

Elon Musk spent the weekend embroiled in a war of words with the government of Brazil, which has reportedly opened an investigation into the X owner’s refusal to police misinformation on the social media site. And while Musk insists the battle is all about “free speech,” that argument falls apart pretty quickly when you remember all the times the tech CEO has bowed to the will of authoritarian governments.

Brazil’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes, an ally of current left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reportedly ordered X to suspend some accounts in the country in recent days as part of an investigation into last year’s coup attempt by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, who tweeted a 2022 video of himself with Musk on Saturday , lost his re-election campaign in late 2022 and hundreds of his followers stormed federal buildings on January 8, 2023 , in an effort to allow the former president to remain in power. There’s currently an investigation into what role Bolsonaro played in the coup attempt after he falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in the election, taking a page out of former president Donald Trump’s playbook.

Musk has called the order to suspend some X accounts in Brazil “aggressive censorship,” while vowing to disobey the court because, “principles matter more than profit.” The billionaire pledged to shutter the company’s Brazilian offices rather than censor the accounts and has made hyperbolic claims about what’s actually happening.

“These are the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!” Musk tweeted on Sunday.

That assertion is, of course, absurd on its face when you remember X isn’t even allowed to operate in China—a country where Musk has made big investments with Tesla. And anyone who knows the history of Musk’s acquiescence to various authoritarians from China to Turkey to India will recognize he doesn’t put up a similar fight when similarly censorious governments want to prohibit speech.

For officials in Brazil, it’s about pushing back against a far-right movement that’s quite literally tried to overthrow the government. Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias criticized Musk’s claims about the suppression of speech by pointing out that billionaires who live in other countries shouldn’t control social media platforms that spread misinformation in Brazil.

“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities,” Messias wrote Sunday on X according to an English language translation.

What does Musk have to say about government requests for censorship in countries where he’s seeking to open a new Tesla plant or launch SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet? The common refrain is that Musk is just following local laws, as you can see in the examples from our slideshow.

Musk in Turkey

Musk first met Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2017 and the billionaire’s company SpaceX has had contracts with Turkey to launch satellites since at least 2021 . But Musk’s courting of Erdogan really kicked into high gear in 2023 when it was revealed Turkey was among the top candidates for Tesla’s next factory .

“Which one do you want?”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, talks with Elon Musk, right, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, prior to their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017.

Musk defended the decision to censor tweets critical of Erdogan before Turkey’s election in 2023 after liberal commentator Matthew Yglesias pointed out the hypocrisy.

“Did your brain fall out of your head, Yglesias? The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?” Musk tweeted at the time .

Obviously, that’s not what Musk said over the weekend about efforts to censor tweets in Brazil, a country where there are no indications Musk is trying to build a Tesla plant.

Cozy With China

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (L) speaks as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang listens during a meeting at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on January 9, 2019.

Musk has refused to criticize China, where he does an enormous amount of business, despite the fact that X is banned in the country. Chinese officials even praised Musk’s suggestion in 2022 that Beijing take control of Taiwan .

“I would like to thank @elonmusk for his call for peace across the Taiwan Strait and his idea about establishing a special administrative zone for Taiwan. Actually, Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems are our basic principles for resolving the Taiwan question and the best approach to realizing national reunification,” Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. tweeted .

Musk has told X users in Brazil to just use a VPN if the social media site gets blocked in the country, a solution he’s never raised for people in China. In fact, Musk himself doesn’t even tweet when he’s in China until he’s on the plane home .

“If we don’t obey local government laws, we will get shut down.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) meets with Elon Musk (L) in New York, United States on June 20, 2023.

X censored accounts in India at the order of the Modi government in February , blocking at least 120 people, according to the Guardian . And Musk’s closeness to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has centralized power as an authoritarian, is almost certainly the reason X just follows along.

“I am a fan of Modi,” Musk said in June 2023 after a meeting with the nationalist leader.

Musk has repeatedly made excuses for why he obeys censorship demands from India. To hear the billionaire tell it, his hands are simply tied.

“Twitter doesn’t have a choice but to obey local governments. If we don’t obey local government laws, we will get shut down,” Musk said last year, according to the Business Standard .

Musk Is Too Busy to Care About Censorship in India

When Musk was called out for censoring a BBC documentary that was critical of Modi in India last year, Musk tried to suggest he was too busy to care.

“First I’ve heard. It is not possible for me to fix every aspect of Twitter worldwide overnight, while still running Tesla and SpaceX, among other things,” Musk wrote .

Oddly enough, Musk is only too busy to know about it when authoritarians are asking for censorship. Left-wing governments in Brazil seem to get his full attention.

Musk and Trump World

Jared Kushner and Elon Musk look on during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022, in Lusail City, Qatar.

Musk has also had close ties to people in Donald Trump’s orbit, even meeting with the former president in Florida recently . Musk later said it was a chance meeting when he was having dinner with a friend, but Musk’s proximity to folks like Jared Kushner, seen in the photo above as the two men watched a soccer match in Qatar, has raised plenty of eyebrows.

It’s notable, of course, that X was in the process of banning all mentions of rival social media networks when he was meeting with Kushner, a move that was even controversial among the most die-hard Musk fans.

Musk and Trump Butt Heads

Elon Musk in an undated photo from the Oval Office that was shared by Donald Trump on Truth Social.

Musk has even invited Trump back to X, after the former president was banned from the platform after the coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021. But Musk’s relationship with Trump has been admittedly fraught, even when they’re working toward the same goals.

“When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it,” Trump wrote in July 2022 .

For the latest news, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

Zach Edey, Dan Hurley exchange words in first half of Purdue-UConn NCAA championship game

UConn coach Dan Hurley is never one to conceal his emotions in the heat of competition, a trait that has come to define him just as much as his overwhelming success with the Huskies the past two seasons.

In his team’s national championship game Monday against Purdue at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, that zeal went beyond the referees and to an opposing player. And not just any opposing player.

REQUIRED READING: LIVE: Purdue vs. UConn score updates, highlights in Final Four championship game

With about seven minutes remaining in the first half and with the teams tied at 23, Boilermakers star center Zach Edey set what Hurley thought was an illegal screen to free up teammate Braden Smith at the top of the key.

During the ensuing media timeout, Hurley came out on the court near the spot of the pick to argue the call, but he did so as Edey passed by on his walk back to the Purdue huddle. The reigning two-time national player of the year said something to Hurley , who turned his head and fired back at Edey.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA tournament brackets, scores, schedules, teams and more.

The 7-foot-4 Edey had been a source of ire for Hurley in the game’s early stages. At one point in the first half, Hurley yelled at officials about Edey, pointing to the Toronto native on the bench and saying, “He’s pushing us!”

At least some of the frustration from the newly minted Naismith Coach of the Year had to do with Edey’s effective play against the Huskies. In the opening 14:03 of the game, Edey had 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

In the leadup to the title game, Hurley was highly complimentary of Edey , going as far to say as he is the best college basketball player he has ever seen.

Edey and Purdue are seeking to win the first national championship in program history while UConn is aiming to become the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

Trump calls migrants 'animals,' intensifying focus on illegal immigration

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Taiwan, China can resolve differences, ex-president says after meeting Xi

Taiwan and China can peacefully resolve their differences, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on Thursday after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture and history.

Russia launched a "counter-terrorist operation" in parts of the city of Nalchik and in the Cherek district of its southern Kabardino-Balkaria region on Thursday, the RIA news agency cited local authorities as saying.