speech therapy vowel word lists

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400+ Vowels for Speech Therapy Practice

As promised here are the words for your unlimited use .

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Agriculture

Albuquerque

tear (from your eye)

SEE ALSO:   The Best Free App for Speech Therapy

indifferent

instructions

interrogate

Optometrist

Opthamologist

bow (as in bow tie)

otolaryngologist

SEE ALSO:   The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

underestimate

unrehearsed

unbelieveable

Uzebekistan

outstanding

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

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

Doing home practice will help your child make much faster progress toward correct production.

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 difficulty producing vowels. 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 mispronounced vowels 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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This advice-column-style blog for SLPs was authored by Pam  Marshalla  from 2006 to 2015, the archives of which can be explored here. Use the extensive keywords list found in the right-hand column (on mobile: at the bottom of the page) to browse specific topics, or use the search feature to locate specific words or phrases throughout the entire blog.

Teaching Vowels

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My client cannot produce some of the short vowels and I am having a terrible time teaching them to him. He cannot get his tongue in the right positions. Any suggestions?

The problem we have teaching the vowels is that most of us have been training to think that it is all about tongue position.  Tongue position is important when adults differentiate their vowels.  But when children are learning all the vowels in infancy, it is the jaw that makes the difference and allows all the vowels to come in.  Therefore I focus on jaw position when teaching any of the vowels.

The basic way I teach all the vowels is to build them off the high front vowel and the high back vowel.  That’s Long E (as in “eat”) and Long Oo (as in “school”).

Front Vowels

• Start by having the client produce Long E (assuming he can).  Exaggerate it with a big smile.
• Then have the client lower and elevate his jaw while he holds his tongue in the exaggerated E position.
• As the jaw goes slowly up-and-down the vertical scale (from top to bottom), he should “hit” every front vowel. This is because the tongue is in the same position and jaw height is what brings the vowels in.
• Then teach the client to hear every front vowel that occurs as the jaw elevates and depresses. This is ear training.
• Teach the client that the jaw going up and down is like a train traveling on a track.  Each vowel along the way is a different stop.  The client has to learn where to stop, and he has to learn to hear the front vowel that occurs when he stops at each point.

Back Vowels

• Start by having the client produce Long Oo (assuming he can).  Make sure the lips are very round (puckered).
• Then have the client lower and elevate his jaw while he holds his mouth in the exaggerated Oo position.
• As the jaw goes slowly up-and-down the vertical scale (from top to bottom), he should “hit” every back vowel.  This is because the mouth is in the same position and jaw height is what brings the vowels in.
• Then teach the client to hear every back vowel that occurs as the jaw elevates and depresses. This is ear training.
• Teach the client that the jaw going up and down is like a train traveling on a track.  Each vowel along the way is a different stop.  The client has to learn where to stop, and he has to learn to hear each back vowel that occurs when he stops at each point.

19 thoughts on “Teaching Vowels”

I work with a child who presents with severe apraxia (7 years old) and is just beginning to expand his phonetic repertoire and CV, VC, CVCV combinations He is able to produce several short vowels and long vowel /o/ I cannot elicit a long /e/ which is so important in developing his core functional vocabulary Any suggestions? Thanks so much

Melanie- The info I gave above on the front vowels would be my answer again. Have him hit and hold a Long E, then hole that tongue position while lowering the jaw one millimeter at a time until you hear /e/.

When working on vowels that involve lip rounding (and with lip rounding in general), what are some ways to elicite lip rounding when the client cannot do so. I am working with a 6 yo client with a mild CP that demonstrates a very weak pucker. For more background, during blowing activities there is very little breath support and his tongue always escapes through his lips. His lips do not come forward, and his tongue continuously elevates up and therefore produces what sounds like /n/. Any suggestions? Lip rounding is a major struggle here!!

The easiest most direct way to get the lips to round is to use resistance. Pull the lips back starting at midline and stretching them to the corners and back into the cheeks. Tell the lint, “I am pulling your lips back. You push them forward.” You are putting a slow stretch on the orbicular otis, and you are encouraging it to contract (to pucker).

I have a client who produces a long “I” sound for the long “A” sound. This is such a subtle difference and so hard to teach. Any advice? He just turned 5. Thanks!

Research shows that the vowels are learned relative to one another. In other words, don’t just try to teach that one vowel, teach them all. Work on all of them in isolation and teach your client to hear the difference between them.

But the “Long I” and the “Long A’ are diphthongs (2 vowels in sequence) so teach all the diphthongs relative to one another. Slow them down considerably so your client can hear the differences and similarities.

Also use minimal pairs with I and A— “Bye” vs. “Bay” and so forth.

My son just turned 5 and consistently turns the short-a in words like “man, can, Sam,” into a long-a words akin to “main, cane, same,” etc. He can differentiate between all these words but doesn’t know how to pronounce them with a short-a sound. It is primarily in words with an “a” followed by an “n” or “m.” He can say “cat,” etc. without any issue. How can I help him?

I am working with a student, age 5, who pronounces both /o/ and /u/ vowels with a tense tongue/throat, so they end up sounding distorted. She already rounds her lips. The /o/ vowel is most similar to the French pronunciation of “u”, as in rounded lips but saying /i/. Sometimes her lips deviate to the right as well when making these vowels only, but not all the time. In isolation, when asked to round her lips they move symmetrically. We’ve already tried facilitating contexts, shaping from other vowels (e.g. start with /a/ then slowly close jaw and round lips), feedback about relaxing tongue and throat, placement cues to make sure her tongue tip is not touching anything, and my pronouncing them both ways and having her try to hear the difference/mimic mine. Any suggestions?

Does anyone have advice on how to elicit /ool/ such as in school, fool and tool?

You might be interested in the small section on this blog about “L” therapy: https://pammarshalla.com/tag/l-therapy/

Advice for “ah” for short “e” productions. Ex) Rad (rahd)/Red, Tan (tahn)Ten, Bad/Bed. Thanks!

Did you get any advice? I have a student doing the exact opposite!

Hi, I have a child with learning difficulties and a rare syndrome who produces ‘e’ as ‘a’ (U.K) short sounds. advice please for getting ‘e’ as single sound?

I have a client who has an apraxia diagnosis; third grade with AAC system. She is able to produce all vowels in context except for high/front vowels. This tends to impact her intelligibility quite a bit. Any recommendations for how to elicit these vowels to increase intelligibility for functional words?

I would love some suggestions to help a student of mine who is 7 and uses “eh” for “ay” like “bay” becomes “beh.” I have tried going up and down the vowel diagram with high, mid and low aswell as front to back. But no such luck! I was trying to think of any consonants that I could pair it with. For now, we will keep working on auditory discrimination activities!

I have a student who I suspect has apraxia. He uses /h/prior to vowel production when the vowel is in the initial position of a word. He does not do this when it is naturally preceeded by a consonant. Any suggestions on how to eliminate this? We have tried a hard onset of the vowel sounds to no avail.

I’m working with a client who produces the “a’ as in pan, as “o” as in pot. Any tips on eliciting the short “a” sound?

I’m working with a student with severe apraxia that produces /ng/ for the /i/ (long “e”) sound. Any tips on how to elicit the /i/ sound? Thanks!

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Welcome to our practice pages for vowels in General American English (GenAm). Here, you will find word lists for each vowel sound in American English to help improve pronunciation. Each vowel sound practice page contains the following.

• 25 one-syllable words
• 18 phrases with a repeated occurrence
• 18 phrases with a single occurrence
• 10 sentences with a repeated occurrence
• 10 sentences with a single occurrence

For more information on the vowel sounds in GenAm, check out my book,  Speaking With an American Accent: A Guide to General American English Pronunciation , and our  vowel lists on Teachers Pay Teachers .

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 Word Lists

1000's of words for speech therapy practice, at your fingertips.

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To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

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*This product contains the same activities as the PDF version. If you would like the PDF version, view   Wh- Questions & Short Stories, Auditory Comprehension .

To use Boom Cards, you   must   be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.   If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.   Read here for details:   http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Sentence Comprehension & Language Comprehension

Improve sentence comprehension, language and reading comprehension, and picture comprehension with 4 activities and over 125 prompts for speech therapy or classrooms! Target comprehending, receptive language, and more.

This resource includes   4 different ways to practice sentence comprehension , including wh questions, pictures, fill in the blanks, and more. Real photos are included in this resource.

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How to Teach Vowel Sounds

When Vowels Typically Emerge Vowels are typically the first sounds that emerge from our precious little ones and most often not a concern. Starting around 2 months babies begin to “coo” making sounds in the back of their mouth like “ah-ah-ah” and “oh-oh-oh.” By 6 months they have progressed to babbling which involves making sounds with the tongue and the front of the mouth like, “da-da-da-da” and “ma-ma-ma-ma.” At 10-12 months the anxiously awaited first real words will typically make their debut.

What if My Child Doesn’t Say Their Vowels? But what happens when your child doesn’t follow this developmental sequence? What if your child never really babbled or cooed? What if your child has difficulty even producing the vowels, has very few words if any or is highly unintelligible? If this is the case there is likely something more going on and you should see a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for a speech and language evaluation.

The Speech Pathologist will assess the child to see if they can determine the cause of the delay. Difficulty with the production of vowels may be due to a number of things, including hearing loss, a cognitive deficit, or a motor speech disorder like Apraxia or dysarthria. Knowing the cause of the delay will help the SLP as she works with the parents to create a treatment plan.

Teach the Early Vowels First (uh, ah, ee, oo and oh) So if it is determined that your child produces only a few vowels, or is inconsistent with their vowel productions teaching vowel sounds is a good place to start.

To teach the vowel sounds start with the 5 earliest developing vowels uh, ah, ee, oo and oh. Modeling these vowels with hand cues is a great way to provide more visual feedback and help teach the vowels. I’ve linked a helpful video below of Pam Marshalla, an SLP and expert in motor speech disorders demonstrating the hand cues she uses to teach these vowels.

Click here to watch the video “Pam’s Place Cues – Vowels”

Teach Diphthongs From the Early Vowels (I, ou, oye and you) As you saw in the video, once the first five vowels are mastered use them to teach the diphthongs I or eye, ou, oye, and you. For example, to teach “I” or “eye” start with a short “ah” vowel and follow it with a long “ee” vowel. As the “ah” transitions into the “ee” the tongue naturally glides creating the y sound between the two vowels ultimately producing our desired vowel diphthong or the word “I” or “eye.”

Finish with the Short Vowels You can use hand cues to teach the short vowels as well (“i” as in kiss, “e” as in pet, “a” as in bat, “oo” as in book, and “ah” as in caught ).

In the video Pam uses the ASL alphabet signs for these but you can make up any signs you’d like. She uses the sign language sign for “i” as a cue for the short i, the sign for “e” as a cue for the short e, the sign for “a” as a cue for the short a, the sign for “u” as a cue for the “oo” as in book, and finally the sign for “c” as a cue for the “ah” vowel.

From High Vowels to Low Vowels Another way to teach the vowels is to shape them from the “ee” and the “oo” if the kids have already mastered these. When the “ee” is said the tongue is at its highest position as you lower the tongue just slightly it is now in the correct position for saying the short “i” sound. When you lower it a little more it is in position for the long “a” sound, a little lower and you can say the short “e” sound and even lower you can say the short “a” sound.

Below you can see the Vowel Diagram (or Quadrilateral) showing the North American English Vowel Placement. You can download the “Vowel Quadrilateral” diagram on the free downloads page.

If you start with the “oo” vowel and then lower the tongue just slightly you can say the “oo” (as in book), a little lower you can say the long “o” sound (as in boat), even lower you can say the “ah” vowel.

Teaching Vowels With Visual Feedback If you watch closely you can see the jaw drop just slightly each time a lower vowel is said. Sometimes this is enough and if it works with the child, perfect, you can move on.

If you need more visual feedback and you want to get a clear visual representation of high and low vowels and the relationship between the vowels Vowel Viz , an app by Complete Speech is an innovative speech mapping tool that displays vowel production in real-time and is available for the iPhone and iPad. It is an amazing tool for teaching vowels and shaping vowels and diphthongs from other vowels.

Here’s the tutorial video for VowelViz for more details on how the app works:

Creating Words From Vowels Meaningful communication should be our goal with these kids that have few, if any words or are highly unintelligible. So I want to share with you these word strips I created for 8 words you can teach from vowel sounds alone that you can download and practice with your child.

Download the vowel word strips on the free downloads page.

If you’re like me, every new word your child says is cause for a celebration, especially when we as parents have to wait an exceptionally long time for those words to come!

If you are still waiting for those first words, and the vowels have been difficult in coming, work with your SLP together and try some of these techniques, including the 8 words from the word strips included above.

Best of luck working on these super fun vowel sounds and remember to be patient and always make it fun. You can do it!

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* RESOURCES INDEX

This is the RESOURCES INDEX.

Scroll down for child speech assessment and intervention resources, and CPD links, articles and information.

The intervention resources include Singleton Consonant and Consonant Cluster pictures, Vowel pictures and vowel contrasts, Consonant Minimal Pair pictures, Near Minimal Pair pictures, and wordlists and worksheets based around facilitative articulatory contexts, nonlinear phonology, complexity principles and lexical properties.

There are also Slide Shows about the assessment of, and evidence-based intervention for, children's speech sound disorders.

Assessment Resources

• Child Speech Assessment Resources On this page you will find the ALPHA Test of Phonology; Clinically Useful Words; Speech Characteristics Rating Form; Stimulability Assessment; The Locke Speech Perception - Speech Production Task;The Quick Screener and The Quick Vowel Screener; and The Quick Screener for Teachers.
• Decision Tree: Which Treatment Approach to Use? - 1-page pdf A flow chart from Peter Flipsen Jr PhD.
• Phonological Awareness Tests: Roslyn Neilson Roslyn Neilson PhD has researched and developed three tests of phonological awareness. The tests may be administered by speech pathologists, psychologists and teachers.
• Phonotactic Assessment Prompt - 1-page pdf A 1-page pdf to aid phonotactic assessment.

CPD - Links, Articles, Resources

• Continuing Professional Development Resources Alphabetical list of linked resources referred to in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events with Caroline Bowen
• Metalinguistic Cues and Imagery handout

These are links to the page that contains the forms. Go to the page and scroll down to find the ALPHA, Quick Screener, SCRF, and Stimulability forms.

• ALPHA Test of Phonology Forms
• Quick Screener Assessment Forms
• Speech Characteristics Rating Form
• Stimulability Assessment Form

These are links to the pages that contain the pictures, not direct links to the pictures themselves. Click on the links below and scroll to the foot of the page to locate two sets of Einstein pictures and two versions of the Adele Miccio Character Cards for Stimulability Therapy, updated in 2012.

• Miccio Character Cards for Stimulability Intervention

Slide Shows

These are links to the pages that contain the slide shows, not direct links to the slide shows themselves.

• Adult Communicative Styles and Encouraging Reticent Children to Converse This slide show is at the foot of the page.
• Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing and Integral Stimulation (Look at me for help) This slide show is immediately under the picture at the top of the page.
• How Jessica Learned to Say 'Yellow' (You're a star, Jessica!) See Backward Chaining near the bottom of the page.
• How Max Learned to say "Leura Public" See Successive Approximations at the bottom of the page.
• Josie and PACT Therapy This slide show is under the heading "Slide Show and Web Page"
• Many Repeats - Drill For Beginning Beginners 'to make the words easy to say' (Andrew Bear; Andrew Bear and Boo) These two slide shows are are near the bottom of the page.
• Metalinguistic Cues and Imagery slide show This slide show is at the bottom of the page with a handout too.
• Minimal Pairs - Oh boy! It's a test! This slide show is under heading #4.
• Modelling and Recasting / Frequent Recasting These three slide shows are at the foot of the page.
• Non-speech Oral Motor Exercises and Other Controversial Practices in Children's Speech Sound Disorders This slide show is at the foot of the page.
• PACT Summary and Examples of Multiple Exemplar Training activities This slide show is at the foot of the page.
• Revisions and Repairs - The Fixed-up-one Routine These two slide shows are under the heading "Slide Shows".
• Slide Show about Constructing and Administering the Locke Task See Locke Task
• The Quick Screener (Screening test of phonology) See "Quick Screener".
• Traditional Articulation Therapy This slide show is near the bottom of the page immediately before the second picture.
• Treatment Principles: Phonological Disorder, CAS; and the Principles of Motor Learning This slide show is near the top of the page, below the picture.
• The Quick Vowel Screener See "Quick Vowel Screener".

Can't open the ppsx slide shows? Go to Slide Show Help

These are links to the pages that contain the word lists, and except for #6 and #7, not direct links to the word lists themselves.

• Alveolars and high front vowels (word lists and pictures to use in intervention) These word lists under "Phonological Tendencies & Reduplication".
• Final fricatives, velars and voiceless stops with short vowels These word lists are under "Phonotactics - Syllable Structure"
• High Frequency /s/ SIWI and /s/ SFWF words These /s/ words are listed on the web page - you don't need to download a pdf.
• Peter Flipsen Jr's Listening Lists This pdf is under the heading "Listening Lists"
• Verbs, Nouns and Adjectives that Reside in Sparse Neighbourhoods (< 11 Neighbours) These word lists are at the end of the section headed "Lexical Properties"
• Word Lists for Focused Auditory Input, Phonological Intervention, and Articulation Therapy This is a direct link to the word lists page
• Minimal Pairs This is a direct link to the minimal pairs page

Worksheets; Pictures and Words

These are links to the pages that contain the work sheets, not direct links to the work sheets themselves. Each work sheet is a pdf.

• How to make a worksheet to upload to the Internet
• Worksheets: Consonants, Clusters, Vowels
• Worksheets: Complexity; Lexical Properties, Markedness, SSP, Phonotactics, Facilitative Contexts
• Worksheets: Contrasts; Minimal Pairs; Near Minimal Pairs
• Worksheets: Maximal Oppositions (Minimal Pairs)
• Worksheets: Revisions and Repairs and the fixed-up-one routine
• Worksheets: Within Word ("Medial") Consonants
• Worksheets: Long Words

Terminology Used in the Worksheets

Siwi, sfwf, wiww, sfw.

In the branch of Clinical Linguistics called clinical phonology, the abbreviations SIWI, SFWF, SIWW and SFWW are used to describe where sounds occur in spoken words.

• SIWI is "syllable initial word initial". In the word "ball", /b/ is SIWI.
• SFWF is "syllable final word final". In the word "rub" /b/ is SFWF.
• SIWW is "syllable initial within word". In the word "about" /b/ is SIWW.
• SFWW is "syllable final within word". In the word "tablet" /b/ is SFWW.

The terms are used to denote how the words are pronounced by an individual, not the way you spell them, or the way they "should" be pronounced. So, for example, when you break a word like "innocent" into syllables with regard to how you might spell it you get inn-o-cent. But when most speakers of English SAY the word it becomes (roughly!) ih-nu-sent so that the /n/ is SIWW (not SFWW as it would be if you said in-uh-sent).  Many speech-language pathologists / speech and language therapists use these abbreviations when they look at "phonotactics" (the patterns of vowels and consonants, or syllable shapes a child can produce) in detail, as part of a phonological analysis. The information is useful in choosing therapy targets and devising word lists for production practice and auditory bombardment (focused auditory input) when appropriate.

Place-Voice-Manner Chart

Consonants are classified in terms of their place of articulation , manner of articulation and voicing . The chart below is a PVM Chart showing the consonants of English. The voiced glide /w/ is included twice because it has two places of articulation, bilabial and velar. The glottal stop is also there because it occurs in some varieties of English.

Place of Articulation

Consonants are made by obstructing or constricting airflow at some point in the vocal tract. The point of obstruction or constriction is called the place of articulation. The ‘places’ of articulation are Bilabial, Labiodental, Interdental, Alveolar, Palatal, Velar and Glottal. Note that there are other classification systems that differ slightly.

Manner of Articulation

Consonants are classified in terms of their Place-Manner-Voice. The manner of articulation is the type of obstruction that occurs in the production of a particular consonant. The ‘manners’ of articulation are: Stop, Fricative, Affricate, Nasal, Liquid and Glide. The Stops, Fricatives and Affricates are termed obstruents, and the Nasals, Liquids, Glides, AND VOWELS are termed sonorants. The consonants /l/, /r/, /w/ and /j/ are also referred to as approximants.

There are more definitions in the glossary .

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Teaching CVC P Words (with Free Word Poster and Activity!)

Cvc p words: mastering simple phonics for early readers.

CVC words, or consonant-vowel-consonant words, such as cvc p words are fundamental building blocks in early literacy and language education. 

They consist of a short vowel sound sandwiched between two consonants, making them an ideal starting point for children beginning to read and spell. 

These simple structures not only reinforce the basic phonetic principles but also provide a clear and manageable way for young learners to practice blending sounds together to form a target word.

CVC P Words in Speech Therapy

In speech therapy, when focusing on CVC words that use ‘P’ as the initial or final consonant, we offer students a targeted approach to mastering a specific set of vocabulary. 

Words like ‘pack,’ ‘tap,’ ‘pipe,’ ‘chip’ and ‘pup’ allow learners to hear and understand the short vowel sounds in different contexts, which contributes to their phonemic awareness. 

In this blog, we will cover what a CVC word is, effective instruction for CVC P word as well as resource types for teaching CVC words. 

In addition, we have created an Initial and Final CVC ‘P’ word poster as well as a free cut and paste game to teach CVC P Words for you to add to your lesson plans. 

Key Takeaways

• CVC words aid in developing early reading and spelling skills.
• ‘P’ CVC words specifically help learners distinguish short vowel sounds.
• Teaching methods should engage students with interactive reading exercises.

Understanding CVC Words

CVC words are essential for early reading and building on letter sounds. They combine simple phonemic awareness with initial sound recognition. 

As speech-language pathologists, when teaching CVC ‘P’ words, we should focus on the structure, the role of short vowels and specifically how the letter “P” fits into the word.

Phonemic Awareness

First, to teach CVC words, we can build on a students understanding of Phonemic Awareness. 

• Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds – phonemes- in spoken word. 

We can start off by using engaging activities like flash cards, boom cards or a free printable phonics resources from tpt sellers to reinforce the understanding of these sounds. 

When teaching a P CVC sound, an effective strategy is to use labels or relevant words and pictures to enhance memory recall and identification of the “P” initial sound. 

Structure of CVC Words

Consonant-vowel-consonant ( CVC ) words have a straightforward structure: the initial consonant, followed by a short vowel, and ending with a final consonant. 

Here’s a table delineating the typical structure of CVC words:

In P CVC words , “P” takes the initial position, followed by one of the short vowels, and ending with another consonant to form a word like “pat.”

CVC words with the letter ‘P’ establish foundational phonetics for early readers by allowing them to understand simple yet critical sound structures.

Initial Sounds with Letter ‘P’

When we introduce young learners to the letter ‘P’, we focus on its position as the initial sound in CVC words. The letter ‘P’ provides a distinct burst of air that makes it a clear and recognizable phoneme. 

Here are examples of initial letter ‘P’ CVC words:

The starting ‘P’ sound is essential, as it sets the tone for the entire word. By emphasizing words that begin with ‘P’, we make use of sounds that feel familiar and engaging for learners.

Final Sounds with Letter P

It is also important to focus on ‘P’ in the final position of CVC words. 

Here are some examples of P in the final position

Below you will find our compiled word list of Initial and Final P CVC Words to practice with your students! 

Also, don’t forget to download our freebie at the end of this post to grab a CVC Word Poster, as well as a fun cut and paste game! 

SEE ALSO: 432+ Free Measurable IEP Goals

The role of short vowels in cvc words.

Short vowels are essential to CVC words; they occupy the central position and greatly determine the pronunciation of the entire word. 

For instance, the difference between “pat,” “pet,” and “pit” lies in the short vowels ‘a,’ ‘e,’ and ‘i’ respectively. 

We can introduce these short vowel sounds through various mediums like phonics posters , ensuring that learners can recognize and produce these pivotal sounds accurately. This lays the foundation for their ability to decode and construct countless consonant-vowel-consonant words .

Teaching CVC Words

When teaching CVC words, it’s essential to use strategies that enhance phonemic awareness, provide a variety of instructional materials, and incorporate fun, engaging activities. We want to offer students foundational skills so that reading is enjoyable!

Teaching the ‘P’ CVC Sound

To teach the ‘P’ CVC sound effectively, concentrate on blending the three individual sounds smoothly. Each of these words follows a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, allowing for straightforward and predictable pronunciation. We often incorporate silly words to make the learning process entertaining, which encourages the repetition needed to master the sounds.

We can also compare the ‘P’ sound to other continuous sounds like those made by the letters S, to highlight the difference between explosive and continuous phonemes. By associating the ‘P’ CVC sound with fun and relatable activities, we help students internalize the concept through playful interaction.

Here’s a brief activity outline we might use:

• Listen and Repeat: Hear the word and repeat it, focusing on the initial ‘P’ sound.
• Segment and Blend: Break the word down (e.g., /p/ /a/ /n/) and blend it back together.
• Silly Sentence Creation: Use a CVC word in a funny sentence, like “The pig in a wig did a jig.”

These strategies help us introduce and reinforce the CVC ‘P’ sound in an engaging and effective manner.

Effective Strategies

We begin by modeling how to sound out CVC words using teacher models and stress the importance of successive blending, ensuring our students can hear all the sounds and blend them together. 

We can also consistently practice phonemic awareness through listening games and repetition exercises. It’s valuable to collaborate with speech-language pathologists when available, to integrate techniques that support correct pronunciation and sound recognition.

Instructional Materials

We utilize a range of free printable phonics resources to support learning in a tangible way. 

For example, a P CVC poster can serve as a visual reminder of common CVC words starting with the letter P. 

We also recommend CVC word fluency decks and boom cards . These resources encourage independent practice and help students reinforce their skills at their own pace.

Engaging Activities

Some engaging activities might be playing CVC bingo or participating in a CVC match game, turning learning into a fun experience. Or using technology by using interactive whiteboards for group sorts or interactive games that captivate our students’ interest. Additionally, CVC word fluency decks can be gamified to create a competitive yet educational environment that stimulates engagement and learning.

By incorporating these strategies, materials, and activities, we create a comprehensive learning experience that helps students master CVC words efficiently and enjoyably.

SEE ALSO: 430+ Multi-Syllabic Word Lists Activity Bundle

Educational Resources

In this section, we offer a selection of educational resources suited for teaching and reinforcing CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) P words. 

These resources are tailored to support both printable and digital preferences so that both educators, parents and educators have access to these resources. 

Here at Speech Therapy Store, we want to make your planning easier, so we also have created a Free CVC P Words poster and activity for you to use! Simply scroll to the bottom of this post for our CVC P Words Free Printables! 

Printable Resources and Games

Flash Cards: To practice the letter P, use comprehensive flashcards! Feel free to cut our CVC P Words poster to create flashcards. We also recommend using flashcards that are clear and engaging for your students. A great way to do this is to have students color or trace a CVC word fluency deck. This will aid in understanding letter sounds and comprehension as well. 

Here are some other great resources and games to practice consonant-vowel-consonant words.

• Phonics Posters Tags: Alongside flash cards, provide phonics posters tags that can be printed and displayed in classrooms or study areas. These serve as constant learning aids for children. Feel free to download and print our P CVC Poster below!
• CVC Match Match Game: A printable game can be used to reinforce the recognition of CVC P words through a fun, interactive matching activity. It’s great for individual or small group play. If you are looking for a good match match game, Articulation Basket Game for Bilabials initial P, B, M using CV, CVCV and CVC by The Speech Coop is an engaging matching articulation CVC game! 
• CVC Bingo: CVC Bingo is another engaging printable game. It’s perfect for classroom settings or remote play, encouraging collaboration and social interaction among learners. Articulation Games CVC WORDS Make & Take BINGO, Speech Therapy Distance Learning by The Itinerant Clinician is a great bingo game to practice your CVC words with!
• Word Lists: We’ve curated specific word lists that focus on CVC P words. Teachers and parents can use these lists to create their own material or to guide their lessons. Check out our word list below!

Digital Tools and Apps

Interactive Digital Apps:

• CVC Words Interactive Game: An interactive digital tool that allows children to practice CVC P words in various contexts, enhancing their understanding and recall. We recommend using boom cards from your favorite TPT sellers, interactive whiteboards or a powerpoint slide to engage your students with digital resource types. If you are looking for a highly rated interactive game, FREE Boom Cards: Spring Speech Articulation Game (CVC SAMPLE) by Ausome speech is a spring themed CVC articulation game that students love!

SEE ALSO: The Best Handout for Phonological Processing

Practical Applications

In this section, we will focus on how CVC words can be integrated into learning environments like classrooms and homes for effective literacy development. By employing a combination of digital tools and hands-on activities, we can enhance the mastery of basic phonics skills necessary for reading.

Classroom Implementation

When we introduce CVC words in the classroom, it’s essential to use interactive whiteboards to display them. We can present the words with teacher models, allowing students to see clear examples. Our strategy may include a group sort activity, where students work together to categorize words, moving objects that represent different CVC words onto the correct section of the whiteboard.

For independent work , we encourage using flash cards . We can create a variety of simple words which students can practice reading and sorting individually. This not only reinforces their understanding of the word structure but also enables them to work at their own pace.

Home Practice and Support

To ensure consistent practice at home, we can provide parents with guidelines on how to use CVC flashcards effectively. We can also suggest activities where children move objects corresponding to flashcard words, linking physical action with their learning.

We also recommend establishing an email address where parents can reach out for additional resources or support. By maintaining open communication, we ensure that the practice of CVC words is both effective and aligned with our classroom methods.

Assessment and Progress Tracking

We recognize the importance of regular assessment and progress tracking when it comes to CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words mastery. By employing strategic evaluation methods and interactive tools, we can gauge our students’ understanding and growth.

Conducting A Running Record

Conducting a running record is essential for assessing how well students are learning CVC words. When we administer a running record, we typically follow these steps:

• Select a passage: Choose a text that contains a balanced mix of CVC words.
• Ask the student to read aloud: While the student reads, we note the errors and self-corrections they make using common token symbols like check marks and dots.
• Analyze the record: Then review the recording to determine the types of errors and the student’s error rate, accuracy rate, and self-correction rate.

Our goal is to identify if there are specific CVC words or sound patterns that cause consistent issues, allowing us to tailor our teaching approach accordingly.

Monitoring Student Engagement

Monitor student engagement through several approaches:

• Interactive Games: We leverage interactive games, such as Boom Cards, to measure real-time student responses. These games provide instant feedback and often include common CVC words, which help us to observe how students interact with different words in a fun setting.
• Independent Work Tracking: Observing students during independent work times, such as when they’re engaged in fun activities like matching games or phonics puzzles, helps us understand their proficiency with CVC words.
• Student Journals: Incorporating journals where students write down CVC words and sentences enhances our ability to track their progression over time.

When students appear more actively involved in these activities, it typically reflects a stronger grasp of CVC words and phonetic concepts.

<< Fill out the form below to grab your free CVC P Words Poster and Cut and Paste Activity! >>

Grab your cvc p words poster and activity, frequently asked questions.

In this section, we address some of the most common inquiries surrounding CVC words beginning with the initial sound /p/. Our aim is to provide clear, concise answers to enhance understanding and application of these phonics elements in educational settings.

What does CVC stand for in educational resources involving phonics?

CVC refers to the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern found in words. This pattern is a fundamental structure in early phonics learning, where children decode and encode simple words to build reading fluency.

How can initial /p/ CVC words be used to improve early reading skills?

Initial /p/ CVC words, such as ‘pat’ or ‘pen’, are excellent for teaching students the relationship between letters and sounds. Using these words, we can help learners recognize patterns, which facilitates the development of decoding skills crucial for reading.

What are some common three-letter CVC words that end with the letter ‘p’?

Common CVC words ending with ‘p’ include ‘cap’, ‘tap’, ‘lip’, ‘mop’, and ‘map’. These words are often among the first set of words that children learn to read due to their simple and consistent phonetic structure.

Can you provide five examples of CVC words that start with ‘p’?

Certainly. Five examples of CVC words that start with ‘p’ are ‘pat’, ‘pet’, ‘pig’, ‘pot’, and ‘pup’. These words help young readers grasp the sound that the letter ‘p’ makes at the beginning of words.

Which CVC words are typically taught first to beginners in reading?

For beginners in reading, CVC words such as ‘cat’, ‘dog’, ‘pen’, ‘top’, and ‘mud’ are often taught first. These words incorporate basic phonemes and simple patterns, providing a foundation for further phonics instruction.

How are CVC words useful in teaching basic writing and spelling?

CVC words aid in teaching writing and spelling by introducing straightforward patterns for learners to encode. These words allow us to demonstrate basic phonetic rules and give learners opportunities to practice spelling through simple, memorable words.

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Comprehensive Vocalic R Words List for Speech Therapy

While one of the most common sounds in the English language, the vocalic /r/ can be challenging to pronounce. 

This can be because it’s hard to understand what is happening with the mouth when it’s pronounced, it requires better muscle control and appears alongside vowels, requiring additional articulation skills. 

If your child struggles with this sound, they may substitute the /r/ sound with /w/, saying ‘fair-wee’ instead of ‘fairy’ or ‘here-wo’ instead of ‘hero’. As a result, they can appear younger than their peers and struggle to communicate effectively. 

In this article, we’ll be focusing on the /vocalic /r/ sound and sharing a list of /r/ words, phrases, and sentences that you can use in home speech therapy or as a resource to support your professional speech therapy practice. 

You’ll also learn which fun games and activities can provide extra practice, discover how to pronounce the sound effectively, and how the patented Forbrain headset can help. 

Word list: Vocalic /r/ word list 

Improving your child’s pronunciation of the vocalic /r/ sound at home can feel like a daunting task because of the many variations of this sound. 

However, if you can help them understand where this sound appears in real-life language and give them plenty of varied practice, you will soon see a difference. 

To help you out, we’ve created a comprehensive list of the most common vocalic /r/ sounds used in English. This includes words where this sound appears in the middle (medial vocalic /r/) or end (final vocalic /r/) of the word. 

Use this list as an easy reference or encourage your child to read through them for extra practice. 

What is the vocalic /r/ sound?

Before we introduce the list of words, let’s take a quick look at what this sound is. 

The vocalic /r/ sound is a type of /r/ that happens when the letter appears after one of the vowels; a, e, i, o, and u. 

For example, the /r/ at the beginning of the word ‘ripe’ is pronounced differently from the /r/ that appears at the end of the word ‘pour’. 

There are six of these combinations in English:

• [-ar] as in the word STAR
• [-er] as in the word GIRL
• [-air] as in the word FAIRY
• [-ear] as in the word FEAR 
• [-or] as in the word SWORD
• [-ire] as in the word FIRE 

Further vocalic /r/ sound practice using short phrases and sentences

Your child should now be able to pronounce the vocalic /r/ sound in isolation, even if it does take a certain amount of effort and focus. The key to actually mastering this sound is to provide them with plenty of practice, using the word lists we provided above and then moving on to short phrases and eventually sentences. 

By doing so, their fluency will significantly improve, they’ll grow in confidence and they’ll also learn how to use their new skills to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts. 

Here’s a short home speech therapy program to help you do exactly this, recommended by the team of experts at Forbrain. 

• Check that your child is articulating the vocalic /r/ sound correctly by working through the wordlist we shared earlier. If not, repeat the articulation exercises until they are reasonably comfortable. 
• Next, use carrier phrases to encourage them to use these words in real-life contexts. 
• Practice using short phrases and sentences for the vocalic /r/ sound. 
• Play child-friendly games and activities and read with your child
• Perfect their skills using our easy-to-use, scientifically proven Forbrain headset.

Carrier phrases

If you want to help your child use these vocalic /r/ words in everyday contexts and get plenty of practice, carrier phrases should be your go-to- speech therapy tool. Just choose a phrase, insert a vocalic /r/ word then practice saying it aloud. 

Considering that there are six variations of the vocalic /r/ sound, we recommend that you practice with at least three words from each category in the word list. 

Here are some of our favorite carrier phrases: 

• “I found a…”
• “I want a…”
• “He found a…”
• “She found a…”
• “I have a…”
• “He has a…”
• “She has a…”
• “I like to…”
• “He likes to…”

Put into practice, it looks like this:

• “I want POPCORN”
• “I like VAMPIRES
• “She has a SPIDER”
• “I see a MARBLE”
• “I found a STAR” 
• “He has CEREAL” 

Short phrases for the vocalic /r/ sound

Keep reading to find useful short phrases that include the vocalic /r/ sound in the middle or the end of the word. 

Use these with your child for extra practice and you’ll help them further improve their pronunciation of the /r/ sound. 

Short sentences for the vocalic /r/ sound

Let’s now take it up a level and start practicing those longer sentences that help further boost confidence, and fluency, and help your child use this sound comfortably in real-world contexts. 

As before, these include the vocalic /r/ sound in the middle and the end of the word. 

Games & Activities with Vocalic /r/ Sound Words 

The best way to learn anything is to make it fun! That’s why playing games and activities with your child is an excellent way to master those tricky speech sounds. 

By doing so, they’ll also grow in confidence and be more likely to want to keep practicing the vocalic /r/ sound. 

Below are some excellent vocalic /r/ sound games and activities that are sure to tick all the boxes and are ideal for use with the patented Forbrain headset.

Play the Roar! Game

The easiest way to practice that vocalic /r/ sound is to encourage your child to roar like a lion.  If you can, find a fun picture of a lion and together, produce an exaggerated /r/ sound then repeat as many times as you like. 

Play the Pretty Parrot Game

This game encourages your child to repeat the sound that they hear. Find a picture of a parrot or even a stuffed toy then place it in front of you. Next, print the list of vocalic /r/ words and cut them out so they become flashcards. 

Hold the cards in your hand and ask your child to pull one from the stack. If your child can’t read the word yet, read it for them and then encourage them to repeat it after you. Every time they get the word right, give them a small reward. 

Play the Lucky Dip Game

If you have the resources available, playing the Lucky Dip game can be a fun way to reinforce their learning and encourage accurate pronunciation. 

Find a box or basket and fill it with items that include the vocalic /r/ sound (check the word list above for ideas), or find free images online and print them out. 

Then cover the box or basket and encourage your child to put their hand inside and pull out an item or picture. When they pull an item or image, encourage them to name it, using the carrier phrase, “ I found a [insert word] ”. 

There’s perhaps no better way to improve overall language skills, spark your child’s imagination and strengthen your parent-child bond than reading a good book with your child. 

Find books that include the vocalic /r/ sound and you’ll reinforce the home speech therapy you’ve been doing and have fun at the same time. 

Read the books in our recommended vocalic /r/ sound list and encourage your child to repeat every /r/ word you come across for the best effect. 

• Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
• We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
• Clark The Shark by Bruce Hale
• Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

How to Pronounce the Vocalic /r/ Sounds

Understanding the difference between the ‘normal’ /r/ sound and the vocalic /r/ sound can be tricky because they often appear to be the same sound. 

However, to teach others how to articulate this sound correctly, we need to start by checking what happens with our mouth, airflow, tongue position, teeth alignment, and vocal cords beforehand. 

The vocalic /r/ sound is a voiced sound made primarily by lifting your tongue back and up allowing it to move towards the roof of your mouth. Then the air should pass from your lungs, and over your tongue while you allow your vocal cords to vibrate. 

Here is more specific guidance. 

Pronouncing the vocalic /r/ sound 

Let’s choose one of the words we shared in the /r/ word list above such as ‘dark’ then practice saying it aloud, repeating it several times. 

As you do so, pay close attention to the shape of your mouth and lips, where your tongue is positioned, how the air flows from your lungs, and whether your vocal cords are vibrating or not.

You’ll see that your vocal cords are indeed vibrating, your tongue is pulled back and towards the roof of your mouth, your lips are slightly rounded and the air passes through your mouth and lightly over your tongue. 

Additionally, you’ll see just why it can be so hard for children to articulate this sound. Not only do they need to have excellent control over their tongue position, lips, and airflow but it’s very difficult to see how the sound is made from the outside. 

Despite this fact, most children can master this sound anywhere between three and nine years of age after they have mastered the ‘normal’ /r/ sound. If problems do occur, it’s usually because it’s difficult to transition from these vowel sounds to the /r/, and with practice, it can soon be fixed. 

Work through the vocalic /r/ sound list, phrases, sentences, games, and activities, read together, and use the patented Forbrain headset and your child will get the practice they need and have fun doing it. 

How to help your child produce the vocalic /r/ sound correctly

Ready to help your child get to grips with the vocalic /r/ sound? Follow these steps:

1) Ask your child to relax their tongue. You can encourage them to stick it out as far as they can and wiggle it around like a snake, ask them to blow a whistle, or try touching their nose with their tongue. 

2) Then ask them to find the back of their tongue and ask them to lift it to the roof of their mouth. You can tell them to imagine they are catching a fairy with their tongue if they need extra encouragement. 

3) Finally, ask them to push air from their lungs and use their vocal cords to say the word ‘fairy’. 

If they still find this difficult, keep practicing until they master how to articulate the sound. You can also watch this excellent video by The Speech Scoop for extra speech therapy help.

Using Forbrain to Upgrade Sound Practice

Enhance your child’s learning and mastery of the tricky vocalic /r/ sound by using our patented Forbrain headset. 

Used for just 10 minutes per day, your child will learn how to distinguish the sound, get instant feedback from the enhanced auditory feedback loop, and get the targeted practice they need to overcome speech challenges and grow in confidence. 

Scientifically proven and widely used by professional speech therapists, it uses cutting-edge technology and an innovative design to optimize learning, stimulate neural pathways, finely tune pronunciation, and sharpen articulation for effective, natural communication. 

Unlock your child’s potential with Forbrain today. 

Final Words

If your child is struggling to pronounce the vocalic /r/ word, don’t worry. Use the list of vocalic /r/ words, phrases, and sentences alongside the patented Forbrain headset and you’ll soon see a huge improvement. 

Reinforce their learning and make it fun by using games, activities, and books to help your child can improve their articulation, grow in confidence, and effortlessly use this tricky sound in everyday spoken language. 

Charlotte Witts

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