When the teacher is providing instruction to the whole class on letter-sound associations also provide the students with a brief explanation of placement for the articulators (teeth, tongue, jaw and airflow). Use the descriptions provided below:
/m/: 1. 5 to 4 years Tell the student to “Push your lips together while adding a sound.” –teacher models the /m/ sound.
/n/: 1. 5 to 4 years Tell the student to “Make a fence with your teeth put your tongue up behind your teeth and push while adding a sound.” -teacher models the /n/ sound.
/ŋ/-‘ing’: 2- 6 years Tell the student to “Push the back of your tongue up in the back of your mouth while adding a sound.” -teacher models the /ing/ sound.
/h/- 1.5 to 4 years Tell the student to “Push air out from the back of your throat.” -teacher models the /h/ sound.
/y/- 2.5 to 5 years Tell the student to “Cup your tongue in the back or your mouth and drop your jaw while producing the sound.”-teacher models the /y/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/w/- 1.5 to 4 years Tell the student to “Push your lips forward to make ‘rounded lips’ while adding a sound.” -teacher models the /w, wh/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/p/- 1.5 to 4 years Tell the student to “Open your lips a little and pop out the air.”-teacher models the /p/ sound
/b/- 1.5 to 5 years Tell the student to “Open your lips a little and pop out the air while making the sound.” -teacher models the sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/k/- 2 to 5 years Tell the student “Put your tongue back up against the roof of your mouth and scrape air out.” -teacher models the /k/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/g/- 2 to 5 years Tell the student to “Put your tongue back up against the roof of your mouth and scrape air out and turn your voice on to make a sound.” -teacher models the /g/ sound
/d/- 2 to 5 years Tell the student to “Lift your tongue up in the front behind your teeth and tap the air out while making the sound.”-teacher models the /d/ sound
/f/- 2.5 to 5 years Tell the student to “Bite your bottom lip and blow cool air over your bottom lip to cool it.” -teacher models the /f/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/t/- 2.5 to 5 years Tell the student to “Lift your tongue up in the front behind your teeth and tap the air out.” -teacher models the /t/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/l/- 3 to 7 years Tell the student to “Lift your tongue up, in the front, behind your teeth and make a sound.” -teacher models the /l/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/ch/- 3.5 to 8 years Tell the student to “Push your lips forward to make “fat lips” and push out air and quickly drop your jaw.”-teacher models the /ch/ sound (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/sh/- 3.5 to 8 years Tell the student to “Push your lips forward to make “fat lips” like when your say “shhhhh” and smoothly push the air out.” -teacher models the /sh/ sound
/j- dge/ (jump) - 3.5 to 8 years Tell the student to “Push your lips forward to make “fat lips” and push out air, drop your jaw and turn on your voice/ make a noise.”-teacher models the /j/ sound
/s/- 3.5 to 9 years Tell the student to “Make a fence with your teeth with your tongue behind your teeth blow skinny air out.”-teacher models the /s/ sound. (Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998).
/z/- 3.5 to 9 years Tell the student to “Make a fence with your teeth with your tongue behind your teeth blow skinny air out while making a sound.”-teacher models the /z/ sound
/r/- 3.5 to 9 years Tell the student to “Lift your tongue up in the back of your mouth against the edge of your teeth and make a sound.” -teacher models the /r/ sound.
/v/- 4 to 9 years Tell the student to “Bite your bottom lip and blow cool air against your bottom lip to cool it while producing a sound.”-teacher models the /v/ sound
/th/- voiceless (think)- 4 to 9 years Tell the student to “Place the tip of your tongue between your teeth/bite the tip of your tongue softly and blow cool air against your teeth cool your tongue.” -teacher models the /th/ sound as in the word ‘think’
/th/- voiced (the) - 4.5 to 9 years Tell the student to “Place the tip of your tongue between your teeth/bite the tip of your tongue softly and blow air against teeth while making a sound.”-teacher models the /th/ sound and is the word ‘the’
/zh/ (measure & beige) - 6 to 9 years Tell the student to “Push your lips forward to make “fat lips” and smoothly push air out while making a sound.” -teacher models the /zh/ sound
