Teaching Voiced (hard) vs. Voiceless (soft)

If your child is struggling to say the voiced (hard) /TH/ then they must understand the difference between “Voice on” and “Voice off.”

The easiest way to teach this concept is to let them feel your neck as you say the /TH/ sound with your voice on and with your voice off.

You can use the analogy of a lawn mower or a motor boat, or even the hum of a buzzing bee.

But when they can actually FEEL the difference, it will help them to understand the difference.

Let them practise feeling their own vocal chords as they make the sounds with voice on and voice off. 

 "These Shoes!"

The purpose of this game is to elicit the word “these” as many times as possible.

Lay out some shoes on the floor. Then tell your child that you are going to choose a pair of shoes in your mind, but you will not tell them which pair you have chosen. They must point to each pair and ask… “Are these your shoes?” until they have correctly identified the pair you had in your mind.

When it is their turn to chose a pair of shoes, have them answer each of your questions with “Not those!” 

the, The, THE!

Materials Needed: A small container filled with dry beans or rice and other objects hidden inside.

The most common word in the English language is “the.”

You can see how this could be a problem for children who are struggling with voiced /th/!

All you need for this activity is a collection of small items hidden inside dry beans or rice.

You can use common things you have around your home such as a small toy car, bouncy ball, rock... the sky is the limit!

This activity is simple and will elicit the word “the” many times.

Have your child dig in the container and find one item at a time. When they pull it out they can use the phrase “I found the ______. THE THE THE!” 

You can play this same game using the phrases “I found this____” or “I found that ____” as well