Explicit Speech Hub

I have noticed that the second sound in consonant blends are often omitted during blending, or pronunciation, so, today I asked my young learner to pay careful attention to the second letter sound while pronouncing the following words. Doing this enabled her to make an explicit speech.

Can you child say a word without first blending it?

Kids often throw the letter R in consonant blends when reading. Have you noticed it?

Instead of DRAGS, they say DAGS.

Instead of GRASPS, they say GASPS.

This is what happens.

Early reader drops one sound in a blend because it's harder to produce or hear. It is called consonant cluster reduction.

In the above words 'drags' and 'grasps', the /r/ sound is one of the trickiest sounds for children because it require precise tongue positioning to produce it.

Also, the sound gets swallowed in fast speech. To make reading easier and faster, children often simplify blends like dr, gr, tr, and br.

Note: Your child isn't lazy because they omitted the /r/ sound when reading. It's developmental and phonics awareness issue.

They are seeing both sounds, but are not fully processing or producing both sounds.

HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD FIX IT

1. Slow, stretched blending.

Do it like this:
d...r...a...g...s

Make the /r/ sound obvious.

2. Tap the sounds strategy
/d/
/r/
/a/
/g/
s/

3. Do sound contrast
Show the difference clearly.

dags vs drags
gasps vs grasps

4. Over articulation practice

Exaggerate your mouth when saying /r/. Act like a growling lion. Say: d...r

5. Use gestures for /r/

Anytime your child misses the /r/ sound, use hand movement.

6. Teach blends with R clusters

Focus on blends such as: dr, tr, gr, cr, fr, and pr.

I hope this helps. Did you learn? Drop a comment below.