Articulation cards are a staple in Speech Therapy rooms. Articulation Flash Cards can be used in so many ways with preschoolers and elementary students... buuuttt sometimes they can get boring and repetitive. Check out these articulation card ideas to bring some new and exciting speech therapy activities into your therapy room! You can use these ideas in group therapy or in one-on-one sessions or even send them home for easy articulation homework ideas!
WHAT’S THERE?: Place 5 cards around the room. Ask the child to find and label the card in a particular place. For example, “What is beside the lamp?” -> “ Bee!”
MAKE A ROAD: Place target cards on the floor around the room. Drive cards over the cards. If you have a toy tractor, you can load the cards into the tractor.
FEED THE PUPPET: Feed a puppet the target cards.
FLASHLIGHT HUNT: Pin the cards around a room. Turn the lights off and give the child a flashlight to find the cards.
IS IT A ___?: Ask the child if a card is an item. For example, “Is it a cat?”. You can use the carrier phrases, “No! It’s a ____” or “Yes! It’s a ___.” Have the child complete the blank.
MUSICAL CHAIRS: Place cards on the floor. Play music and when it stops, have the child find a card to sit on.
TAKE PICTURES: Use a camera/phone to take pictures of the cards. Kids find this incredibly motivating!
BOWLING: Put the cards in paper bags. Take turns rolling a ball to knock over the ‘pins’. Say the word when you knock over a bag.
OBSTACLE COURSE: Make an obstacle course out of items that you have. Make sure to go under, over, and between objects! Place cards throughout the obstacle to practice along the way.
‘BUY’ THE CARDS: Play store! Use pretend money and have the child ‘buy’ the cards.
BEAN BAG TOSS: Place cards on the floor. Have the child throw a bean bag on the cards. For more trials, the child can also tell you which card they are aiming at.
BALL POPPER: Stand the cards up using binder clips, or stick them to a wall. Use a ball popper (or bubbles) to aim for the cards.
HOPSCOTCH: Make a hopscotch board out of tape on the floor. Place a card in each square. Say the word when you land on it.
SENSORY BIN: Place the cards in a bin filled with cotton balls, pom poms, and cut up straws - or anything you can think of! Have the child find the items using tongs or tweezers.
JENGA: Place cards between the layers of blocks.
FLY SWATTER: Place the cards around the room. Give the child a fly swatter and have the child ‘swat’ each card. Kids love running between the cards!
TELL SOMEONE: Bring the cards to show the child’s teacher/friend. Ask the student to label each card.
WHAT AM I DRAWING?: Place the cards face up, in front of you and the child. Take turns drawing one of the items. See if you can guess what it is!
HIDE UNDER CUPS: Hide the cards under plastic cups.
SNOWBALL FIGHT: Place the cards upright using binder clips. Use scrunched up paper balls to knock the cards over.
HIDE IN BOOKS: Hide cards in books. You can use Sticky Tack (or hide under flaps!) to stick the cards to the pages. Say the word when you flip to the page the card is on.
HANG AND CATCH: This activity takes a little more prep but it is so fun! Hang string with paper clips from the ceiling. Attach cards and have your students pull the cards off the string.
PLAYDOUGH: Smoosh play dough on the card each time you say the word (make sure your cards are laminated!).
TIC TAC TOE: Print a few copies of your articulation cards and play tic tac toe! Give each player 6 copies of a card.
MAKE A SHAPE: Make different shapes with your cards (square, circle, triangle).
HOPPING: Place the cards around the room on the ground. Hop from one card to another.
SIMPLE DRILL: Pair your card with a drill card and cover each number with a token or a mini object.
ROLL AND SAY: Roll a dice. Say the word the number of times indicated on the dice.
MEMORY: Print two sets of cards and play memory.
GO FISH: Use two sets of cards to play Go Fish.
MEMORY GAME: Place several cards face up on the table. Have the child study the cards. Flip them face down and see how many card the child can remember.
FISHING: Use a magnet and paper clips to create a fishing game.
WHAT’S MISSING: Put 2 or 3 cards on table, face up. Let the child take a quick peek and then close their eyes. Take one card away or turns one card over. Ask the child to guess which one is missing.
MAIL CARDS: Make a mailbox out of a tissue box. “Mail” the cards to family and friends.
EGG CARTON TOSS: Place one card in each section of the carton. Have the child toss a coin into the carton. Say the word on the card where the coin landed.
TELL A STORY: Use several cards to create a story. (This is best for conversation level).
SILLY SENTENCES: Make a silly sentence with each card.
POP IT: Use a Pop it fidget toy and have the child push one section each time they say the word.
USE CLOTHESPINS: Have the child place a clothespin on the card each time they say the word.
COLOR AND CREATE: Use black and white Articulation Cards. Allow the child to color and create their own set that they can use and take home! (My Articulation cards come in black and white and color for this purpose!)
BURY AND FIND: Bury cards under pom poms, cotton balls, or sand. Have the student use a shovel or tongs to find the cards/
BUCKET TOSS: Place cards in buckets. Throw crumbled paper or a ball in to the bucket.
MINI OBJECTS: Lay your cards on the table and cover them with mini objects. Simple but effective!
BUBBLE BLOW: Place cards on the wall using sticky tack or Painter’s Tape. Blow bubbles onto the cards. Say the word when the bubble lands on it.
MICROPHONE/TELEPHONE: Say your words into a telephone or toy microphone. You could also use paper towel rolls.
HOLE PUCH: Print Black and White Cards and hole punch the cards each time you say the word.
MAGNET WAND: Use a magnet wand and magnetic chips. Place a chip on each card the you say the word. Use the wand to pick up all the chips when you are done!
BLOCKS & CARDS: Place a block ad then lay a card on top. Continue until the tower tumbles. See how high you can build the tower before it falls!
SPOON RACE: Place the card on a spoon and see how fast you can make it across the room. Say the word when you place the card on the spoon.
FEED ANIMALS: Use toy animals and have them ‘eat’ the cards. Kids think this is hilarious!
I hope you find these articulation therapy ideas helpful. I know I am always looking for ways to mix it up and keep my students engaged.
The key to all sessions (in my opinion) is to allow a LOT of choices. If you want an Articulation Activity Choice Board (it includes 30 of the no-prep activities listed here), sign up for my email list (link below) and you’ll get instant access!
If you're looking for some bright and colourful (and black and white) articulation cards, make sure to check out my Articulation Cards for Speech Therapy!
