Speech Therapy ....... From beginning to end

Introduction

A game to practice putting the sounds 'ch', 'sh' and 'th' at the beginning or end of words. This game may not be suitable for very young children or non-readers as it does involve some reading of words on the clue cards. The game could always be simplified so that only pictures are present on the clue cards. Remember always consult your speech therapist to check if this sort of game is suitable for your child.

Materials needed to play this game

• A Beginning to end game board - available from our downloads section as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (in a zipped folder)
• A set of Beginning to end clue cards - available from our downloads section as 3 Adobe Acrobat PDF files (in a zipped folder) The clue cards are shuffled at the beginning of each game and place in a pile face down.
• Counters (small circles of coloured card)
• A die (or number spinner)
• Paper and pencil to note down the player's scores

To play the game

Each player starts with their counter on the Begin circle
The first player throws the die

They move that number of circles along the spiral.
If the circle has on it

• sh… the player must say a word beginning with sh
• ch… the player must say a word beginning with ch
• th… the player must say a word beginning with th
• …sh the player must say a word ending with sh
• …ch the player must say a word ending with ch
• …th the player must say a word ending with th

If the player can think of and say a (correct) word by themselves they score 2 points
If the player can't think of a word they can take a clue card from the top of the pile.

Each clue card has a word or picture for each of the beginning and ending sounds. If the player can now say a correct word they score 1 point. Remember to keep game playing a positive experience and give help where needed e.g. with reading words on the clue cards.
Clue cards are returned to the bottom of the pile face down.
If the player still cannot say a correct word they score 0 points.

The next player then takes a turn.

Remember to keep a tally of each player's points as the game progresses.

The game finishes when the first player reaches the end circle.
The player's points are then added up - the first player to reach the end circle will not necessarily be the winner!

To make a longer game you can play from beginning to end and back again! This time the game finishes when the first player gets all the way to end and then all the way back to the beginning circle.

Game modifications

For non-readers use picture only clue cards
For more advanced readers use word clues only.
To make the game harder note down each word as it is used and that word cannot be used again!
Try simplifying the game by using only two sounds e.g. 'sh' and 'ch'
Make a simpler game using only starting sounds e.g. 's' and 'f'
There are plenty of clipart images in our clipart section that you could use to make clue cards.
Tips
Laminate the game board and clue cards to extend their life.