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7 Websites for Reading Passages that SLPs Need to Know

06/06/2022 by Jenna Leave a Comment

Today I have 7 websites for reading passages that SLPs need to know about to share with you. If you work with students in upper elementary or middle school, then you may be working on reading comprehension goals with them. I’ve researched 7 different websites that are beneficial when needing reading passages to use with students.

Newsela houses real-world, leveled and standards-aligned content. There are passages for ELA, science, social studies and even social-emotional learning. In addition, it has resources for English Language Learners. There are over 10,000 texts to choose from across 20 genres. Newsela offers differentiation of passages at 5 different levels. One of the best parts is that you can join for free!

#2 Readworks

Readworks is a website with FREE reading passages for you to use! You can search by grade or lexile level. Content is available for grades K-12. In addition, there are questions that accompany each reading passage. Question types consist of multiple choice, short answer, explicit and inferential. There is also vocabulary practice included in the question sets. Readworks gives you choices of what kind of content you want to use with students. The choices offered are:

– An article a day

-Reading passages

– Paired texts

in addition, Readworks has an option called “StepReads” which is basically a less complex version of the original passage. They also have audio versions of the passages so students can listen along to the text. Finally, there are options for students in special education and English Language Learners.

#3 Commonlit

Commonlit is one of my favorite websites to use for finding reading passages. It was created by teachers for teachers and you can create an account for FREE. The passages align with Common Core State Standards and are research-based. You assign passages to your students digitally. There is ELA Curriculum for grades 6-10 as well as supplemental passages for grades 3-12. The website lets you analyze student performance using their online data.

#4 Read Theory

Read Theory is another FREE website that hosts personalized reading comprehension exercises for K-12 as well as ESL students. This program is best used to create individual profiles for your students, however. This way the program will keep track of their progress. Read Theory has worksheets to choose from for 1st grade-12 grade. Additionally, it has worksheets for adult learners, students in special education and ESL. There are typically about 10 worksheets per grade level. You can choose if you just want to print the passage, the passage with questions or the passage, questions and answers.

#5 Tween Tribune

Tween Tribune is a website with articles created for upper elementary and teens. This website was actually created by the Smithsonian. It houses tons of articles based on history and current events. Tween Tribune makes it easy to find an interesting topic to read about. Search about current world news, national news or sports. All passages are organized by Lexile level as well. This site is neat because you make an account for your class and then it encourages students to post comments about what they read. All comments have to be approved by the teacher before they are posted. They are also invited to take quizzes after the passage and the quiz results are automatically emailed to the teacher.

#6 Wonderopolis

This website is another one of my favorites because it is so neat! Wonderopolis encourages students to post questions about what they are wondering. The website then takes all the thousands of questions and compiles lessons about the topic. For example, you might wonder, “Why are flamingos pink?” Students can click on a short 1-4 minute Youtube video with the explanation. Then, there is an entire passage for students to read with hi-lighted vocabulary words to look for throughout (called Wonder Words). Each passage lists the Common Core State Standards that were covered and also has a comprehension quiz at the end. Finally, there are always 3 extension learning activities at the end that you can try at home. Students really love this website because all of the topics are so interesting! Again, this website is totally FREE!

#7 Scholastic Action

Scholastic Action is one of the few that requires a subscription in order to use the materials. However, I have found that it comes with great lesson plans that are highly relevant to SLP goals so it may be worth the cost. Scholastic Action offers ready to go teaching kits with print or digital magazines. Each magazine includes 3 levels of differentiation for students with age appropriate stories. It also allows students to use text to speech audio on the digital version. Finally, each kit has videos that accompany the magazine and leveled ELA activities.

Do you have a favorite website for reading passages?

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Articulation Reading Passages & Activities To Help With Generalization

Jan 16, 2018

Are you stuck with where how to get your student to generalize their speech sound? The student has it at the word and sentence level, but when they walk out of your room, they go straight back to their old speech sounds. I am right there currently with several students on my caseload. So, I have been trying to find more articulation carryover activities to help with generalization.

If you need articulation therapy ideas that will help you high repetitions, you can check out my articulation therapy ideas HERE .

Easy Articulation Carryover Activity Ideas Using Youtube

Youtube is your friend! Simon’s cat videos are perfect for practicing your student’s speech sounds while retelling the video, and answering wh-questions about the videos. Check out my blog post for how I use these free videos in therapy HERE .

Find How-To videos on youtube with your student’s target sound. The SLP can have their student watch the video and then explain “how to do” the process. So, if you have a student working on /r/, they can watch a youtube video about how to make popcorn. If you have a youtube channel, you can find videos and make playlists for the videos that you use by sound. I made QR codes and have the kids pick which video they want to watch. These are in my articulation carryover activities sets .

Articulation Carryover Activities At The Multiple Sentence Level

Some of my students are 80-90% accurate with single sentences, but they aren’t ready to be reading or doing conversational tasks just yet. So, I have activities that I use to work on my student’s articulation sounds at the multiple sentence level.

Find words that are related that have your student’s target sound to compare/contrast by similarities and differences.

Another activity is to have your student’s answer would you rather or what would you do questions.

An Idea To Work On Articulation Carryover At The Conversational Level

If you have students ready to work on their sounds at the conversational level, you can set a challenge before the session begins. Make a set number of errors that your student can not go over. Then, during the speech session, you can monitor your student’s production with whatever conversational task you plan. If the student has speech errors over the challenge number, then they didn’t meet the challenge.

I have set up that a speech challenge met can be turned in for a game day, bring a friend to speech, a bag of chips or whatever else the student and myself can come up with to earn.

Click here to get FREE articulation carryover activities

If you need more conversation ideas for how students can practice their speech outside of the speech room, check out this blog post and how I use these activities.

Apps To Use For Articulation Carryover Activities

Have you heard of the voxer app ? It is an app that acts like a walkie talkie. I was introduced to voxer by one of my previous principals that used voxer to communicate with her staff. The charter school that I worked at was very tech savvy, so the kids were all about using tech tools. With parent permission, I was able to use the voxer app to work on self monitoring with articulation generalization. We would ask the principal questions on voxer or tell the principal about the week. Then, I would have my students play back their recording to listen to their speech sounds.

If you own an ipad, the news-o-matic app is a great resource for working on articulation at the reading level. Kid friendly news articles are available every day. There are sometimes videos attached to the app, questions and key vocabulary that is defined. You can read more about this app on my blog post HERE .

Little Stories Pro by Little Bee Speech is an app that has 82 short stories that are loaded with targeted speech sounds. This app can be very helpful for meaningful articulation practice when reading as well as when answering comprehension questions and story retell. I like this app because when I don’t have time to search for books that have my student’s sound in the story, I can easily bring up this app.

Resources For Finding Reading Passages To Work On Articulation

Read Works is a free website that you can find leveled reading passages that are aligned with common core standards.

Newsela is a website that has differentiated, high interest texts that are organized by content area, so you can find all sorts of reading passages in different subject matters.

Reader’s theater is a great way to work on self monitoring and students working on articulation practice with a structured speaking activity. If you are buddy buddy with some of the kinder/1st grade teachers, you may even be able to book a time when your students could go into the classroom and perform the reader’s theater for the class.

Scholastic Books a series that I really like to use for my mixed groups. The True or False series (amazon affiliate link included) have short non-fiction paragraphs that pose a question and students have to decide if it the information is true or false. Then, they turn the page to see if their answer is correct. These are great for reading to practice your articulation sound.

Scholastic Who Would Win Books are another series that align with common core curriculum and can help you target your student’s speech sounds in structured conversation. The SLP can have the students read a paragraph, summarize the facts from the book, or answer comprehension questions.

Using Visuals To Help With Self Monitoring With Articulation Carryover Activities

Articulation Carryover Weekly Homework Sheets

Trying to find ways to encourage students to practice their speech at home? I created an articulation carryover weekly worksheet that can be used to monitor their speech for the week. You can grab this download for FREE on my TPT store .

Kiwi Speech also has a weekly home practice tracker that is free in her store. I have used with students that I want them to see that practicing just 5 minutes a day can help them make progress. This tracker is really helpful for showing kids how to break down minutes they practice each week.

What resources or strategies do you use to help your students generalize their speech sounds into conversation? I would love to add some more tips to my SLP toolbox.

Need CEU Hours and Want to Learn More About Articulation Carryover

I took Pam Marshalla’s Carryover Techniques in Articulation and Phonology Course on Speech Therapy PD for CEUs and it was very helpful. It was practical and helped me to feel confident with how to provide with students in articulation therapy.

Use my code: SLPROCKSTAR  to get $10 off either Speech Therapy PD subscription . I love that I can spend under $100 a year and get a ton of practical training and my CEUs covered!

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Reading Comprehension: Targeting Both Cognitive and Language Skills

These text-level reading exercises help more than just reading goals. Learn about these tasks and how they target areas like attention, memory, and inferencing.

How many words did you read this week?  Chances are, that number is in the thousands.  Reading is a fundamental part of our lives, and it’s easy to take for granted how many activities require it. Thinking about your own week, it’s likely that you’ve read many of these materials without much of an afterthought:

• Traffic signs
• Hallway and building signs
• Menu at a restaurant
• Text messages or emails
• Newspaper or online news articles
• Work-related content (articles, projections, reports, etc.)

Because of its prevalence in almost everything that we do, when this skill is affected, it can significantly and negatively impact one’s daily life.

Reading comprehension difficulties can affect people of all ages.  Children can struggle with acquiring this skill, and many who had reading problems in school continue to have trouble with reading in adulthood. Additionally, acquired injuries such as stroke, aphasia, or other types of brain injury can impact reading comprehension for adults and school-aged children.

Reading is Not Just a Language Skill

Language impairments are not the only root cause of reading problems. There are many cognitive processes that are at work when reading.  For example, attention and working memory are significantly involved in reading comprehension. In fact, research found that in people with traumatic brain injury, discourse comprehension was highly predicted by working memory capacity (Meteyard et al., 2014).  Another cognitive process that is essential for reading comprehension is inferencing. To draw an inference, individuals must use prior knowledge to connect gaps in the text. Problems with inferencing can significantly impact comprehension and memory of the text.

How to improve reading comprehension? In speech-language therapy, there are many evidence-based reading comprehension strategies such as SQ3R, ARCS, PICS, and ORLA that have been shown to help address reading comprehension impairments at the paragraph and multi-paragraph level.

Using Constant Therapy to Target Reading in the Clinic

One challenge when incorporating these strategies into therapy is finding materials that are at the appropriate reading level, topic, and length.  Particularly for adult and older school-aged clients, there are limited reading comprehension worksheets available for clinicians to use, and they quickly become outdated.  Often the burden falls on the clinician to find appropriate reading comprehension passages to use with a client.

We interviewed one clinician who reported that it takes her about a half hour to find an appropriate article for a client, read it, and create comprehension questions.  Because this is a time-consuming task, it is challenging for her to find a large number of passages. As a result, the client’s homework is often limited to one or two passages per week.  

When in search for speech therapy materials , Constant Therapy is a huge time saver for clinicians. At your fingertips are hundreds of passages.  They are organized by length and difficulty level, and there are already comprehension questions created.  

Instead of recreating the wheel, use the passages in your therapy sessions to train comprehension strategies with your client.

Using Constant Therapy to Target Reading Goals At Home

Chapey (2008) talks about the advantages of using technology at home to address reading comprehension. Because reading is generally a solitary task, using a device to carryover reading goals outside of SLP sessions can be quite functional.  One study that looked at using technology for a home reading program is Katz & Wertz (1997). They found that this digital reading treatment is efficacious and can be administered with minimal assistance from a clinician.

Using technology like Constant Therapy to help supplement your therapy can be an incredibly powerful tool for you and your patients. Additionally, your clients can use the program for however long they want, so they can do as many reading comprehension exercises as they wish, and it takes the burden off of the clinician from having to locate or create the content. It’s all right there on the Constant Therapy app!

Paragraph and Multi-Paragraph Reading Passages for You and Your Patients

Let’s take a look at 3 Constant Therapy tasks that are available to you and your patients: Read a paragraph, Read multiple paragraphs, and Infer from multiple paragraphs.

Featured Task: Read a paragraph

What is Read a paragraph?

This task contains single paragraph (~4 sentence length) passages.  You will answer a series of questions based on the information read.  The text is available to refer to while answering the questions.

The questions ask about information explicitly stated in the passage. The questions are multiple choice with 2 distractors.

Need to enlarge the text? No problem! You can either increase the font size or enlarge the text to a full screen.

How is “Read a paragraph” leveled?

This task is leveled based on the difficulty of the reading passage. Lexile scores, which measure semantic and syntactic complexity, are utilized to divide the reading passages into three different levels. They are:

• Level 1: Lexile Level <1100
• Level 2: Lexile Level 1100-1299
• Level 3: Lexile Level >1300

How is “Read a paragraph” scored?

Scoring is binary (response is either correct or incorrect). The client has the opportunity to review response before moving on to the next item. Overall score is based on the % correct items given.

Featured Task: Read multiple paragraphs

What is Read multiple paragraphs?

This task contains multi-paragraph passages.  You will answer a series of questions based on the information read.  The text is available to refer to while answering the questions.

If you need the text to be enlarged, you can either increase the font size or enlarge the text to a full screen.

How is “Read multiple paragraphs” leveled?

This task is also leveled based on the difficulty of the reading passage. There are 3 levels based on Lexile scores, which again measure semantic and syntactic complexity. They are as follows:

• Level 2: Lexile Level 1100-1199
• Level 3: Lexile Level >1200

How is “Read multiple paragraphs” scored?

Featured Task: Infer from multiple paragraphs

What is Infer from multiple paragraphs?

Looking for an advanced reading therapy app ? This task contains multi-paragraph passages, and you will answer a series of more challenging, inference-based questions based on the information read.  The text is available to refer to while answering the questions.

To answer these questions accurately, you must “read between the lines” and draw conclusions based on what is read.

The questions ask about information that is not explicitly stated in the passage. You must use inferencing skills to select the correct answer. The questions are multiple choice with 2 distractors.

If you need to view larger sized text, you can either increase the font size or enlarge the passage to a full screen.

How is “Infer from multiple paragraphs” leveled?

There are 3 levels based on Lexile scores that reflect the difficulty of the reading passage. They are:

How is “Infer from multiple paragraphs” s cored?

Applying Reading Tasks to Therapy Goals

How can Read a paragraph, Read multiple paragraphs, and Infer from multiple paragraphs be used in therapy?

These tasks do not only target reading comprehension skills.  Here’s some examples on how to use these tasks to target other cognitive and language domains:

• Verbal Expression : Generate a verbal summary to demonstrate understanding or even take a stance with supporting arguments based on the content
• Written Expression : Take written notes while reading, write a summary or persuasive essay based on the content to demonstrate comprehension
• Attention : Reading the passage requires the client to hold attention for a period of time (sustained attention).  You can increase the demands on attention by creating background noise (selective attention), interrupting the client in the middle of the reading task (alternating attention), or presenting another activity simultaneously (divided attention)  
• Memory : Both reading and drawing inferences absolutely exercise working memory skills. You can also target retrieval of new information by prompting the patient to answer comprehension questions without referencing the text.  
• Problem Solving : Your search for inference-based therapy tasks is over! With Infer from multiple paragraphs, you can target inferencing skills with these multiple-choice questions.  
• Processing Speed : Constant Therapy automatically tracks latency times, so you and your client can monitor reading fluency and processing speed.
• Unilateral Left Neglect or Left Inattention : The client must use scanning and left anchor strategies to read the entire text.

Looking for More Tasks to Help with Reading Comprehension?

The research indicates that cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and reasoning skills contribute to discourse comprehension.  Looking for more speech therapy exercises to target these cognitive skills? Visit our Tasks webpage to learn about cognitive tasks like Repeat a pattern , Infer from voicemail , Remember pictures in order (N-back) , Find alternating words , and more!

For more information about the tasks in this blog or to watch our tutorial videos, please visit our Read a paragraph , Read multiple paragraphs , or Infer from multiple paragraphs  pages.

References:

• Baretta, L., Tomitch, L., MacNair, N., Lim, V., & Waldie, K. (2009). Inference making while reading narrative and expository texts: An ERP study. Psychology & Neuroscience, 137-45.
• Chapey, R. (2008). Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic disorders. Brooklyn: Wolters Kluwer.
• Elbro, C., & Buch-Iverson, I. (2013). Activation of background knowledge for inference making: Effects on reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 435-52.
• Katz, R., & Wertz, R. (1997). The efficacy of computer-provided reading treatment for chronic aphasic adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research , 493-507.
• Kiran, S., Sandberg, C., & Abbott, K. (2009). Treatment for lexical retrieval using abstract and concrete words in persons with aphasia: Effect of complexity. Aphasiology , 23(7), 835-53.
• Meteyard, L., Bruce, C., Edmundson, A., & Oakhill, J. (2014). Profiling text comprehension impairments in aphasia. Aphasiology, 1-28.
• Sandberg, C. and S. Kiran, How justice can affect jury: Training abstract words promotes generalisation to concrete words in patients with aphasia. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation , 2014: p. 1-32.
• Webster, J., Morris, J., Connor, C., Horner, R., McCormac, C., & Potts, A. (2013). Text level reading comprehension in aphasia: What do we know about therapy and what do we need to know? Aphasiology, 1362-80.

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Where to Find Digital Reading Passages for Speech Therapy

• February 7, 2023

In this episode, I discuss where to find digital reading passages for speech therapy, which can be a valuable addition to our speech therapy toolbox. If you’re in school, reading passages allow you to align your therapy materials with the classroom curriculum, and they can also be a great way to engage with students’ interests. You can also use digital reading passages to target almost any goal, especially with older students.

Just as an aside related to today’s podcast topic, The Digital SLP does have digital reading passages for speech therapy available as part of the subscription, so if you sign up for the free trial, be sure to check those out.

I also wanted to mention that I recently recorded a podcast episode about finding digital books for speech therapy and an episode about how to use digital books effectively in speech therapy. I think those might be good companions for today’s episode, so I’ll be sure to link them in the show notes.

References and Resources:

• The Learning Network – The New York Times
• Podcast Episode: Where to Find Digital Books for Speech Therapy
• Podcast Episode: How to Use Digital Books in Speech Therapy
• To sign up for a 7-day free trial, please check out: www.thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp

Full Transcript of Podcast: Where to Find Digital Reading Passages for Speech Therapy

Episode 106 - where to find digital reading passages for speech therapy.

Hi there and welcome back to another episode of the Speech Space Podcast, which is a podcast full of tips and resources for SLPs. I'm your host, Jessica Cassity, and this is Episode 106.

Today, we're going to be talking about where to find digital reading passages for speech therapy. Before we get started, I did want to take a moment to mention that this podcast is brought to you by The Digital SLP membership site, which is a site that features time-saving interactive digital resources that are all teletherapy platform-friendly. And you can learn more about that or sign up for a free trial by heading to thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp.

Just as a side note related to today's podcast topic, the Digital SLP membership does have reading passages available as part of the subscription, so if you sign up for the free trial, you'll want to be sure to check those out. I also wanted to mention that I recently recorded a podcast episode about finding digital books for speech therapy, and an episode about how to use digital books effectively in speech therapy, and I think those might be good companions for today's episode, so I'll be sure to leave the links for those in the show notes for you.

Before we jump into resources, let's talk a little bit about why digital reading passages can be such a useful part of our therapy toolbox. You know, what I love the most about digital reading passages is that they're different. It's not always easy to fit an entire book into one speech therapy session, and shorter passages allow us to target the same skills without spending quite as much time getting through the text itself. I also wanted to highlight the fact that digital passages are an especially good non-fiction resource. If you're in the schools, they allow you to align your therapy materials with classroom curriculum, and they can also be a great way to engage with students' individual interest. One final reason why I love working with digital passages is that they're so versatile. I talked about this a little bit in the episodes about digital books as well, and you can use digital reading passages to target almost any goal, especially with older students.

Now that you've hopefully gotten a little bit excited about using digital reading passages in speech therapy, let's talk about where we can find them.

The first resource I want to share about is ReadWorks. ReadWorks is an incredible tool that is completely free for educators. You can use it to find passages on almost any topic, and it also has excerpts from ebooks. The search tool is very robust, and it's easy to find passages that are geared towards a certain age or grade level. Most of the passages come with visual supports as well, and students are able to listen to passages as they read. The majority of the available passages are nonfiction, but there are also fiction and poetry options as well.

One of the best elements of ReadWorks is that it has an extensive library of supporting materials that go along with the passages. They range from simple wh-questions to inferential questions to materials that focus on vocabulary skills. There are also educator guides and webinars, and integration with Google Classroom and Clever, if your school or clinic uses those tools. If you work with school-age students, you really could plan an entire week of therapy just using ReadWorks. I'll make sure that I link that in the show notes and I encourage you to check it out.

The next resource I want to share with you is called Newsela. It's very similar to ReadWorks, although there isn't quite as much free content. Newsela has a wide variety of passages including non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. The passages can be sorted by topic or by grade level, and they have visuals and read-aloud options like ReadWorks. The major difference between ReadWorks and Newsela is that Newsela is more focused on news and current events, while ReadWorks has a more general library of content. This means that Newsela also includes editorial-type passages that are great for teaching persuasive writing or learning the difference between fact and opinion.

The main downside to Newsela is that it doesn't have as many options in terms of companion activities. Most of the articles and passages come with simple comprehension questions and quizzes, but that's pretty much it. I do still highly recommend this resource though, especially if you work with slightly older kids who are into current events. And before I forget, I wanted to point out that both ReadWorks and Newsela have some content that is especially designed for English language learners, so that's really helpful if you have students on your caseload who need that type of support.

The final digital passage resource that I want to talk about today is another great one! It is from The New York Times and it's called The Learning Network. The Learning Network is actually a huge collection of all kinds of education and literacy-related tools and activities, and it does include reading passages. I love it because it's free for educators and you don't have to be a New York Times subscriber to access it. Out of the three options we're talking about today, The New York Times Learning Network is probably the most comprehensive, and it's especially great for SLPs who work with middle school and high school age students. It has resources and passages divided by subject, including language arts, science, math, social studies, the arts, and current event, so it's excellent for aligning your therapy materials with the curriculum. It also has a great feature that's basically a curated collection of New York Times articles that have lesson plans to go along with them.

One of the things that I appreciate most about the Learning Network is that it has an entire section of accessible passages and activities that are especially designed for students with disabilities, so I definitely recommend checking that out. I know we're mostly focusing on passages today, but I did want to mention that The Learning Network has so many options for extending student learning. There are writing prompts, contests, videos, and more options as well. The Learning Network also has a lot of resources for SLPs and other educators, which are great for those days when you're not feeling very creative and you just need some support with thinking about how to use the tools as effectively as possible. I especially love their educator newsletter. It is free and it always has really inspiring ideas.

Now that you've gotten a quick introduction to ReadWorks, Newsela, and The Learning Network, I definitely encourage you to explore through them and see if they might be a good fit for you and your caseload. Like I mentioned before, The Digital SLP also has reading passages with associated activities and questions, so if you wanted to try those out as well, you can do that by going to thedigitalslp.com/digitalslp and sign up for the free trial. I hope that today's episode gave you some fresh ideas for where to find digital reading passages to use in your speech therapy sessions, and that you feel energized by all the possibilities that are out there.

If you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave a five-star review to make it easier for your fellow SLPs to find the show. We release new episodes twice a month on the first and the third Tuesdays. Also, if you would like to connect on Instagram, that's a great way to reach out if you need to. You can follow along @thedigitalslp. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I look forward to speaking with you again in a couple of weeks.

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Fridge Functional Phrases

The idea for fridge functional phrases sparked from a need to reduce the loneliness and lack of confidence those with aphasia experience in extreme social situations. To help combat this, I created a list of functional phrases for my husband to practice when I knew he’d be in these types of situations. For instance, the holidays are a big social season. I would jot down common phrases relevant to specific holidays so Ryan would feel confident interacting with friends and family members.

Over the years, we’ve seen tremendous success with his ability to communicate and interact with those closest to him with confidence. Ryan still keeps printouts on our fridge as a reminder to practice.

When developing these practice sheets, my goal was to create something I’d be happy to see on my fridge every day. I also know the pains of running out of printer ink, so I wanted to keep them as printer-friendly as possible.

I truly hope this little practice method helps others with aphasia become more social and confident in their communication.

Anna Teal Author, Aphasia Readers

Have Ideas For A Fridge Functional Phrases Worksheet?

If you have an idea for a helpful functional phrases worksheet, please give us a shout! We love to hear from our readers. Your support only helps others in their fight for recovery to regain their speech.

Contact us to send us your thoughts, and we’ll do our best to create a worksheet for you! Easy peasy!

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Selecting Functional Reading Materials for Adult Speech Therapy

This post discusses how to select relevant functional reading materials for your clients in 3 easy steps.

What type of goals can functional reading address?

• Everyday reading skills
• Reading comprehension
• Language skills
• Delayed and immediate recall
• Sustained and divided attention
• Problem solving
• Reasoning skills
• + many more!

How can I use functional reading materials in speech therapy?

Follow these 3 steps:.

• Use client intake form to identify prior level of function and cognitive-linguistic demands.
• Select reading materials based on client’s prior level of function and cognitive-linguistic demands.
• Write individualized achievable goals based on client’s strengths and weaknesses.

Step 1. Use client intake form to identify prior level of function and cognitive-linguistic demands .

Step 2. Select reading materials based on client’s prior level of function and cognitive-linguistic demands .

Step 3. Write individualized and achievable goals based on client’s strengths and weaknesses.

Above all, using individualized therapy materials and selecting achievable goals can help improve generalization and therapy outcomes.

For printable practice activities and worksheets purchase the functional reading bundle on sale now!

Https://medicalslps.com/speech-therapy-materials/worksheets/functional-reading-bundle/.

Functional Reading Bundle

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• Free Worksheets

I created these free speech and language worksheets so you can easily download and print them out to use as part of your speech therapy program.  Just scroll down the page to view the worksheets by topic.  You will find free speech therapy worksheets for articulation, vocabulary , grammar, holiday articulation and language games…and lots of other miscellaneous speech therapy creations that I love!  If you would like more information on what articulation therapy is you might like to read a post I have written called  Teaching Speech Sounds: The Process of Traditional Articulation Therapy

Parents:  If you are a mommy or a daddy (or grandma or grandpa) who wants to work with your child at home, you can use these speech therapy activity pages for extra practice.  Just choose the sound position to work on (initial, medial, or final) and click on the corresponding link to view and print the worksheets.  To help make practice more fun, you can print out two of the same page so you have pairs, cut them out, and use them to play a game of memory or go fish. You can also use them as flashcards.  You will find free speech therapy worksheets by sound and at a variety of levels; word level, phrase level and sentence levels!

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/th/ Sound Voiceless

/th/ Sound Voiced

Grammar Worksheets

Regular past tense.

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Vocabulary Worksheets – Holiday and Seasonal Themed 

Fall & autumn memory game, christmas vocabulary 1, christmas vocabulary 2, summer vocabulary, summer vocabulary companion, grammar bingo games – holiday and seasonal themed, grammar bingo games.

Vocabulary BINGO Games – Holiday and Seasonal Themed

Vocabulary bingo - winter, concepts bingo - christmas, conceptual vocabulary bingo - back-to-school, conceptual vocabulary bingo - fall, conceptual vocabulary bingo - spring & easter, lemonade stand bingo - summer, 4th of july vocabulary bingo - summer.

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Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Reading in Adults With Aphasia

 4 min read

Reading isn’t just something we do for pleasure, it’s how we learn what’s going on in the world and how we “listen” to all of our digital conversations.

Many stroke survivors and others with aphasia have problems reading. This can be difficulty understanding what they’ve read or trouble reading aloud, resulting in errors when reading signs, products, text messages, and mail.

Speech therapy can help, and apps can be an important part of reading recovery. Nearly all of our apps include written words either as the exercise itself or as a support, but certain apps are designed to provide therapeutic exercises to work and improve the reading pathways in the brain.

For those of you trying to help yourself, a client, or a loved one to regain their reading, here’s the progression we recommend when using our apps.

Easiest –> Hardest

Comprehension therapy, reading therapy, advanced comprehension therapy, advanced reading therapy, bonus apps for reading, visual attention therapy, category therapy, number therapy, apraxia therapy, 1) comprehension therapy.

Reading starts with single words, and Comprehension Therapy lets you match words to pictures at every level of difficulty in the Read activity. Add your own pictures for personalized practice, or use the hundreds of nouns, verbs, and adjectives included in the app. You can choose how many choices are given, or let the app adjust based on your performance.

The Listen&Read activity is unique, allowing users to hear a word and find the written word. Some people can do this more easily than they can match to pictures, while others struggle more with this exercise. Try both and see yourself improve as you work up the levels over time.

Since people with aphasia already knew how to read, we don’t have to teach them to read again in the same way a child learns to read. It’s more about reconnecting the written words to the meaning. It’s good practice to try to read each word aloud before you find the answer, working both the meaning and sound pathways as you read.

Understand what you hear and read with word-level exercises you can customize for severe aphasia, autism, or brain injury.

Buy Now Try for Free Learn More

2) Reading Therapy

Start combining words into phrases and sentences with the matching and completion exercises in Reading Therapy. This app has 4 activities for you to practice reading, with audio supports for when you need help understanding what you read. You can have just 2 options to make it easier, or make it harder with 4 choices.  There are thousands of exercises in this app, and you can do it silently or read each option aloud for more practice.

Push your reading to the phrase and sentence level with multiple-choice exercises for stroke survivors.

3) Advanced Comprehension Therapy

This app is as much about reading as it is about listening, and each activity can be used to work on both skills individually or in combination. Test your understanding of sentences using the Identify activity. Then Build sentences you hear, reading the words as you put them in place, and reading the whole sentence to check your work. In Follow , choose to read the directions, then follow them exactly. There is no context to rely on here – you must understand each word.

Challenge your understanding with listening and reading exercises for sentences – perfect for mild or moderate aphasia.

4) Advanced Reading Therapy

This app will bridge the gap between sentences and the things you really want to read in your life, allowing you to work independently as you improve. Read passages to suit every interest, starting with short paragraphs and working up to full stories. Read to yourself or out loud, with audio supports to help you with words you can’t say or don’t understand. The quiz questions will test your understanding, but don’t worry! You can always look back at the passage or have the answer highlighted in place as a hint.

Enjoy reading again with paragraph-level passages to suit all abilities and built-in tools to help you understand text better.

Two of these apps are part of our Advanced Language Therapy app. Save big when you buy this value-priced package of 4 apps for the price of 3.

Advanced Language Therapy

Take aphasia therapy to the sentence level & beyond with 4 apps that strengthen listening, talking, reading, & writing.

Want more apps for reading?

Most of our apps can be used for more than one skill.  While these apps aren’t designed with reading as the primary goal, they can be used by people looking to improve their reading.

Bonus App 1) Visual Attention Therapy

Many stroke survivors have a problem with their visual attention that prevents them from seeing either the left or right side of space – a condition called left or right neglect. This means that a person with left neglect might read the word “automatic” as “matic”, failing to see the letters on the left. Before they can be asked to read, they must be able to visually scan from left to right, top to bottom, across a page or screen.

Visual Attention Therapy presents rows of letters and/or symbols for users to scan as they find a target letter. This is often a good first step in working on reading comprehension, especially if visual neglect is an issue.

Retrain the brain with interactive cancellation exercises that help you assess and treat left neglect.

Bonus App 2) Category Therapy

Use the Category Therapy app with only written words, eliminating the pictures in the settings, to push yourself to think about what each word means and what that meaning entails. This is a good challenge to deepen your processing of the printed word and ensure that you aren’t just reading aloud, but also understanding what you read.

Strengthen connections between words with flexible exercises to improve language and reasoning skills.

Bonus App 3) Number Therapy

While we typically see numbers written in digits, we can also spell them out (e.g. 2, two). This app gives you the choice of hearing, reading, or both in comprehension and typing activities dealing with the communication of numbers.

Communicate numerical concepts with speaking, listening, reading, and writing exercises.

Bonus App 4) Apraxia Therapy

Apraxia Therapy is excellent at helping people speak, but with the words appearing on screen, it can also be a wonderful tool to help with reading aloud. Use the Phrases activity with Text Cues set to Constant . Read in unison with the video, then on your own. Reading aloud has been shown to improve a number of language skills.

Speak more easily and build independence with video-assisted speech therapy to help people with apraxia after a stroke.

If you liked this article, Share It !

Megan S. Sutton , MS, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and co-founder of Tactus Therapy. She is an international speaker, writer, and educator on the use of technology in adult medical speech therapy. Megan believes that technology plays a critical role in improving aphasia outcomes and humanizing clinical services.

More in ‘ Using Apps ’

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Mild Aphasia

For those with mild aphasia after a stroke or brain injury, use these apps in this way to improve communication by making them as challenging as possible.

 10 min read

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Severe Aphasia

For those with severe aphasia, including global aphasia, use these apps in this way to help restore the basic building blocks of language and communication.

 9 min read

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Dysarthria: Slurred Speech in Adults

From AAC to speaking in unison to discussing hot topics, we've got you covered with 4 core and 2 bonus speech therapy apps to improve dysarthria.

 6 min read

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Writing

From spelling words to typing text messages to composing emails, we've got you covered with 4 core and 2 bonus speech therapy apps to improve written expression.

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Talking

From repeating phrases to naming pictures to discussing hot topics, we've got you covered with 5 core and 5 bonus speech therapy apps to improve verbal expression.

 7 min read

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Listening

From listening to words to following directions to understanding stories, we've got you covered with 4 core and 2 bonus speech therapy apps to improve auditory comprehension.

 5 min read

Using Speech Therapy Apps to Treat Thinking: Cognitive-Communication Disorders in Adults

Cognition plays a vital role in communication. Learn how to integrate 5 of the best apps for cognitive-communication rehab into your therapy.

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1000+ R Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Reading Passages Grouped by Place, Syllable, & Blend

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Br - blends, cr - blends, dr - blends, fr - blends, gr - blends, pr - blends.

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Initial R by Syllables

wrist watch

racquet ball

rattlesnake

Rhode Island

right handed

rolling pin

wrestling match

recognition

recollection

relationship

residential

respectable

riding safety

Rocky Mountains

rationality

reciprocity

recommendation

respiratory

roasting marshmallows

Roman Catholic

Roman numeral

reconciliation

reconsideration

Republican Party

Medial R by Syllables

encouragement

interruption

maple syrup

waffle iron

irresistible

Memorial Day

necessarily

verification

voluntarily

Mediterranean

peculiarity

Final R by Syllables

falling star

millionaire

questionnaire

shooting star

conquistador

El Salvador

SEE ALSO:   The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

Initial R Phrases and Sentences

cute rabbit

raccoon tail

tennis racquet

pretty rainbow

scoop of raisins

rake leaves

reach up high

read quietly

recycle bin

old rhinoceros

bowl of rice

ride safely

diamond ring

small wrench

write it out

I see a rabbit in the grass.

The raccoon has a striped tail.

They all wanted to race together.

He hit the ball with the racquet.

I am listening to an old radio.

Use the rag to clean the floor.

The rain was pouring down.

I see more than one rainbow.

I want raisins in my cereal.

We rake leaves in the fall.

The rat was looking for some cheese.

She is trying to reach the rings.

It was fun to read about princesses.

She is showing people how to recycle.

Red is my favorite color.

The rhinoceros has big horns.

She is holding a ribbon.

We want rice for dinner.

He went on a motorcycle ride.

She had a beautiful diamond ring.

Don't rip the paper we need it.

The rock is heavy.

There is a big rug in my house.

He likes to run by himself.

He used the wrench to fix the leaky faucet.

He is holding his wrist.

She writes in her journal every week.

Medial R Phrases and Sentences

suspect arrest

charged battery

fresh blueberries

digital camera

fresh carrots

cherry on top

breakfast dairy

beaded earring

erase a mistake

fairy costume

thick forest

tall giraffe

small hearing aid

dry macaroni

married couple

peel orange

talking parrot

pirate ship

nice squirrel

number zero

The police officer made an arrest.

She is holding an arrow.

He needed a battery for his game.

He ate blueberries for breakfast.

She has a digital camera.

We pick carrots from the garden.

I would like a milkshake with a cherry on top.

Dairy is always good for breakfast.

Her earring was too heavy.

If you make a mistake, erase it.

She dressed up as a fairy.

Many trees are in the forest.

Their house has two garage doors.

The giraffe has a long neck.

He puts the hearing aid in his ear.

He dressed up like a hero.

We want macaroni and cheese for dinner.

They are a married couple.

He is going to eat the orange.

How does a parrot talk?

The pirate is looking for treasure.

The squirrel was looking for nuts.

Mom read a story to her son.

I want syrup on my pancakes.

The walrus has huge tusks.

The doctor showed her the x-ray.

Our address has a zero in it.

Final R Phrases and Sentences

hungry bear

butter popcorn

wooden chair

family dinner

clothes dryer

roaring fire

tall ladder

near the hole

white paper

nice to share

ocean shore

square block

classroom teacher

whisper softly

The bear was hunting for food. 

I put butter on my popcorn.

The car is fast.

Matthew sat down on the chair.

They did a cheer at the pep rally.

They sat down for a family dinner.

We knocked on the door three times.

She put the clothes into the dryer.

The fire kept them warm.

The wood floor made the room look great.

She will be four years old in October.

She has long, pretty hair.

Use the ladder to reach the fruit.

The ball is near the hole.

Please take out a sheet of paper.

Can I have a bite of your pear?

Can I pour you a glass of water?

She is nice to share her ice cream.

Let's go play by the sea shore.

The spider waited for flies in the web.

A square has four sides.

The star was hanging on the tree.

She is our 5th grade teacher.

Don't make me tear these papers.

She whispered into the girl's ear.

The fence had barb wire on it.

It is almost the end of the school year.

R Reading Paragraphs

Garage scientist.

Whenever I have free time, I race to my garage. I have all kinds of crazy experiments going on in there. I don't mean testing rats or anything. I mean really cool experiments. 

For example, right now I am experimenting to see if carrots can recharge batteries. I have had other experiments that have gone longer. My experiment to see if raisins will make the speakers in my radio louder has been going on for over a year now. 

There are so many more ideas that I want to experiment with - making a fireproof door, testing to see what rainbows are made of, trying to see if I can teach rats to read. 

If my brain was made of trees, it would be a forest of ideas. Science is radical!

My buddy Randy is my hero. He has won many awards, ribbons, and trophies. But he doesn't care about all of that. He does what he does to help others. Here are a few things he has done that make him such a great guy. 

First of all, he is married and is an awesome dad. He has been a teacher for 15 years and has won teacher of the year three times! He volunteers to read to students at after school programs and pick up garbage on the side of the road on the weekends. 

He recycles paper, plastic, and glass which is good for the environment. He helps people with hearing aids get them for less money. He once saved a baby giraffe from drowning at the zoo. He is writing two books. One about ways to improve classroom education and another with fun short stories for kids. 

There are hundreds of other examples I could share with you. Randy puts his heart and strength into everything he does. He is a real role model and I try to follow the example he sets.

Pirate Fanatic

My sister has a friend who thinks he is a pirate. He wears a red bandana on his head, has a pet parrot that he keeps on his shoulder, and walks around saying, "Arrr matey." 

As if this wasn't strange enough, he also has a really big collection of earrings. Not normal earrings either, weird ones.

He has earrings that look like rocks, wrenches, raccoons, cameras, walrus, and even a pair that look like rakes. I understand that some pirates wear earrings, but I thought they would be scarier like hooks, or circles, or daggers. 

I feel like I should tell my sister's friend to research the type of earrings that pirate's wear. Without the right gear, a person who is trying to look like a pirate will just look strange. If he ever met a real pirate, the pirate would probably make fun of him for how he looked. 

Return to Top of R Words Page

Initial BR by Syllables

breast stroke

breathtaking

British Isles

broken down

Brooklyn Bridge

brotherhood

Brussels sprouts

Medial BR by Syllables

paint brush

white bread

gingerbread

London Bridge

paint brushes

scatterbrain

whole wheat bread

celebration

Golden Gate Bridge

Initial BR Phrases and Sentences

metal bracelet

smart brain

sliced bread

eat breakfast

long bridge

broken plate

big brother

fresh baked brownie

Her grandmother gave her the bracelet.

Her friends say she is a brain.

The bread was cut in slices.

I love bacon, eggs, and orange juice for breakfast.

The bridge connects the two cities.

The plate was broken.

He swept the area with a broom.

He loves his brother.

She had a fresh baked brownie for her treat.

Medial BR Phrases and Sentences

scary cobra

cornbread muffin

bushy eyebrow

fabric store

wood hairbrush

new paintbrush

orange toothbrush

piece of white bread

The cobra wanted to strike.

She had a cornbread muffin for dinner.

He had a bushy eyebrow.

She got her fabric at the store.

She just bought the hairbrush.

Grab a paintbrush and get started.

The dentist gave her a new toothbrush.

I bought a loaf of white bread.

We saw a zebra in the jungle.

BR Reading Paragraphs

Lucky bride.

My brother is getting married on Friday. He wants the wedding day to be perfect for his bride. He is planning to visit her house early and make her breakfast in bed. Two of her favorite things to eat are brownies and cornbread, so he is actually going to make her brownie oatmeal and cornbread muffins. 

She loves zebras and he bought her a picture of a baby zebra from a store, just east of the Brooklyn Bridge. He bought her a beautiful bracelet to wear at the wedding. 

He has other gifts that he wants to bring her, but I told him to wait until after the wedding for some of them. She is really smart so he is getting her a squishy foam brain that she can put on her desk at work. He also wants to give her a new set of paintbrushes for her studio. 

If he treats her this good all of the time, I'm sure she won't break his heart.

World Records

The Guinness Book of World Records is full of amazing facts that will raise your eyebrows. From broken bones to tiny brains, it covers the world's most interesting, fanatical, and dedicated people. 

Some records have never been broken even though many people try. There are records for people who own entire houses full of brown fabric, barns full of toothbrushes, and cars full of moldy white bread. One person holds a record for riding a broom over a thousand miles. 

Some records are held by more than one person. Like the four bread store owners who sold a bridge, or the three brothers who hold a record for having cobras on their head for the longest amount of time. 

Why would anyone wear a cobra on their head? Some might think that is brave, but I would think something was wrong with their brain. 

If you visit a city with a Guinness Book of World Records museum, I recommend getting up early, eating a big breakfast and spending all day in one. You will have fun and wild stories to bring home to your friends and family.

Initial DR by Syllables

drawing board

dressing room

dressing up

driver's seat

driving range

drummer boy

dry cleaner

dramatically

drastically

drawing table

Medial DR by Syllables

fruit drink

eye dropper

hair dresser

lemon drink

line drawing

orange drink

race driver

screwdriver

truck driver

driving safety

lemon-lime drink

overdrawing

pineapple drink

salad dressing

taxi driver

ambulance driver

hydrophobia

hypochondriac

quadrilateral

Initial DR Phrases and Sentences

chinese dragon

draw a picture

night dream

wood dresser

drink water

The statue was of a dragon.

The drain was not clogged.

He started to draw a picture.

She had a happy dream.

The dresser is made of wood.

She wanted to drink water.

The faucet started to drip.

They went for a drive on a dusty road.

The snare drum is played in a marching band.

Medial DR Phrases and Sentences

new address

tidy bedroom

playing children

cherry cough drop

one hundred

laundry basket

heavy raindrops

high snowdrift

light sundress

Every home has a unique address.

I always keep my bedroom tidy.

The children are best friends.

The cough drop made him feel better.

He is one hundred years old today.

The laundry basket is full.

Raindrops are falling on her.

The car was covered by a snowdrift.

She wore her sundress to the beach.

DR Reading Paragraphs

Snowdrift drama.

In the winter, wind blows the snow to create snowdrifts. Some storms are so drastic that snowdrifts bury cars on our street in snow. 

Snowdrifts can be anything you can dream up. The neighborhood children and I always played in snowdrifts around our houses. We would dig the snow out and pretend to drive the drifts like cars. 

I would sit in the driver's seat and my friend Drew would be co-pilot. One time we shaped the snowdrift into the shape of a dragon. Another time, we shaped the snow into a bunch of little drums. 

We would also make snowmen. We took dirty laundry and clothes we found in our dresser drawers, and dressed our snowmen head to toe. 

Once we accidentally used my sister Drea's dress. Drea got pretty mad at us and took her dress to the dry cleaners right away. If you ask me she was a little too dramatic about the whole thing. 

I dreaded that she would tell my mom and I would get in a lot of trouble. I pictured my mom dragging me all over the store to help buy Drea a new dress. Luckily, Drea and I made a deal. I promised to bring her favorite drink to her anytime of the day for one month. 

Now I'm worried I will drop the drinks I take to her.

Unique Drummers

My cousin Drake is a professional drummer. He's not the typical kind of drummer though. At his shows, he and the other drummers will drum on almost anything. 

I have seen them drum on people's drink cups, drill bits, drain pipes, a washer and dryer, and a hundred other things. His drumming group is very entertaining to watch. 

They mostly perform on stage in concert halls. They perform outside concert halls too though. They have performed at a driving range, in someone's bedroom, at a drag race, and at a drugstore. 

The drummers usually don't ask questions about where they play, as long as they get paid for their time. They have dreams to play in New York City some day. The band is saving their money to drive there, but don't have enough yet. 

Next month they are holding a special performance at the drive-in theater. It is a Halloween based concert so one of the band members is going to dress up as Dracula and drum on a mummy. The drummers hope this concert will raise the extra money they need to drive to New York. 

As a band of drummers, they are very driven to meet their goals and dreams. 

That's what it takes to be a performer. 

Initial FR by Syllables

French fries

French toast

fresh water

friendliness

frontal lobe

front runner

frostbitten

fruitfulness

fruit salad

frustrating

frustration

fraternizing

frighteningly

Medial FR by Syllables

girl friend

Good Friday

infringement

refreshments

confrontation

infrequently

refreshingly

refrigerate

San Francisco

South Africa

unfrequented

unfriendliness

unfruitfulness

refractivity

refrigeration

refrigerator

Initial FR Phrases and Sentences

picture frame

freckle face

French fries and Ketchup

delicious french toast

Friday night

best friend

pink frosting 

Her picture was in the frame.

Her freckle face is gorgeous.

Give me a lot of Ketchup for my French fries.

She had French toast for breakfast.

Our date is on Friday night.

He is my best friend.

The frog caught the fly with its tongue.

She wanted pink frosting on her cupcake.

They had their choice of fruit.

Medial FR Phrases and Sentences

kind boyfriend

ugly bullfrog

deep-fry food

cute girlfriend

cut grapefruit

play leapfrog

refresh yourself

beautiful sea front

The thunder scared me and I was afraid.

Her boyfriend is very kind and respectful.

A bullfrog is gross.

Deep-fry foods for a better taste.

I like being with my girlfriend.

I eat grapefruit in the morning.

They are playing leapfrog.

She used the water to refresh herself.

Their house was right on the sea front.

FR Reading Paragraphs

Freaky french toast.

Fran's boyfriend, Fred, enjoyed making her breakfast on Friday.

This Friday he said he would make her French toast with frosting, fruit, and whip cream. Fred's French toast recipe was amazing. It had been passed down from his great grandmother who made French toast in France.

Fred never told anyone the recipe.

All Fran knew was that he deep-fried the bread in a special mixture that had frozen grape juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in it. The French toast was so good it was freaky.

Being Fred's girlfriend was great and getting French toast every Friday was a huge perk. Fran hoped that Fred would tell her the secret French toast recipe one day.

Until then, she would just enjoy how frequently she could eat them.

Freckle Watcher

In my free time I like to freckle watch. Freckle what? I know, it sounds like a weird hobby. I tried to refrain from it, but the truth is, I can't. I think freckles are so cool.

I have seen freckles that look like frogs, French fries, and even Africa. I get different responses when I ask to see people's freckles. Unfortunately, people aren't always the most friendly when you ask if you can look at their freckles.

Sometimes I go days without looking at any. It can be frustrating. Most people are friendly and unafraid and will show theirs to me. I have made good friends with complete strangers because I asked to see their freckles.

I was introduced to my girlfriend, Francesca, by one stranger. He said Francesca was interested in art and thought freckle shapes would be a fresh idea for one of her projects.

I wouldn't give up my hobby of freckle watching for anything. 

Initial GR by Syllables

grade school

grass snake

ground floor

grandchildren

granddaughter

grandfather

grandmother

grasshopper

Great Britain

grizzle bear

Ground Hog Day

grounds keeper

ground zero

grammatical

grandfather clock

grand piano

great-grandparent

group therapy

Medial GR by Syllables

concord grapes

disgraceful

study group

underground

aggravation

agriculture

congratulate

congregation

disagreement

ingratitude

photographer

ungraciously

agricultural

bibliography

disagreeable

disintegrated

geographical

oceanographer

topographical

undergraduate

ungrammatical

Initial GR Phrases and Sentences

her grandpa

tiny grasshopper

green crayon

brown grizzly bear

cute groundhog

She loves her grandpa.

Grapes come in many colors.

I need to cut the grass.

The grasshopper has big legs.

I always color the grass green.

It is fun to grill in the summer.

The grizzly bear is hungry for fish.

The groundhog came out of its hole.

Medial GR Phrases and Sentences

Let's agree

blue-green feathers

one hundred degrees

white egret

hand engrave

flowery fragrance

hungry birds

migrate north

You shake hands when you agree.

You can see when she is angry.

The bird has blue-green feathers.

One hundred and six degrees is hot.

The egret was walking in the water.

He learned how to engrave from his father.

The perfume had a flowery fragrance.

The baby birds are hungry.

Every year they migrate north.

GR Reading Paragraphs

Hungry grizzly.

My grandpa and I ran away from a grizzly bear in the woods. We were camping near a stream. We had caught some fish and put it on the grill for dinner. When the grizzly ran toward us, grandpa said he could tell it wasn't angry. It was just hungry.

We both agree that the fragrance of the fish was strong and was all the grizzly wanted. We are grateful he wasn't hungry for us and that the fish and our other groceries were enough to gratify his hunger. We are also grateful that we parked our truck close to camp so we could get in it for protection.

It is the best camping story my grandpa and I have together and, even though it was scary, I don't regret going.

Phil the Groundhog

I grew up in a town that has a large group of people who are passionate about our town groundhog Phil.

During the year, Phil meets and greets people at our local library. He lives there in his groundhog habitat. Our town has Groundhog Phil statues all over it to show our pride for Groundhog Day - a bagpipe playing groundhog, statue of liberty groundhog, a mayor groundhog, and a firefighter groundhog to name a few. Phil even has his own official souvenir shop.

Every year on Groundhog Day, we all meet at Gobbler's Knob to see Phil predict the weather. The town officials go on the grandstand and have a ceremony where they talk to Phil and see if we will have a long or short winter.

We have a great time and look forward to it every year. 

Initial CR/KR by Syllables

cream cheese

crow's nest

cruise ship

crackerjack

craftsmanship

crop duster

cross-country

crystallize

chrysanthemum

cracker barrel

cranberry tree

creativeness

credit rating

credit union

critical mass

cross-country skis

cross reference

crossword puzzle

Medial CR/KR by Syllables

bike crossing

double-cross

handcrafted

water craft

increasingly

microscopic

railroad crossing

aircraft carrier

incriminating

micro detector

Initial CR/KR Phrases and Sentences

hard shell crab

start to crawl

box of crayons

crave chocolate

busy crosswalk

start to cry

I think a crab just pinched me.

The wall had a big crack.

The baby just started to crawl.

He shares his box of crayons.

They were acting crazy in the kitchen.

Our crib was hard to put together.

I crave a big chocolate bar.

Cross the street at the crosswalk.

The baby started to cry.

Medial CR/KR Phrases and Sentences

broke and bankrupt

gross cockroach

wet concrete

cold ice cream

messy packrat

soft pie crust

garden scarecrow

tell the secret

fluffy whip cream

The company went bankrupt last month.

Do you see that cockroach?

Sidewalks are made out of concrete.

Here is your bowl of ice cream.

He is a packrat, he keeps everything.

Wrap the pie crust around the dish.

The scarecrow keeps birds away from the garden.

She is telling her a secret.

May I have some whip cream on my pie?

CR/KR Reading Paragraphs

Ice cream cake.

The ice cream cake was melted all over the floor. Kristina's party had gone perfectly until her friend, Crystal, had forgot to put the ice cream cake in the freezer. Kristina wanted to cry! She had been craving ice cream cake for days. It was her favorite ice cream cake - mint with cookie crust, topped with whip cream and cherries.

She wanted to try and save the cake, but a cockroach had crawled into it and then hid in a crack in the wall. Cockroaches drove her crazy and it made her feel worse about losing the ice cream cake.

"I'll go buy another one," said Crystal. She ran outside, crossed the street, and went to the cake shop. She was back in minutes with a new ice cream cake - mint with cookie crust, topped with whip cream and cherries. It was exactly like the one that melted.

"How did you get another one so fast?" Kristina asked.

"I have a secret to tell you," Crystal responded, "I had two cakes made just in case something like this happened. I forget to do stuff like this all the time. I would probably go bankrupt if I bought ice cream cakes all the time. Thank goodness I don't!"

Crystal, Kristina, and their friends laughed and all enjoyed a slice of ice cream cake.

Creative Uncle Creed

People I know say my Uncle Creed is crazy. He lives across from the beach. Every day he goes to the beach and finds crabs. Then he takes them home and puts them in a crib.

Not a box, not a cage, a crib.

Then he takes crayons and colors the tops of their shells.

"When the crabs move around they create what I call 'moving art'," he says. Some call it crazy, I call it creative.

He also collects scarecrows, broken pieces of concrete, crumbs, and fake crystals. He keeps them all in crates in his front yard, but I don't know where he gets them all from. People call him a packrat, but they shouldn't criticize. We all collect "stuff."

He has done some pretty incredible things. He has given a crow a bath in a creek, fed a cricket cream cheese, and crawled on cranberries to make his own cranberry sauce.

He is amazing at crossword puzzle. It has never taken him more than two minutes to finish any crossword.

He is building his own spacecraft too - not to go to space, just to learn how to build one.

People call me crazy, but I want to be like my Uncle Creed some day.

Initial PR by Syllables

prescription

practical joke

practically

praying mantis

prehistoric

preparation

preposition

presentable

presentation

professional

proposition

prehistorical

preparatory

prepositional

probability

productivity

pronunciation

Medial PR by Syllables

sound proof

fingerprint

improvement

low pressure

mispronounce

appropriate

approximate

April Fools Day

disapproval

life preserver

vice president

word processor

appreciation

impressionable

inappropriate

interpretation

representative

uncompromising

unprecedented

Initial PR Phrases and Sentences

pray quietly

fierce predator

nice present

salty pretzel

cute princess

desk printer

win the prize

She kneeled by her bed to pray.

Predators are animals that hunt for their food. 

He has a small present.

We bought a pretzel at the store.

This coat has a high price.

She is wearing a princess crown.

Will you please fix our printer?

He won the prize.

He is proud of his paper.

Medial PR Phrases and Sentences

approved message

ripe apricot

month of April

cook's apron

architect blueprint

ink fingerprint

making a footprint

be surprised

waterproof boots

The business request was approved.

An apricot is delicious.

My birthday is in April.

The cook had an apron on to keep clean.

The architect created the blueprint.

Security clearance requires a fingerprint card.

She left a footprint in the sand.

He was surprised when he opened the gift.

His yellow boots are waterproof.

PR Reading Paragraphs

Pretzel prank.

You have heard the story of the princess who pricked her finger. This is the story of the prince who ate a pretzel.

Everyone in the kingdom loved the prince. He was proud of his kingdom. He protected the people and ruled with humility. The people gave him presents. The people in the kingdom rarely had any problems with one another.

Once when the prince was in the marketplace, he bought and ate a pretzel from one of the shops. While eating the pretzel, there was a puff of smoke, and then the people saw a prune on the ground. The people gasped and didn't know what to do. They asked the man who sold the prunes what they could do, but he didn't know.

Finally, someone stepped out of the crowd revealed the prince high up on the castle wall. "It was just a prank," he said, "The prince is not a prune. We played a magic trick on you."

The people all breathed a sigh of relief and were happy to have their prince back.

Predators and Prey

Predators are animals that hunt for their food. Prey are the animals that predators try to eat.

Typically, predators will prowl around and watch their prey to see what kind of movements they make. Even though prey are the animals being hunted, they are not dumb. Many types of prey are pretty smart.

For example, prairie dogs use a variety of pitched, warning barks to warn each other of different predators. Some birds will protect their eggs by pretending to be hurt. This lure predators away from their eggs.

Both predators and prey have their own problems. Predators don't always know if they will eat and prey don't always know if they will live. Personally, I'm glad I can go to the store to get my food. 

Initial TR by Syllables

train station

transcribing

transferring

translation

transmission

treacherous

treasure chest

treasure hunt

trustworthy

traditional

tranquility

transatlantic

transferable

transitional

transparency

transportation

tribulation

traditionally

transcontinental

triangulation

trigonometry

Medial TR by Syllables

concentrate

country club

railroad track

rainbow trout

state trooper

subtraction

catastrophe

concentration

contribution

controversy

electronics

entrepreneur

extravagant

illustrated

introduction

no trespassing

remote control

St. Patrick's Day

ventriloquist

electricity

metropolitan

pediatrician

Initial TR Phrases and Sentences

red tractor

horse trailer

hidden treasure

silver truck

loud trumpet

The tractor helps plant the crops.

They pulled the trailer into the yard.

The train was moving fast.

Take the trash out today.

The pirates found the hidden treasure.

The tree was 50 feet tall.

He rode his trike in the driveway.

A silver truck drives by.

He practiced the trumpet in the living room.

Medial TR Phrases and Sentences

stage actress

red fire truck

good orchestra

short pinetree

horse race track

down the railroad track

old remote control

subtract numbers

nice waitress

The actress rehearsed for her performance.

The fire truck was standing by in case of a fire.

The orchestra will perform tonight.

The snow had fallen on the tree.

The horses ran fast down the race track.

The railroad track turns at the mountain.

I use the remote control to fly the plane.

You need to subtract for these problems.

The waitress took her order.

TR Reading Paragraphs

Tracy's training.

Tracy was an actress and she was going to be in a movie about farms. To play her role, she had to learn to drive a tractor, clean a pig trough, take out trash, and hike on trails during short camping trips. But that was just the beginning of the things she needed to learn.

She put a lot of trust in Troy, the farmer who taught her how to do these things. She grew up in a big city and never had the type of training that Troy gave her.

In the beginning, Tracy thought living on a farm in the country, driving a truck, and living in a trailer would be a tough transition. It didn't take her long to realize how much hard work living on a farm was.

She learned how to trust others, work hard, and even jump on a trampoline. After she finished filming the movie, she had a lot of great memories and thought to herself, "I wouldn't have traded anything for this experience."

Caution! Train Tracks

Tre rode his trike all over the neighborhood. He did just what his mom asked. "Stay in control, don't do tricks, and never go near the train tracks," she said.

One day when Tre was out riding, he heard the siren on a fire truck. Tre rode his trike as fast as he could toward the sound. Just before he got to the train tracks, he saw the fire truck. Then he saw another thing that looked like a truck. It was smashed everywhere.

Tre saw someone close by and asked what had happened.

"The truck got stuck on the train tracks," the man said. "Luckily he got out before the train hit the car," he continued, "That would have been tragic."

Tre realized right then why his mom had warned him to stay away from the train tracks.

He had wanted to try and ride over the tracks just to see if he could, without getting into trouble. He was glad he had listened and not tried.

"Train tracks are dangerous," Tre said. From then on Tre watched the train go by from the tree house in his yard. That was close enough for him.

This list of functional words was professionally selected to be the most useful for a child or adult who has difficulty with producing the "R" sound.

We encourage you to use this list when practicing at home.

Home practice will make progress toward meeting individual language goals much faster.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are only able to see students/clients 30-60 mins (or less) per week.

This is not enough time  for your child to overcome an articulation disorder with the "R" sound. But with high caseloads...

...it's all SLPs can do.

There's  only so much time  in the day.

Every day that your child goes without practice  it becomes more and more difficult  to correct an "R" error because he/she continues to say it incorrectly. 

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