Loud & Quiet Sounds

K vs G

K (quiet)

  • Back (dorsal) top of tongue touches back top of mouth (velum)

  • "K" is quiet (voice off)

G (loud)

  • Back (dorsal) top of tongue touches back top of mouth (velum)

  • "G" is quiet (voice off)

  • There are 5 pairs of words below for you to practice.

  • Submit your homework here.

  • Only move to Step 4 if they are accurate with Step 3.

  • More ideas for Steps 3 & 4 at bottom of page.

Step 1: Remind them of the rule.

Ex: "Sometimes I make my sounds quiet and sometimes I make them loud," or "We are going to practice turning our voice on and off while we talk."

came

game

Step 2: Teach/remind them what each word means
Ex: "In this picture, the boy came closer. He walked to her, he came. This picture shows a game, like when we play (name of a game you enjoy together)."

Step 3: Make sure they can hear the difference
Ex: "Point to the word I say. Came. Game. Came. Came." etc.

Step 4: Say the words
Ex: "You say came or game and I'll point to the one you say."

cave

gave

Step 2: Teach/remind them what each word means
Ex: "This picture shows a cave, an underground place where a bat might live. In this picture, he gave her a present. Gave."

Step 3: Make sure they can hear the difference
Ex: "Point to the word I say. Cave. Gave. Cave. Cave. Gave." etc.

Step 4: Say the words
Ex: "You say cave or gave and I'll point to the one you say."

could

good

Step 2: Teach/remind them what each word means
Ex: "This picture shows could, like when we ask if we can do something. 'Could we play?' This thumbs up means "good."

Step 3: Make sure they can hear the difference
Ex: "Point to the word I say. Could. Good. Could. Good." etc.

Step 4: Say the words
Ex: "You say could or good and I'll point to the one you say."

coast

ghost

Step 2: Teach/remind them what each word means
Ex: "This picture shows a coast, it's where the land meets the sea This picture shows a ghost."

Step 3: Make sure they can hear the difference
Ex: "Point to the word I say. Coast. Ghost. Coast. Ghost." etc.

Step 4: Say the words
Ex: "You say coast. or ghost. and I'll point to the one you say."

coo

goo

Step 2: Teach/remind them what each word means
Ex: "Doves, like in this picture, say Coo. This picture shows someone touching sticky goo. Coo and goo."

Step 3: Make sure they can hear the difference
Ex: "Point to the word I say. Coo. Goo. Coo. Goo. Goo. Coo" etc.

Step 4: Say the words
Ex: "You say coo or goo and I'll point to the one you say."

Tip for Step 3 (discriminating between words)

  • If they can do Step 3 accurately, praise them, "Great! You heard my quiet sound in peas and my loud sound in bees."

  • If they cannot do Step 4, praise their effort, and keep practicing Step 3 instead of going to Step 4. Ex: "Listen, I'm going to say peas with my quiet sound. Feel my throat, feel how there is no buzzing, it's quiet? Peas. Point to peas. Great, now I'm going to say bees with my loud sound, bees. Feel my throat, can you feel it buzzing? It's louder. Point here, to bees."

Ideas to make Step 4 (saying the words) more fun:

  • Draw one pair of words on 2 papers (one picture on each page). Put a tally point on each page as your child says each word. Tell your student they win the game if they get more points on the page that has their target. It's okay if there are NO points on the other page!

  • Print or draw a picture of something quiet (ex: a rabbit) and something loud (ex: drums, a dog barking, a train). Point to each picture as you practice quiet and loud sounds.

  • Repeat a quiet sound (e.g. p p p p p p p p) and catch each other sneaking a noisy sound in there (e.g. p p p p p b p). Make it competitive and add points if that is motivating to your child.

  • When you/your child make a quiet sound (/p/) hold a finger to your lips (as if you're saying "shhhh"). When you/your child make a loud sound (/b/), you could lightly touch your/their voice box to remind them to turn their voice on. (Or, cup your hand around your ear to cue them you want to hear their loud sound.)

  • Have your child draw a picture of each of the ten words above. Then, have them sort the pictures into a "quiet sound" pile and a "loud sound" pile.

  • Use the quiet/loud sound visual below to cue your child as they produce the words.

General Tips:

  • Remember to keep the words in pairs (instead of just going through pees, peep, pie, etc.). This therapy approach is meant to build your child's understanding that changing a sound can change the meaning of a word.

  • Build up your child's tolerance/ability to do more and more productions over time. Can they do 10? 20? 60?