Cards for Randomized Activities
© 2008-12 Jennifer Taps Richard, M.A., CCC-SLP and SLPath
All Rights Reserved
Not Intended for Redistribution
Licensed to SAMPLE
A Note From The Author
This document includes cards for you to print out to randomize activities for your students.
According to motor learning theory, there are three phases of acquisition: 1. pre-
practice/placement (when the child learns how to produce the sound in isolation and syllables
until 80% accuracy), 2. practice (when the child practices at different levels of difficulty –
sounds, syllables, words, phrases, sentences and conversation – in varied activities), and 3.
generalization (Skelton, 2004). Randomized practice has been shown to facilitate retention and
generalization of sounds (Skelton, 2005). Furthermore, this approach advocates that practice
should consist of connected, meaningful speech because that is how we actually communicate.
Hoffman and Norris (2005) suggested that intervention that is independent of communication
(i.e. drill only) often results in the child defaulting to the old motor pattern of speech during
actual communication. This would, of course, inhibit generalization and extend treatment time.
Students appreciate randomized activities because they are fun and keep them on their toes. One
way to randomize is for students to practice at different levels (sounds, syllables, words, phrases,
sentences and conversation) within the same session. Others include different numbers of
practicing targets or practicing words in different orders. These cards will allow you to
randomize treatment in other ways that lets kids be kids.
These exercises will allow you to vary actions, animals, emotional contexts, and different ways
of talking. My students brainstormed many of these options. During these activities, students
will need to self-monitor while doing something else, which correlates with real communication
and results in greater generalization. Students who self-monitor during activities in the
speech/language room are more likely to generalize to all communicative contexts (Koegel,
Koegel, Van Voy & Ingham, 1988).
One group said that the action cards should be green because “green means go.” Your students
can draw a green card (without showing the other children) and then proceed to act out the action
on the card (e.g., pretending to surf or pretending to use a hula hoop) while saying their sound
target(s).
Your students can utilize the pink cards to convey a certain emotion. Again, one child would
select an emotion card without showing the rest of the group. After the child pretends and
practices, the others guess what emotion was displayed on the card. You might discover
burgeoning thespians in your groups as I have through this engaging activity.
Students may draw from the purple cards to practice different ways of talking (prosody, rate of
speech and pitch). These cards include talking quickly, talking slowly, talking like a robot,
talking in a high voice, etc.
Licensed to SAMPLE
Yellow colored cards allow your students to pretend to be animals while practicing. For
example, a student might draw “elephant” and then swing a pretend trunk while practicing a
sentence.
We hope you and your students enjoy these cards. Practicing real communication can and
should be fun for all involved.
We appreciate you ordering this e-book from [Link]. A great deal of time and effort went
into creating these downloadable documents, and your financial support helps to defray the cost
of maintaining this website. While we encourage you to use these exercises in your own
treatment programs, we do ask that you not redistribute this work to others, but rather encourage
them to order directly from [Link]. Thank you for your support and for making a positive
difference in the lives of children.
Jennifer Taps Richard, M.A., CCC-SLP
Licensed to SAMPLE
Licensed to SAMPLE
Licensed to SAMPLE
Licensed to SAMPLE