{"id":3870,"date":"2013-05-10T23:55:03","date_gmt":"2013-05-10T23:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/?p=3870"},"modified":"2015-08-25T09:45:09","modified_gmt":"2015-08-25T16:45:09","slug":"teaching-plurals-in-speech-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/speech-therapy-techniques\/teaching-plurals-in-speech-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Plurals in Speech Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3881\" style=\"width: 767px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/?p=3870\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3881\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3881 lazyload\" title=\"plurals matching\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Screen-shot-2012-10-11-at-3.20.45-PM.png\" alt=\"plurals matching\" width=\"757\" height=\"577\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 757px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 757\/577;\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3881\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: letsteachsomething.blogspot.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Plurals are grammatical markers that communicate that there is more than one of something, like cat<em>s<\/em> or cookie<em>s<\/em>. Children who aren\u2019t using these correctly haven\u2019t yet acquired all the rules of English grammar. Plurals are frequently a target in<a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/parents\" target=\"_blank\"> speech therapy<\/a> for a few reasons: they can be irregular (mice), they are often omitted all together (I have two dog) or they can be mispronounced (using a \/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/speech-therapy-techniques\/using-apps-to-improve-articulation\/\" target=\"_blank\">s\/ for a \/z\/ sound<\/a> at the end of a word), giving therapists a lot to target. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Receptive Tasks for Understanding Plurals<\/h2>\n<p>Read books with focused stimulation on <a href=\"http:\/\/5thgraderocks5thgraderules.blogspot.com\/2012\/02\/posting-plurals.html\" target=\"_blank\">plural markers<\/a> as a model, adults can read and emphasize the final \/s\/ sounds and irregular plurals in books. Many books that involve counting (one apple, two apple<em>s, <\/em>three apple<em>s<\/em>) are great for modeling and highlighting plurals. During reading, you might also consider asking questions such as, \u201cCan you show me two dogs?\u201d and ask the child to listen and point to the correct picture. Great books for these tasks include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Wheels on the Bus (wipers, wheels, mommies, babies)<\/li>\n<li>Apples and Bananas: Going Bananas with Pairs (apples, bananas)<\/li>\n<li>The Very Hungry Caterpillar (strawberries, oranges)<\/li>\n<li>One Foot, Two Feet (irregulars like feet, mice and oxen)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_3877\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3877\" class=\"wp-image-3877 size-large lazyload\" title=\"hungry caterpillar activity\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/smartboardcaterpillar-1024x950.jpg\" alt=\"hungry caterpillar activity\" width=\"640\" height=\"594\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/smartboardcaterpillar-1024x950.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/smartboardcaterpillar-300x278.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/smartboardcaterpillar.jpg 1228w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 640px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 640\/594;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-3877\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: http:\/\/elenamarieslp.wordpress.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A direction following (\u201cfind three pigs\u201d) game might also be fun in supporting good listening skills and discriminating between singular and plurals.<\/p>\n<h2>Expressive Tasks to Elicit Plurals<\/h2>\n<p>Plurals in speech therapy can easily come up in conversation, during play or while reading, provide the child with the opportunity to \u201cfill in\u201d the correct plural within a sentence. For example, while getting dressed you might say, \u201cHere is one shoe, oh now we have two __.\u201d An expectant pause will clue the child into their turn to complete the sentence.<\/p>\n<h3>Fun therapy tasks could include<\/h3>\n<p>Cooking or setting the table. Count the ingredients, foods or places as you go along, such as three eggs, two cups, five forks etc.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crazy Mr. Potato Head.<\/strong> Instead of the traditional, gatherer pieces from multiple potatoes so you have extra eyes, lips, mouths etc. Then use two die, one with numbers an another with body parts. Roll them both and make a wacky Mr. Potato Head.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play I Spy.<\/strong> Expectant pauses can also work with I Spy Search for multiples of items in the environment and give a clue using numbers and then a pause, such as \u201cI spy two ___.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use a memory game.<\/strong> Before and after each player gets a match with two of the same item, they should state what they see and how many, such as \u201cOne cow, two cows.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_3880\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Pics-028.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3880\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3880 lazyload\" title=\" children writing plural nouns\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Pics-028-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\" children writing plural nouns\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Pics-028-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Pics-028-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Pics-028.jpg 1600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/768;\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3880\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: hojosteachingadventure.com<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Great board games to play include<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Caribou Island (look for and say plural shapes, animals and objects)<\/li>\n<li>Candyland (name the multiple color cards, like two reds)<\/li>\n<li>Hungry Hungry Hippos (count the number of balls eaten by each hippos<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Sing Songs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.songsforteaching.com\/speechtherapy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Any song with counting<\/a> will do, but also use an expectant pause if you\u2019d like the child to \u201cfill in\u201d the lyric. Examples include:<\/li>\n<li>Five little monkeys<\/li>\n<li>The wheels on the bus<\/li>\n<li>Five speckled frogs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Use an iOS app<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/plurals-fun-deck\/id469519468?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\">Plural Fun Deck<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/news\/the-latest-in-apps-expedition-with-plurals\/\" target=\"_blank\">Expedition with Plurals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"\">\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node \" id=\"\">\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/speechbuddy.com\/guides\/speech-in-schools\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img lazyload\" id=\"\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 655px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 655\/211;border-width:0px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3e676eec-ea09-4f7d-af12-2ee5ed1f06c4.png\"  alt=\"Parents' Guide to Speech Therapy in School\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/a>\n    <\/span>\n    <\/span>\n    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plurals are grammatical markers that communicate that there is more than one of something, like cats or cookies. Children who aren\u2019t using these correctly haven\u2019t yet acquired all the rules of English grammar. Plurals are frequently a target in speech therapy for a few reasons: they can be irregular (mice), they are often omitted all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[572,1179,571],"class_list":["post-3870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speech-therapy-techniques","tag-apps-for-plurals","tag-grammar-development","tag-how-to-teach-plurals"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3870"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10669,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3870\/revisions\/10669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}