How to Teach the “W” Sound by Karen George and Chicago Speech Therapy
3/7/2012
The “w” sound is made by pursing the lips in a tight circle, like the “boo” or “oo” sounds. The tip of the tongue touches the bottom front teeth and the rest of the tongue stretches back to the back of the mouth, but does not touch the roof of the mouth. The back of the throat also closes off slightly, which gives the “w” sound its consonant quality.
Development
This sound is usually developed between the time that a child is two or three. If your child is three and a half or four and is having trouble saying the “w” sound, then you might want to take your child to a speech-language pathologist.
Teaching the “W” Sound
Tactile
One way to help your child start making the “w” sound properly is by having them touch your lips. This will help them understand how they need to shape their lips to accomplish the sound. You can also have them touch your throat to show them that there are vibrations that happen while articulating the “w” sound.
Visual
Another way that you can teach your child how to form the “w” sound is by having them look at the way that you are forming your lips to make the “w” sound. Have them mimic your lip position before making the sound.
Verbal
After the child has mastered making the “w” sound on its own, then you can start adding vowels to the “w” sound. Start with the “w” at the beginning of the syllables, for instance, wa, wee, why, wo, and woo. Then you can move the “w” sound to the middle of the syllable, for instance, away, ewee, owee, and oowa. Then you can practice using the “w” sound at the end of the syllables, for instance, oow, eeew, and aw.
When they have gotten the hang of those three placements, you can start using the “w” sound in sentences. Again, focus on each placement at a time. An example sentence for beginning placement is “Wow, what a way.” An example of middle placement is “Flowers are flowing.” And an example of a sentence with end placement is “Show me how.”
Activity
An activity that you can do with your child to help them master the “w” sound is to take them around the house and point at different things with the “w” sound in the word and have them repeat the word after you. Some common household items might be window, wing, wheat, and flower. You can also use pictures in a picture book or illustrated story for this activity.
Another activity that might be engaging and fun to do with your child is to either read or make up a story with lots of words with the “w” sound in them. Have the child repeat the sentences that contain the “w” sound in them back to you. This will help them get the hang of using the sound in many different contexts.
If you are concerned with your child’s speech or language development, please contact Chicago Speech Therapy by calling phone_num or going to
Karen George is a Chicago speech-language pathologist. The practice she founded, Chicago Speech Therapy, LLC, provides in-home pediatric speech therapy in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Karen and her team of Chicago speech therapists have a reputation for ultra-effective speech therapy and work with a variety of speech disorders. Karen is the author of several books such as A Parent’s Guide to Speech and Language Milestones, A Parent’s Guide to Articulation, A Parent’s Guide to Speech Delay, A Parent’s Guide to Stuttering Therapy, and A Parent’s Guide to Pediatric Feeding Therapy. She is often asked to speak and has addressed audiences at Children’s Memorial and Northwestern University. Karen is highly referred by many Chicago-area Pediatricians and elite schools.
