Fall Speech Activities: Practice the /f/ Sound With Seasonal Fun
Fall is around the corner so I’ve picked out some words that also have the /f/ speech sound to practice this week.
I’ll start with a brief explanation of words speech therapists use when talking about the position of sounds in words.
Have you heard a speech therapist say, initial, medial, and final positions of words?
This simply means where the sound happens: at the beginning (initial), in the middle (medial), or at the end (final).
For example, in the word fox, the /f/ is at the beginning. In the word muffin, the /f/ is in the middle. And in the word leaf, the /f/ is at the end.
Breaking words down this way helps children practice sounds in different spots, making their speech clearer and easier to understand.
The F Sound in Words
Now it’s your turn.
Below are 17 words that have the /f/ sound in them.
Name each picture and listen for where the /f/ comes in the word.
Is it at the beginning of the word (initial)?
The middle of the word (medial)?
Or, the end of the word (final)?
Talk about which box each word would be sorted.
Or, even better, draw three boxes labeled initial, medial, and final and draw them yourself.
Scroll down to see the answers.
Were you able to name all 17 pictures?
Here is the list of words below, sorted by where the /f/ sound is in the word.
Initial /f/ sound
foot
four
fire truck
feather
fork
fan
football
Medial /f/ sound
muffin
coffee
waffle
elephant
Final /f/ sound
loaf
off
shelf
knife
leaf
half
Did knowing there was an /f/ sound in the word help you figure out the word?
Practice these words again in an activity at the bottom of this page.
The F Sound in Phrases
Now that you’re warmed up, we can use the /f/ sound to practice some basic concepts.
Which comes first?
Which comes after?
Here we have two sets of pictures from some sequencing cards.
Let’s use your good /f/ sound to tell which picture comes first (or before) and which comes after.
I’ll help you out with some words you can use for these stories.
Story 1: Baking a pie
Picture 1 - Bake the pie
Picture 2 - Make the filling
Which picture comes first?
Which picture comes after?
Story 2: Make a Jack-o-Lantern
Picture 1 - Carve a face
Picture 2 - Add a candle
Which picture comes first?
Which picture comes after?
Story 3: Getting Dressed
Picture 1 - Finished getting dressed
Picture 2 - Wrap a scarf
Which picture comes first?
Which picture comes after?
Story 4: Make a Sundae
Picture 1 - Add some fudge
Picture 2 - Scoop the ice cream
Which picture comes first?
Which picture comes after?
The F Sound in Sentences
It’s recess time for these kids at school.
They wrote a sentence about what they like to do with their friends.
Read the sentences below and find the kids in the picture.
We have fun on the swings.
We have fun playing jumprope.
I have fun playing on the monkey bars.
We have fun digging in the sandbox.
I have fun hanging on the pull-up bar.
What do you like to do at recess?
I have fun _________.
The F Sound in Games
Look for the initial, medial, and final F words we practiced above in this maze below.
Can you follow the pictures to get from the bear down to the school?
Use the list of words on the right if you need help.
Answers:
Story 1: Baking a Pie. Picture 1 - Bake the pie (after), Picture 2 - Make the filling (first)
Story 2: Make a Jack-o-Lantern. Picture 1 - Carve a face (first), Picture 2 - Add a candle (after)
Story 3: Getting Dressed. Picture 1 - Finished getting dressed (after), Picture 2 - Wrap a scarf (first)
Story 4: Make a Sundae. Picture 1 - Add some fudge (after), Picture 2 - Scoop the ice cream (first)
Illustration Credits: Kari Bolt, Bunny on a Cloud, LittleRed