Sh Word List and Activities for Speech Therapy

Sh How to Teach the Sh Sound Tips Word Lists Activity Ideas

How To Teach The Sh Sound

J How to make the J sound picture card visual

To make the Sh sound round the lips and bring them forward. Raise the tongue up so the blade brushed against the bumpy ridge behind the teeth. Turn the voice off and release a narrow flow of air. Your tongue stays up. This will produce the /sh/ sound.

At What Age Should a Child Say the Sh Sound?

Most English speaking children can say the Sh sound around age 4.*

How Do You Practice the Sh Sound?

It depends.

Understanding why your child is having difficulty making this sound is important. A speech therapist can do an evaluation to make a diagnosis. What words you choose and activities will vary depending on the cause.

Click here to read more about types of speech sound disorders and treatment

Initial Sh Word List

picture card of a shirt for initial sh word

chef

shade

shadow

shake

shampoo

shapes

share

shark

sharp

she

shed

sheep

shelf

shells

shiny

ship

shirt

shoe

shop

short

shoulder

shout

shovel

show

shower

shrimp

shut

shy

Medial Sh Word List

picture card of tissues for medial sh word

action

bushes

cashier

caution

dishes

fashion

fishing

flashlight

lotion

machine

milkshake

mushroom

ocean

pushing

social

sunshine

tissue

washcloth

washer

wishes

Final Sh Word List

Picture card a fish for final sh word

brush

bush

cash

crash

crush

dash

dish

fish

flash

fresh

leash

smash

squish

swish

trash

wish

Activity Ideas for Practicing the Sh Sound

Photo card of shoes for speech therapy activity

Practice Common Words

Write down a list of words with Sh that your child uses. Think of as many things (nouns), actions (verbs), and descriptive words (adjectives) as you can.

  • Nouns: shoe, fish, couch…

  • Verbs: show, shop, shower …

  • Adjectives: shiny, sharp, squishy…

Photo card of a shape sorter for speech therapy activity

Games and Toys

Look for games and toys that include a lot of Sh words.

  • Play a game of Go Fish

  • Dig in the sand with a shovel

  • Match shapes

Books

Find books that have Sh words in them.

  • Think about characters, places, and objects (nouns)

  • What Sh action words does it have?

  • Does the book use descriptive words (adjectives with Sh words?)

Make your own Sh word book!


* Resource

McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897