S and Z How to Teach the S and Z Sounds Tips Word Lists Activity Ideas
How To Teach The S and Z Sounds
To make the /s/ sound the lips are slightly apart. Blow air out over the tongue straight behind the teeth. The tongue tip may go up or down, both are correct. For the S sound the voice is turned off.
The Z sound is made the same as the S except your voice is turned on. The airflow between the front teeth and the vibration of the vocal folds make the /z/ sound.
Note: An interdental lisp, (or frontal lisp), is when the tongue comes too far forward and sticks out between the teeth. This sounds like the “th” sound. A lateral lisp is when air goes out around the sides of the tongue. This can be described as a “slushy” sounding S.
At What Age Should a Child Say the S and Z Sounds?
Most English speaking children can say the S and Z sounds around age 4.*
What is the Difference Between S and /s/?
The written symbols, S and s, refer to the name of the letter “s”. When you see the s between diagonal lines, /s/, that refers to the sound the letter makes, /s/.
S is a letter name.
/s/ is the sound it makes.
How Do You Practice the S 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 S Word List
circle
city
sad
safe
said
sail
sailboat
same
sand
sandbox
sandwich
sat
saw
say
sea
seat
see
seed
set
seven
sew
sick
side
sign
silly
sing
sink
sip
sit
soap
sock
soft
sound
soup
sour
sub
summer
sun
sunshine
syrup
Medial S Word List
baseball
bathing suit
beside
bicycle
blossom
bracelet
castle
dancer
dinosaur
dresser
hospital
icing
insect
lesson
medicine
messy
missing
motorcycle
muscle
outside
pencil
recent
recipe
recycle
glasses
receive
tricycle
Final S Word List
bus
chase
class
dice
dress
face
fence
fox
glass
goose
grass
guess
horse
house
ice
juice
less
mess
mice
mouse
nice
nurse
pass
race
rice
this
us
yes
Initial Z Word List
zap
zip
zone
zoo
zoom
zebra
zero
zipper
Medial Z Word List
breezy
busy
closet
cousin
daisy
desert
dessert
dozen
easel
lizard
music
noisy
present
pretzel
puzzle
raisin
scissors
season
sneezing
Thursday
Wednesday
wizard
zigzag
freezer
fuzzy
Tuesday
Final Z Word List
animals
apples
bags
bears
bees
boys
bugs
cans
cars
cheese
colors
cookies
crackers
dogs
eggs
farmers
flowers
hands
hose
jeans
keys
kids
legs
pies
potatoes
prize
quiz
rings
rose
slippers
sneeze
tomatoes
Activity Ideas for Practicing the S and Z Sounds
Practice Common Words
Write down a list of words with S and Z that your child uses. Think of as many things (nouns), actions (verbs), and descriptive words (adjectives) as you can.
Nouns: sun, sock, sink …
Verbs: sit, sip, dance…
Adjectives: silly, sad, messy…
Games and Toys
Look for games and toys that include a lot of S and Z words.
Try a game of Simon Says
Play Freeze Tag or Duck Duck Goose
Build with Legos and blocks
Books
Find books that have S and Z words in them.
Think about characters, places, and objects (nouns)
What S/Z action words does it have?
Does the book use descriptive words (adjectives with S and Z?)
Make your own S and Z word books!
Speech Therapy Materials
Check out the resources on the right side of the page for ideas.
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* 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
