/th/ in the initial position; Giant Eagle

Practice the "th" sound in the initial position with these words:

"thumbprint cookies,"

 

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"thighs,"

 

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and "Thousand Island Dressing."

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A good way to instruct for the /th/ sound is to tell your child to put her tongue between her teeth and blow.  Visual cues are helpful.  I recommend that you exaggerate the /th/ sound when you make it to draw your child's attention to the placement of the tongue and lips.  Practicing in front of a mirror is always helpful.

To practice phrases, ask your child what foods go well with chicken thighs.  Targets may include "chicken thighs and potatoes," "chicken thighs and salad" or "chicken thighs and rice."

To practice sentences, ask your child what she thinks is on your shopping list.  Targets should be in sentence form.  I recommend starting each sentence with the phrase "I think _____."  For example, "I think pasta is on the list," "I think milk is on the list," and "I think cereal is on the list."

Practice /th/ in conversation by asking your child what cookies she thinks Giant Eagle is selling on the day of your visit.  Targets may include, "I think they are selling chocolate chip cookies.  They are probably selling thumbprints.  They might have oatmeal cookies.  I think they sell sugar cookies."  To stimulate more conversation, you can then visit the cookie counter and ask your child if her predictions were right.  Target responses may include, "I thought they would have sugar cookies but they didn't.  I thought there would be more chocolate chip cookies.  I didn't think they would have frosted cookies."

*Tip: The /th/ sound comes in two varieties: voiced and voiceless.  The "voiced" sound makes the "th" sound as in "this" and "that."  During this production, the vocal fold vibrate.  The "voiceless" /th/ sound makes the "th" sound as in "think" and "thumb."  It is produced in the same way, but in this case the vocal folds don't vibrate.  Targets above are for the voiceless /th/ sound.  To target the voiced /th/ sound in the initial position at Giant Eagle, I recommend labeling things with the article "the ____."  For example, "the fruit," "the vegetables," and "the snacks."