Articulation and Phonology

Speech Therapy Z Sound Articulation Games and Activities

This time of year speech rooms and classrooms are buzzing with excitement… for spring breaks, spring weather and just a few months from summer break. Not to be corny but, my speech room is also buzzing with the /z/ sound. In this post, I want to share with you some of my favorite speech therapy Z sound activities to help you plan effective high trial sessions!

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Speech Therapy Z Sound Resources for Elicitation

For my students who are starting at the first step, we’ll work on eliciting the /z/ sound isolation. Here are some of my favorite tools to do this:

Mommy Speech Therapy has tips for elicitation and picture words for the Z sound.
Watch this video with your students on how to say Z from Peachie Speechie. This is also a helpful carryover tool, too!
The Marshalla Guide has plenty of tips for producing various sounds including the Z sound.
If you need visuals, word lists and tips for eliciting the Z sound, check out this Speech Sound Handbook from Peachie Speechie

Z Syllable and Word Speech Therapy Activities

When your students are reading to practice the /z/ sound in syllables and words, try some of these tips:

Use this FREE Z sound syllable practice with dry-erase markers or post-it notes to practice Z at the syllable level.
My Z word activities speech therapy digital folders to customize quick drill activities for your in-person and teletherapy sessions. Keep everything in one place between links to websites, YouTube videos, Google Slides, progress monitoring tools, and PDFs.
Try my S and Z Words activities flipbook or the NO print version.
Speech and Language at Home has great lists of z words for speech therapy.
Keep your students busy and engaged with this pipe cleaner articulation activity.
Play I Spy, complete drills or try out some sensory bins with these Z speech word picture cards.
Make an I Spy sensory bin with Z mini trinkets and other sounds to pair with the free Z sound mat printables

Z Words for Speech Therapy

As you continue practicing /z/ in all positions of words, check out some of these ideas:

Home Speech Home has another great word list for Z sound.
This free and Fun zoo articulation map from Harre SLP!
Games help keep kids motivated and practicing their words. Try using games like Zingo or Honey Bee Tree. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, games don’t have to have the sound in the title to be helpful in articulation trials!

Speech Therapy Crafts for the Z Sound

At any “stage” in Z sound speech therapy, crafts can be a helpful way to keep students engaged. Most students are motivated to create something of their own. After, students can store the craft in their speech folder or bring it home for more practice.

Have your students design shoes that are covered with pictures of different Z words on them.
Do the paper plate challenge craft for a low prep Z sound speech therapy craft.
Make a Zipped up Z using this YouTube video!
Try this Z is for zoo from Ducks ‘n’ a Row or Z is for Zebra from Crystal and Comp.

Add Your Heading Text Here

When students are ready to start working on the Z sound in sentences, there are plenty of activities you can do with them!

Make sound-loaded phrases with your students on paper that you can practice in the session and then take home for the weekly homework.
- For example, you can use the phrase “It is ______.” Then, students think of different words. They don’t have to have an Z because the word your student will be working on is “is.”

When using mixed groups, give them a category group to name items. Here are some more examples for sound loaded phrases:
- Zoe/Zach has the ___.
- My present is a ____.
- I choose the ___.

If you do a theme-based approach, you can do this activity but use the theme’s vocabulary. See this IG for more details.
Compare and contrast similar nouns that contain the Z sound. For example, dogs and pigs or appetizers and dessert would be great Z words to compare. If you need pre-selected compare-and-contrast flashcards, check out the S and Z articulation carryover set.

Z Words Sentence Challenge Worksheets

Play a sentence articulation challenge game that keeps the student motivated to practice high trials in a short amount of time.
With your words lists, you and your students can create tongue twisters that they can practice. You can even have them illustrate their tongue twister to make a fun speech sound book. For example, you could use “Zoe the busy zebra zoomed through the desert to get her dessert,” or “Zeke the wizard buzzed through the blizzard on his broom to get his prize.”
You can make alliteration Z poems and then students can draw their poem.
Play guessing games for secret words that only have the Z sound. Add in carrier phrases for people to use, like “Is it a ____ or is it not?” or “I will zip my lips until your answer is closer!”

Z Sound Conversation Activities

Last, but certainly not least, try these Z sound conversation activities.

Here is a link to some low prep S and Z Sound conversation activities which includes fiction short stories, non-fiction passages, compare and contrast cards, conversation starter cards, picture-scene sequencing visuals and digital options.
Read non-fiction passages from the link above, or use wonderopolis or read works.org.
- Learn if “Can Start Your Own Zoo” or “How Long It Would Take to Fly to Mars.”

Sound-Loaded Conversation Activities for Z Articulation Practice

Make sound loaded questions, or would you rather games.
- For /z/ sound, I often will use “Which IS your favorite?” or “Which would you CHOOSE?”

Have students read the directions of a game, or read the cards while playing a game like Bubble Talk.

Create a list of words that start with the Z sound (zoom, zone, xylophone, blizzard, desert, easy, cheese, nose, lose) then have students make silly sentences or create a story trying to get the sound-loaded words in the story.

There are plenty of activities to use when working on the /z/ sound in speech therapy! What activities do you like to use for Z speech therapy? Share with us on social media!

What Z Articulation Activities Do You Use in Speech Therapy?

Do you have a favorite book, YouTube video, website, game or activity that gets lots of Z words for speech therapy practice? Share your favorite activities that helps you target the Z sound to get lots of trials. It’s always nice to hear what other SLPs are doing in their sessions!

Speech Therapy Z Sound Articulation Games and Activities

Speech Therapy Z Sound Resources for Elicitation

Z Syllable and Word Speech Therapy Activities

Z Words for Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy Crafts for the Z Sound

Add Your Heading Text Here

Z Words Sentence Challenge Worksheets

Z Sound Conversation Activities

Sound-Loaded Conversation Activities for Z Articulation Practice

What Z Articulation Activities Do You Use in Speech Therapy?

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