Munching Mama’s Sound

Below you will find BONUS ACTIVITIES that come with your purchase of The Speech Sound Set Alphabet Cards.

Note that in this series, only lower-case non-cursive letters are included. Lower-case letters are certainly more difficult to write than capitals, but this resource is about exposing children to the look of the letters that they will be seeing in the sentences of their ‘readers’ (books) when they begin formal schooling.

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About the Sound

Munching Mama makes a loud long sound. Her lips remain shut and the sound comes out her nose.

Sound Pair

A sound pair is another sound that is made in the same way – only one of the pairs is LOUD (uses voice) and the other is SOFT (uses no voice, is whispered).  Not all sounds have a pair.  When a sound is involved with a speech error, often (but not always) the Sound Pair will also be involved in the same speech error. 

The sound of Munching Mama (loud) does not have a Sound Pair. 

When it develops

 This sound is one of the earliest to develop and is in a baby’s babble (around 9 months) at the start and at the end of vocalisations. It is in most children’s speech by around the age of 2 years. The early emergence of this sound is why the word for mother in so many languages starts withthe sound /m/.  Mama, maman, mom, mum, mage.

How it is made

 Shut your lips together and make a loud long sound. The air should leave from your nose when you say this sound. 

Tips to Help 

If a child has a blocked nose, this sound may come out more like Babbling Barry’s sound while their are suffering from a cold or seasonal allergies… BUT  take note if the child is mouth-breathing all the time. If they seem unable to breathe through their nose, further investigation may be needed (first via a GP).  Mouth-breathing can affect sleep, eating, learning, dental and facial development. 

Common Errors

1. If the sound is coming out more like Babbling Barry’s sound/b/, theremay be issues with closure of back of the mouth that allows the sound to come out the nose. This is NOT a normal development error, but may occur temporarily  if a child has a cold or allergies.  Please consult a speech pathologist if this issue is ongoing. 

Arnie the Articulation Teddy shows how to make the /m/ sound. 

The Arnie puppet, along with his articulation program,  is available from the Puppets for Learning online store.  

About the Letter

The lower-case letter used in this set is the non-cursive letter m The letter can look very similar to an upside w. 

Activities

Colour-In

1. Learners can be shown how to form the letter, starting at the star. If there are two possible ways the writer could head with their pencil (or crayon), they should head towards the smaller star next.  Try and give consistent instructions when you show a child how to form the letter.   E.g. “Here’s how we do the letter m. Down and then over and over”. I sometimes say our pencil is like a motorbike going down then over a mountain then over another.  2. Children can practise again and again within the outline. Using different colours can make it more fun. Encourage children to say the SOUND as they trace the letter.  3. Together look at the pictures, name each and LISTEN for the first sound of each word. It will begin with the target sound. 4. You can point to the first letter in each word. Name the letter. 

Picture Cards

 Each picture begins with the target sound. You can print these out and make cards or just look at them on a device.

1) Cards can be used for  these for a range of games such as SNAP, BINGO or MEMORY.

2) Start a double-spread page in a scrapbook for each sound. Paste in the colour-in (above), practise writing the letter and cut out and paste the pictures on the pages.

3) Combine them with another set from a different sound and do a SORTING ACTIVITY.

4)Make a poster for each sound and paste on the corresponding pictures.

Find the Letter 

View the download on a digital device and point to the target letters or print out and circle/ underline the letters.  Try and encourage scanning of left to right of each line while looking for letters. Start by saying “Let’s look for all the m letters”. When you find them, say the sound as you point/circle/underline.

References

Crowe, K. and McLeod, S. (2020). Children’s English Consonant Acquisition In the United States: A Review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 4(29), 2155-2169. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00168

McLeod, S., & Singh, S. (2009). Speech sounds: A pictorial guide to typical and atypical speech. Plural Publishing.

Peña-Brooks, A., & Hegde, M. N. (2015). Assessment and Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders in Children: A Dual-Level Text. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Shipley, K. G., & McAfee, J. G. (2016). Assessment in speech-language pathology: A resource manual. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.