Sharna Shoosh’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.
Buy The Speech Sound Set Alphabet CardsAbout the Sound
This sound is a soft “fat” and long sound.
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 sounds of Sharna Shoosh (soft) and Zsa Zsa Alien (loud) are Sound Pairs. Zsa Zsa Alien, however is not included in this set. (She makes the sound in the middle of the word “measure” and at the end of “beige”). Zsa Zsa’s sound developed around the age of 5.5 years to 6 years and her spelling is variable. She’s too complex for this set!
When it develops
The sound /sh/ is correct in a child’s speech just before they turn 5 years of age.
How it is made
This is a tricky one to explain… The tongue surface is raised but remains flat. Air is forced over it and no voice is used. Often we stick out out lips when we make this sound, but in actual fact, you don’t need to do this!
Tips to Help
Pretend you are saying “hush” and use your finger to do the “quiet” gesture. Often thinking of making this sound “fat” helps.
Common Errors
Remember, some speech sound errors are perfectly NORMAL as a child progresses in their speech development.
1. It is a common early error for children to say the /t/ or /d/ sound instead of the /sh/ sound in words. An example is a child saying “too” or “doo” for “shoe”. This error is called STOPPING. It simply means the long /sh/ sound is produced as a shorter, sharper sound (/t/). A child usually “grows out” of this error with Sharna’s sound by the age of 5 years.
2. Sometimes children produce Sharna Shoosh’s /sh/ sound as a /s/ sound. An example is a child saying /soo/ for /shoe/.
About the Letters
The lower-case letters used in this set is the non-cursive letter sh. Non-cursive is what is most often seen in text and in the world around a child, so we encourage all written text to be presented in non-cursive in the preschool setting.
Sharna Shoosh’s sound is usually written using a digraph. A digraph means “two letters that make one speech sound.”
The letters’ names are pronounced “Ess aitch”.
Digraphs included in this card set are ch, th, and sh. These are not usually introduced in early phonics-based writing and reading lessons until the second year of formal schooling. Still, the sounds /ch/ and /sh/ are certainly in a typical preschooler’s speech, so I have included them in this card set.
Activities
The 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 letters. 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 Letters
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 sh 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.