Word initial s words

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Are you on the hunt for a list of initial s words that would be a great way to practice with your child or student?

As a speech-language pathologist, I know articulation goals are frequently seen at the elementary level.

If you’re a parent or speech therapist on the hunt for a list of speech therapy words that include your child or student’s target sound then you’ve come to the right place.

Minimal Pairs

A great way to work on sound production is through minimal pairs.

A minimal pair is two words that differ by only one phoneme, in this case, the initial /s/ sound.

For example, “sea” and “bee”.

When you pronounce these words side by side, it’s easy to hear the difference in the initial sound.

Having a list of initial s minimal pairs is a great way to work on correct production!

Correct Production

The /s/ initial sounds in the English language are made by lightly placing the tip of your tongue on the ridge right behind your upper front teeth.

Be sure to place the sides of the tongue against the upper side of your teeth to allow for the passage of air to go down the center of the tongue.

Then while smiling blow a skinny stream of air over the center of your tongue (you do not want the air to come out the sides of the tongue).

Target Word

Here’s a list of initial s articulation sounds for you to use in therapy, practice at home, and with those who are diagnosed with articulation disorders.

• For Example: sea, soap, soup, sauce, search, set, sit, sew, soak, sun, suit, surf, sad, saw, side, sign, sing, sound, soothe, seek, sell, see, sack, salt, sock, and sail

See the full list of words, phrases, and sentences below.

Be sure to grab my one-page freebie of initial s sounds below. Simply scroll to the bottom of this post and grab your free copy!

Board Games

One of my favorite speech therapy activities to work on articulation goals is to use board games!

There are a few different types of board games that can be great for working on initial s sound production.

The first type is a game where you simply play a game and when it’s your child or student’s turn they have to say one of their practice words from a list of words.

You can have them say their word once or five times before they earn their turn to play.

A few of my favorite games to play while working on articulation sounds while the student has to earn their turn are Go Fish, Connect Four, and Jenga.

The second type of game is one where the game includes your child or student’s articulation sound within the game itself. This is a great way to work on initial s sound production in the context of a game format!

Word Positions: Initial S Words Speech Therapy 

Initial Position of Words

The initial position of the initial s is at the beginning of a word. For example, “sorry” or “salt”.

Medial Position of Words

Some words have the s sound in the medial position of a word, such as “castle”, “Mississippi”, and “dancer”.

Final Position of Words

The final positions of words are when the target sound is at the end of a word. For example, “bus” or “horse”.

There are a lot of initial s words that can be used at the word level.

You could have your child or student say each initial /s/ word as they search through a list to find where it belongs in their sentence.

Another way you could use initial /s/ words at the word level is by using a dot marker. Have your child or student place a dot under each initial /s/ sound in a sentence.

Look no further I’ve included a one-page freebie of initial s sounds below. Simply scroll to the bottom of this post and grab your free copy.

• 1 Syllable: sea, soap, soup, sauce, search, set, sit, sew, soak, sun, suit, surf, sad, saw, side, sign, sing, sound, soothe, seek, sell, see, sack, salt, sock, sail, safe, sake, sale, same, sand, save, say, seal, seat, seed, seem, seize, self, sense, serve, sick, side, sight, silk, sink, site, size, so, soft, soil, solve, some, son, song, soon, sore, sort, sour, source, south, such, sum, said, sip, six
• 2 Syllable: secret, seaweed, soccer, sandals, sailor, safety, supplies, silly, sibling, sister, sadness, salad, salesman, sample, sandwich, savings, season, second, section, secure, seldom, select, selfish, senior, sentence, series, servant, service, session, settle, severe, sideburn, signal, silence, silent, silver, simple, singer, single, social, software, solar, soldier, solid, sorrow, sorry, southern, subject, submit, substance, success, sudden, suffer, sugar, suggest, summer, sunny, sunshine, support, surgeon, sustain, soda, super, sidewalk, seven, sunrise, sunset, saddle, sequel
• 3 Syllable: sacrifice, salary, salesperson, saleswoman, sarcastic, satisfy, secretive, selection, semester, sensible, sensitive, separate, several, signature, similar, solution, somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometimes, somewhat, somewhere, substantial, substitute, successful, sufficient, suggestion, suitable, summary, seventeen
• 4 Syllable: satisfaction, secondary, secretary, security, separation, significant, situation, superficial, sustainable
• 5 Syllable: serendipity, supernatural, sensitivity, satisfying, socialization, situational, summarization, similarity
• 6 Syllable: superiority, simultaneously, semiannually

Practice in Flash Card Mode Right Here from Your Computer!

Initial S Words Speech Therapy

1 Syllable	2 Syllable	3 Syllable
sea	secret	sacrifice
soap	seaweed	salary
soup	soccer	salesperson
sauce	sandals	saleswoman
search	sailor	sarcastic
set	safety	satisfy
sit	supplies	secretive
sew	silly	selection
soak	sibling	semester
sun	sister	sensible
suit	sadness	sensitive
surf	salad	separate
sad	salesman	several
saw	sample	signature
side	sandwich	similar
sign	savings	solution
sing	season	somebody
sound	second	somehow
soothe	section	someone
seek	secure	something
sell	seldom	sometimes
see	select	somewhat
sack	selfish	somewhere
salt	senior	substantial
sock	sentence	substitute
sail	series	successful
safe	servant	sufficient
sake	service	suggestion
sale	session	suitable
same	settle	summary
sand	severe	seventeen
save	sideburn
say	signal
seal	silence
seat	silent
seed	silver
seem	simple
seize	singer
self	single
sense	social
serve	software
sick	solar
side	soldier
sight	solid
silk	sorrow
sink	sorry
site	southern
size	subject
so	submit
soft	substance
soil	success
solve	sudden
some	suffer
son	sugar
song	suggest
soon	summer
sore	sunny
sort	sunshine
sour	support
source	surgeon
south	sustain
such	soda
sum	super
said	sidewalk
sip	seven
six	sunrise
	sunset
	saddle
	sequel

4 Syllable	5 Syllable	6 Syllable
satisfaction	serendipity	superiority
secondary	supernatural	simultaneously
secretary	sensitivity	semiannually
security	satisfying
separation	socialization
significant	situational
situation	summarization
superficial	similarity
sustainable

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

Short Sentences or Phrases: Initial S Words Speech Therapy

When working on initial s sound production, it’s important to use short sentences or phrases once your child or student has mastered the sound at the word level at or near 80% or higher accuracy.

Here is a list of initial s word phrases to try:

Initial S Words Speech Therapy in Phrases

1 Syllable	2 Syllable	3 Syllable
blue sea	big secret	make a sacrifice
bubbly soap	seaweed tree	full-time salary
cold soup	soccer ball	kind salesperson
tomato sauce	white sandals	friendly saleswoman
lost search	tall sailor	sarcastic joke
set aside	safety first	satisfy your thirst
sit next to	school supplies	don’t be secretive
sew together	silly faces	make a selection
soak up	sibling rivalry	first semester
full sun	best sister	act sensible
blue suit	filled with sadness	sensitive person
rough surf	salad dressing	separate people talking
sad face	friendly salesman	several hours
saw in half	eat the sample	write your signature
side dish	warm sandwich	similar people
sign below	savings account	new solution
sing song	in season	find somebody
loud sound	second floor	somehow complete it
soothe the baby	section off	someone is waiting
hide and seek	secure on	bring me something
sell low	seldom visit	sometimes watched
see you soon	select from	somewhat liked
brown sack	act selfish	located somewhere
more salt	senior citizen	substantial amount
white sock	make a sentence	new substitute
low sail	series of events	successful career
safe and sound	servant heart	sufficient work
for the sake of	service dog	make a suggestion
for sale	in a session	suitable for
all the same	settle the problem	summary of events
big sandcastle	severe thunderstorm	seventeen girls
save the day	long sideburn
I say	flashing signal
baby seal	moment of silence
seat belt	silent treatment
flower seed	silver coins
seem to know	simple work
seize the day	great singer
normal self	single piece
sense of humor	social gathering
serve food	computer software
sick day	solar panel
side to side	brave soldier
in sight of	solid rock
silk hat	filled with sorrow
sink or swim	felt sorry
building site	southern states
bite size	subject of a sentence
so many	submit your work
soft touch	liquid substance
dark soil	make a success
solve the case	all of a sudden
and then some	suffer the consequence
oldest son	made with sugar
a song and dance	suggest a time
very soon	summer fun
sore throat	sunny day
sort out	sunshine in the sky
sour candy	support your friend
water source	talented surgeon
down south	sustain for long
such and such	delicious soda
sum total	super job
you said	stay on the sidewalk
take a sip	seven cute kittens
six pencils	watch the sunrise
	beautiful sunset
	get on the saddle
	read the sequel

4 Syllable	5 Syllable	6 Syllable
feel the satisfaction	wonderful serendipity	calm superiority
secondary school	supernatural power	happened simultaneously
helpful secretary	extreme sensitivity	occurs semiannually
security team	satisfying drink
separation between	socialization with others
significant choice	situational location
situation changed	summarization of the text
superficial nails	common similarity
not sustainable

Sentence Level: Initial S Words Speech Therapy

The next step after working at the word level is to work on the initial s sound at the sentence level.

For example, you could use picture cards and have your child or student choose the correct initial /s/ word that goes with each picture card. The child or student could then use their initial /s/ word to create a sentence about the picture.

Initial S Words Speech Therapy in Sentences

1 Syllable	2 Syllable
The boy went to the sea.	She told her a secret.
The soap was extra soapy.	He planted a seaweed tree.
The soup was cold.	She plays soccer.
She added more tomato sauce.	He bought new sandals.
They went on a search.	He wants to be a sailor.
It’s time to set the table.	Safety is the most important thing.
You need to sit down.	They needed more school supplies.
I need to sew up the hole.	They were making silly faces.
She soaked up the sun rays.	They are siblings.
The sun was out.	Her sister is her best friend.
He wore a suit.	She was filled with sadness.
They went surfing together.	My favorite salad dressing is ranch.
She was feeling sad.	He is a friendly salesman.
The saw cut down the tree.	I like to eat the samples at the grocery store.
The fruit is a side dish.	The sandwich was warm.
He needed to sign the paper.	I have a savings account at my bank.
The girl loves to sing.	These strawberries are in season.
The bell made a sound.	Her apartment is on the second floor.
He tried to soothe the baby.	They will section off those chairs for the event.
They played hide and seek.	Let’s secure the pin on her shirt.
He wanted to sell his shoes.	Their grandparents seldom visit them.
They went to see her grandmother.	Select your favorite fruit.
She put it in the sack.	Please don’t act selfish.
The chef added more salt.	My grandpa is a senior citizen.
He lost a sock.	Make a sentence with your spelling words.
The sail on the boat broke.	What series of events caused the vase to break?
He was home safe and sound.	He has the heart of a servant and enjoys helping others.
Eat healthy foods for the sake of your health.	Service dogs work hard.
This house is for sale.	The meeting is in session.
These shells all look the same.	Let’s work hard to settle the problem.
We built a sandcastle.	There was a severe thunderstorm.
The superhero will save the day.	Did you see his long sideburns?
I would say to be kind to others.	There is a flashing signal on that sign.
The seal at the zoo is cute.	The room was filled with silence.
Buckle your seat belt.	At night, my room is silent.
I planted my own flower seed.	I have five silver coins.
You seem to know the answer.	That homework was simple.
Remember to seize the day!	She is a great singer!
He wasn’t feeling his normal self.	I need a single piece of paper.
She has a great sense of humor.	They enjoyed the social gathering.
I will serve you a snack.	Computer software can be expensive.
The teacher needed a sick day.	That roof is full of solar panels
The tiger moved from side to side.	He is a brave soldier.
I wear glasses to help my sight.	This rock is solid.
What a nice, silk hat!	He was filled with sorrow over his choice.
Will the penny sink or swim?	She felt sorry for hurting her brother.
This is a new building site.	There are many southern states.
These are delicious bite-size cookies.	The subject of that sentence is a dog.
There are so many choices!	Submit your work on time.
The blanket is soft to touch.	My favorite substance to drink is water.
The soil in the garden is dark.	His project was a success.
He will solve the case.	All of a sudden, he jumped and scared me!
I would like some cake.	I had to suffer the consequence of my bad choice.
I am the oldest son.	The cookies are made with a lot of sugar.
They performed a song and dance for their parents.	Suggest a time that works for you to meet.
We will leave very soon.	Summer is my favorite season.
I have a sore throat.	It’s a sunny day.
Can you sort out these puzzle pieces?	Look at the bright sunshine in the sky.
I enjoy eating sour candy.	I always support my friend.
We need to find a new source of water.	He is a talented surgeon.
I want to travel down south to Florida.	I can’t sustain running for much longer.
I found skating to be such fun!	This strawberry is delicious.
What is the sum of 2 and 2?	She did a super job on her homework.
You said you would come to the party.	Stay on the sidewalk so you don’t get hurt.
I took a sip of water.	There are seven days in a week.
I need six pencils for school.	I was up early to see the sunrise.
	What a beautiful sunset!
	Climb onto the saddle to ride the horse.
	I want to read the sequel of this book.

3 Syllable	4 Syllable
He made a sacrifice by staying home with his family.	They felt the satisfaction of a job well done.
Her boss offered her a new salary.	Next year, we will go to secondary school.
The kind salesperson helped her find the shoe department.	The secretary at our school is very helpful.
The saleswoman was very friendly as they paid for the clothes.	The football game has a security team that keeps everyone safe.
Their daughter was often sarcastic.	Some children don’t do well with separation from their parents.
Water can satisfy your thirst.	The decision they made was significant to everyone in the room.
Don’t be secretive with your friends.	The situation changed very quickly when the dog ran out of the yard.
Look at the ice cream options and make a selection.	Some women enjoy wearing superficial nails.
The first semester of classes was about to begin.	He started the race so fast that it was not sustainable.
Remember to act sensible at school.
Her friend is a very sensitive person.
The teacher said she would separate them.
The game lasted several hours.
Write your signature at the bottom of the letter.
The brother and sister looked very similar.
They came up with a solution to their problem.
Somebody ate the last cookie!
Somehow, I will complete this homework.
Someone is waiting outside for you.
Can you bring me something warm to drink?
They would sometimes watch the show with the talking dog.
She somewhat liked broccoli.
The moon is somewhere in outer space.
She had a substantial amount of books in her room.
There was a new substitute teacher in their class.
He had a successful career.
Five outfits were sufficient for the trip.
You can make a suggestion if you would like.
This dress is suitable for the event.
He wrote a summary of the book he read.
He had seventeen pairs of socks.

5 Syllable	6 Syllable
It was by serendipity that I found a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk.	The CEO of the company is down to earth, but she does carry herself with superiority and power.
Spiderman has a supernatural power.	He dropped the ball and fell down simultaneously.
She has a sensitivity to many foods and will no longer eat them.	The board meeting occurs semiannually.
After being in the sun all day, the drink of water was very satisfying.
After buying the new puppy, it needed socialization with other people.
This is a situational comedy that everyone can enjoy.
Please say your summarization of the text.
There was a similarity between the two girls.

Initial S Words Speech Therapy Ideas

Dot Marker

One way to help your child or student see the initial s sound in words is by using a dot marker.

Have them say the word and then put a dot above the letter that makes the /s/ sound. For example, have them say “salt” and then put a dot above the s in the word “salt”.

Another way to use a dot maker is to use them as reinforcement boards allowing the student to make a dot with their dot marker after practicing one of their initial s words or using an I Spy sheet with initial s words already on the sheet.

Here are a few examples your child or student might enjoy:

1. Dot Marker Articulation Stories Initial /s/ FREEBIE by SPEECHtacular – As students read each story, have them use a Dot Marker to dot each time their target sound is used. Complete these in individual or small group sessions, or send them home as homework!

1. Acorn- Dot Marker Tracking worksheet (Articulation) by Kiddo Talk Speech Therapy – This is ideal to keep a kiddo focused during Articulation Drill tasks. Have them identify their target sound first and then get right to work…and drill, drill, drill!

1. Articulation Coloring Sheet by Kimiko the SLP – Use this coloring sheet to keep your kids engaged while practicing their /s/ sounds!

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

Answer Questions

One way to help your child or student with initial s sound production is by answering questions.

You can either use a worksheet where they have to answer questions about initial s words or you could verbally ask them questions and have them answer out loud.

Some examples of initial s questions are: “What’s the name of this bird?” while pointing to a picture of a seagull.

Here is an example your child or student might enjoy:

1. Articulation Story Loaded with “S” Sounds and WH Story Question by Speech Fun Club –  This Freebie resource focuses on “S” sound production at the connected speech level while also targeting listening comprehension and narrative language skills.

Initial Consonant Deletion

What is initial consonant deletion?

Initial consonant deletion is when a child or student deletes an initial sound from a word. For example, the word “seal” might be pronounced as “eel”.

One way to work on initial consonant deletion is using minimal pairs to show the student the difference.

When working on initial s minimal pairs, you’ll have two words and your child or student will circle which word has the initial sound they are working on.

For example, if you’re working on initial s sound production, you might have the words “sip” and “dip”. The student then selects the correct word, “sip”.

Here are a few of my favorite initial consonant deletion worksheets that can be used for the initial s sound:

1. Initial Consonant Deletion or Collapse: Animated story by Karen Pardyjak- This is a short story written to highlight the fact that using a specific initial consonant in CVC words changes the meaning. The story is an animated video, which is very useful in the tele-therapy or distance learning format.

1. Initial & Final Consonant Deletion! Print N’ Go! 32 Squares by Speedy Speechy Supplies- 32 squares! Hand drawn worksheets! Draw a line from the word that’s being articulated and the word they MEAN to say! Initial Consonant Deletion made easy!

Distance Learning

One of the many ways you can practice articulation therapy for the initial s sound is through distance learning.

Here are three of my favorite distance learning approved ways to work on the initial s sound: 

1. Initial Sound Picture Spotter – letter ‘s’ by Early Years Resources – Use this fun lesson to reinforce the initial s sound with a variety of words.

1. S sound practice. Placement, isolation, and initial position of words practice by Lizzette Burger – This is a simple way to target /s/ phoneme in isolation and in the initial position of words.

1. FREE S Articulation Short Stories, Lateral Frontal Lisp Sounds, Speech Therapy by Shine Speech Activities – This resource includes 2 stories targeting the initial sound position.

SEE ALSO: Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

Auditory Bombardment

Another way to work on articulation practice of the initial s sound production is through auditory bombardment.

Auditory bombardment is a term used to describe the process of providing a student with an abundance of listening opportunities to hear their target sound.

This can be done in a variety of ways such as through listening activities, songs, stories, and more.

Here are a few auditory bombardment activities to work on the initial s sound: 

1. Auditory Bombardment by The Pedi Speechie – You’ll love this Auditory Bombardment freebie that includes the initial s sound. Each page contains parent instructions.

1. Articulation War Plus – S sound by Snowflake Speech – This resource is a play on the card game War, with an added bonus of matching symbols to sound-loaded actions for extra auditory bombardment AND extra engagement!

Age Range

According to the Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation 2 from 2000, most children have mastered the initial S sound by the time they are five years old. (This is a standardized sample from the GFTA-2 with 85% of children able to correctly produce that consonant by that age.)

If you are concerned about your child’s ability to produce this sound, it is best to consult a speech therapist about receiving speech services.

Conclusion

There are a lot of initial s sound therapy activities to choose from!

If you don’t have a lot of time to create your own then be sure to check out the ones listed throughout this blog post.

Which one will you try first?

<< Click Here to Grab your Free Initial S Words Lists >>

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