PR Words Speech Therapy: Techniques for Mastering Pronunciation

If you are a speech therapist looking for more information and resources to teach PR sound blends, then we have you covered! In this blog post, we will give you some ideas and resources on how to approach these language difficulties, a word list of over 90 PR Words at the word, phrase and sentence level as well as an interactive freebie to start addressing PR articulation in your therapy sessions today!

Speech therapy focusing on ‘PR’ words, or consonant blend words, is an essential facet of language development for children and adults struggling with articulation. ‘PR’ sounds are commonly challenging to master due to the coordination required between lips, teeth, and vocal cords. We aim to ensure that therapists, educators, and caregivers are equipped with the right strategies and materials to support individuals in their journey towards clear and confident communication.

Key Takeaways

• Therapy methods address articulation challenges with ‘PR’ blends using tailored strategies.
• We employ creative techniques, materials and resources suitable for comprehensive K-12 education.

Understanding Speech Sounds and PR Blends

Speech sounds and blends are foundational to language development, involving precise articulation and phonemic awareness. Awareness of blends and speech sound production plays a vital role in effective communication skills.

Importance of Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is crucial for reading and spelling. It entails the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken words. 

We regard it as the first step in developing literacy. Early intervention in preschool years can significantly support language skills development.

Developmental Milestones and Speech

Children reach language milestones at different rates, but early detection of issues is pivotal. For instance, understanding and using initial consonant blends like PR words is anticipated by a certain age.

The Significance of R, S, and W Blends

R, S, and W blends are common blend sounds in English and are often challenging for children. Mastery of these r blends, s blends, and w blends is a strong indicator of developing language skills.

Consonant Clusters in Language Learning

Consonant clusters, or blend words, are groups of two or more consonants where each sound is heard, like in “spring”. Acquiring these sounds is a substantial aspect of language learning as they frequently appear across different words.

PR Words and PR Blends Specifics

PR blends, as in “print” or “prize”, represent a specific initial consonant blend category. Practice using PR words facilitates both the new sound production and the transition into independent practice with complex speech patterns.

By understanding these aspects of speech sounds and blends, we can better support language development and offer targeted interventions for speech improvement.

Advanced Techniques and Considerations

In our practice of speech therapy, we recognize the importance of addressing nuanced challenges. We apply specific, advanced techniques that consider the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, encompassing complex consonant blends, targeted interventions for particular sounds, and the integration of holistic therapies.

Addressing Complex Consonant Blends

Consonant clusters, particularly those involving the ‘r sound’ and ‘l blends,’ often present intricate articulation challenges. Our approach includes:

1. Assessment: Identify specific clusters where the individual struggles, such as /pr/, /br/, and /tr/.
2. Visualization: Use diagrams showing tongue placement and sides of the tongue activation.
3. Drill Practice: Provide a comprehensive list of words and phrases for targeted practice.

Techniques for Specific Sound Challenges

We utilize tailored techniques to overcome specific sound challenges:

• Targeted Tongue Exercises: Practice maneuvers that adjust tongue placement for sounds that are typically problematic, ensuring precise articulation.

Incorporating Occupational and Physical Therapy

Our holistic approach includes the collaboration with occupational therapy and physical education experts to enhance speech therapy outcomes:

• Fine Motor Skills: Occupational therapy aids in refining the fine motor skills necessary for clear speech.
• Breath and Posture: Exercises from physical education are incorporated to support proper breath control and posture, which are crucial for effective speech.

Effective Speech Therapy Techniques

In speech therapy, it’s essential to employ effective techniques that encourage the mastery of tricky sounds and the consistent use of new words through various engaging methods.

Utilizing Word Lists and Blend Posters

We begin by creating a word list that focuses on target sounds and consonant blends. For example, when addressing PR words in speech therapy, a list of words might include “pray,” “print,” and “price.” A blend poster serves as a visual aid where each consonant sound like ‘pr’ is paired with an appealing image, such as a ‘pr’-ice, to reinforce the blend.

Carrier Phrases and Sentence Level Practice

Carrier phrases are short, simple phrases that can be easily remembered and repeated. We use these phrases as a scaffold to move from individual sounds to more complex sentence level structures. For instance, “I see a…” can be completed with “prince,” or “I have a…” followed by “present.” This gradual increase in complexity affords extra practice and solidifies learning.

We want to make therapy sessions easier for you! So we compiled a list of over 90 PR Word at word, phrase and sentence level for you to use in your therapy sessions. We also created an interactive freebie to practice PR Articulation with your students in your speech therapy sessions. Use these flashcards to practice PR words at word, phrase, sentence and conversational level!

PRACTICE IN FLASHCARD MODE RIGHT HERE FROM YOUR COMPUTER!

Initial PR Words Speech Therapy

Target Words

Here’s a list of Initial PR articulation sounds for you to use in therapy or at home practice to work on your student or child’s new skill.

• For Example: price, pretty, proof

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

Be sure to grab my one page freebie of Initial PR blends below. Simply scroll to the bottom of this post and grab your free copy!

Initial PR Words Speech Therapy

• 1 Syllable: prom, prince, price, pride, proud, press, proof, prey, pray, prize, pro, praise, prayer, priest, prank, prove, print, prep, prop, prowl, prune, pry, prance
• 2 Syllable: princess, problem, pretty, project, presence, prison, pregnant, promote, pressure, protein, pretzel, progress, product, private, present, problems, preschool, process, pronoun, pristine, prism, protest, profile, protect, prospect, products, practice, prosper, precious, presents, priceless, provokes, prepared, proactive, proton, profit, provide, preacher, premier, preaching
• 3 Syllable: president, protection, predator, prejudice, professor, practicing, propeller, property, producer, premium, primary, promising, production, prediction, prevention, precision, principle, promotion, provolone, pregnancy, probably, proposal, practical
• 4 Syllable: professional, procrastination, priority, privilege, preservation, predictable, precipitation

Initial PR Words Speech Therapy

1 Syllable	2 Syllable	3 Syllable	4 Syllable
prom	princess	president	professional
prince	problem	protection	procrastination
price	pretty	predator	priority
pride	project	prejudic	privilege
proud	presence	professor	preservation
press	prison	practicing	predictable
proof	pregnant	propeller	precipitation
prey	promote	property
pray	pressure	producer
prize	protein	premium
pro	pretzel	primary
praise	progress	promising
prayer	product	production
priest	private	prediction
prank	present	prevention
prove	problems	precision
print	preschool	principle
prep	process	promotion
prop	pronoun	provolone
prowl	pristine	pregnancy
prune	prism	probably
pry	protest	proposal
prance	profile	practical
	protect
	prospect
	products
	practice
	prosper
	precious
	presents
	priceless
	provoked
	prepared
	proactive
	proton
	profit
	provide
	preacher
	premier
	preaching

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

Short Sentences or Phrases

When working on Initial PR sound production, it’s important to work on short 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 PR word phrases to try:

Initial PR Words Speech Therapy in Phrases

1 Syllable	2 Syllable	3 Syllable	4 Syllable
prom dress	princess crown	president lives	professional clothes
pretend prince	has a problem	helmet protection	procrastination made him
great price	pretty rings	predator hunts	is a priority
feels pride	finish the project	is prejudice	she felt privilege
proud mom	his presence	professor works	preservation of land
press the button	works at prison	practicing flips	predictable win
has proof	is pregnant	propeller broke	weather calls for precipitation
hunts the prey	promote this	my property
will pray	low water pressure	is a producer
won a prize	protein shake	premium subscription
pro hockey	eats a pretzel	primary account
gives praise	make progress	promising news
prayer meeting	new product	production stopped
priest stands	private message	makes a prediction
funny prank	in the present	prevention of fires
prove her point	no problems	works with precision
print this page	teaches preschool	principle at my school
food prep	long process	work promotion
prop up	learns about pronouns	provolone cheese
cat prowls	pristine condition	first pregnancy
prune juice	prism makes a rainbow	probably will
pry her eyes open	at a protest	wedding proposal
horse starts to prance	draw a profile	practical advice
	protect the nest
	new prospect
	sends the products
	soccer practice
	will prosper
	precious animals
	brings presents
	priceless memories
	provoked him
	feel prepared
	proactive lifestyle
	learn about protons
	non profit
	will provide dinner
	preacher calls
	movie premier
	preaching tomorrow

Sentence Level: Initial PR Words Speech Therapy

The next step after working at the word and phrase levels is to work on the Initial PR sound at the sentence level.

For example, you could give your child or student a list of sentences to read aloud while they work on their Initial PR sound. 

Another idea would be to give your child or student pictures with their Initial PR sound in them and then have them create a sentence about those pictures.

Below is a list of sentences to use with your child or students.

Initial PR Words Speech Therapy in Sentences

1 Syllable	2 Syllable
She tries on a prom dress.	She has a princess crown.
He likes to play pretend prince.	He has a problem.
That is a great price.	She wears pretty rings.
She feels pride.	They will finish the project early.
She is a proud mom.	She feels his presence.
I will press the button.	My uncle works at a prison.
He has proof.	She is pregnant.
The bird hunts the prey.	I will promote this.
They will pray.	There is low water pressure.
I won a prize.	I make a protein shake.
They play pro hockey.	He eats a pretzel.
He gives praise for the work done.	I make no progress.
They go to a prayer meeting.	I try a new product.
The priest stands.	She doesnt check private message.
He likes funny pranks.	I live in the present.
She can prove her point.	There are no problems.
He will print this page.	She teaches preschool.
I food prep for the week.	It is a long process.
He was told to prop up the baby.	She learns about pronouns at school.
The cat prowls around.	The car is in pristine condition.
She has prune juice.	The prism makes a rainbow.
Every morning, she will pry her eyes open.	They are at a protest.
The horse starts to prance.	He draws a profile.
	The bird protects the nest.
	They have a new prospect.
	She sends the products out.
	He is at soccer practice.
	They will prosper.
	The precious animals are cute.
	He brings presents.
	We made priceless memories.
	She provoked him to anger.
	I feel prepared for the test.
	They live a proactive lifestyle.
	I learn about protons in science class.
	They work for a non profit.
	I will provide dinner tomorrow.
	The preacher calls him.
	We go to the movie premier.
	He is preaching tomorrow.

3 Syllable	4 Syllable
The president lives in the White House.	I will wear my professional clothes.
He wears a helmet for protection.	The procrastination made him turn in his project late.
The predator hunts at night.	This is a priority.
He is prejudice.	She felt privilege
The professor works at a college.	I work for preservation of land.
She is practicing flips in the pool.	It was a predictable win.
The boat propeller broke.	The weather calls for precipitation.
This is my property.
He is a producer.
They pay for a premium subscription.
This is my primary account.
They get promising news.
The production stopped yesterday.
He makes a prediction.
He teaches about the prevention of fires.
She works with detail and precision.
He is the principle at my school.
I got a work promotion.
I use provolone cheese on my sandwich.
This is her first pregnancy.
I probably will go.
She gets a wedding proposal.
He gives practical advice.

SEE ALSO: Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

Teaching Resources and Materials

Game and Activity-Based Learning

Incorporating games into therapy makes learning enjoyable. A card game with words featuring the target sound can transform drill practice into a dynamic activity. Similarly, a fun worksheet where children match words with pictures or complete pr or fr activities can reinforce those consonant sounds while keeping engagement high.

Here are some of our favorite PR Articulation Games!

1. Gumball Articulation for BR and PR by One SLP in a Pod is a fun and interactive game for pr and br blend sound practice.
2. FREEBIE! Articulation Tic-Tac-Toe: Inital R by Everything is Speechie TPT is an interactive tic Tac toe game that is an easy way to practice initial r blends including PR articulation. This is highly rated!
3. Break The Ice – Maze Game for r-blends Freebie by The Speech Banana TPT is one of the best way to practice r blends in a fun and engaging way

Instructional Strategies for Different Sounds

Each consonant blend or individual sound poses its unique challenge. We deploy tailored instructional strategies to tackle these different sounds. For example, visual cues might be used for sounds that require close attention to lip placement, while auditory discrimination activities help with sounds that are tricky due to acoustics.

Here are some great resources with visual cues! 

1. Speech Therapy FREEBIE! Articulation Visual Cue Cards by The Vowel Shop is a deck of cards that are a great way to practice articulation with visual cues.
2. Articulation Visual Cues for Correction – Speech Therapy by Sister SLPs is a resource speech-language pathologists can use to cue correction of a sound.
3. FREE Speech Sound Hand Cues PDF by the Speechscoop is a pdgf of suggested hand signals that are a good idea to use as visual cues for sounds

Independent Work and Small Group Sessions

Independent work enables individuals to focus on mastering specific sounds or phrases at their own pace. Additionally, small group sessions create an opportunity for peer learning and provide a setting for real-world practice. In these sessions, we provide structured but flexible activities that align with our therapeutic goals, such as extra practice in pronouncing PR words.

Here are some of our favorite resources to use in small groups!

1. Free Speech Therapy Craft by The Busy Speech Mom is a great craft for small group interventions! 
2. Popping Pig Articulation B & P FREEBIE: Speech Therapy Game Companion by Green Tea Speech Therapy is a highly rated literacy center ideas! 
3. Dinosaur R Blends Articulation Speech Activity by Fun Early Learning is a great way to practice articulation skills in small groups! This can be adapted for a variety of levels.

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

Printable Worksheets and Phonics Activities

We offer a comprehensive packet of worksheets focused on phonics, which includes activities that target specific sounds like PR words. 

• Worksheets: Targeted practice for sound recognition and production.
• Activities: Fun, engaging tools to reinforce learning

Here are some highly rated Print and Go resources for PR Articulation!

1. R Initial, Vocalic & Blends Christmas Santa Articulation Folding Surprise Craft by Jeannie’s Speech Room is a great worksheet to print and go when you need something valuable and fast. This addresses a variety of sound disorders and does not take much time to complete.
2. PR Blends Articulation Cards by Crafty Vee’s is a great for student use to practice correct position of articulation sounds. This is a print and go flash card resource types. 
3. R blends (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, tr, pr) CONNECT 4: digital/PPT version by ol sol new world is a quick and fun connect 4 game to play with your students. This is great for individual student use as well. 

Resources for Varied Educational Levels

Our resources are tiered to match educational levels, with materials suitable for younger students in 1st grade all the way through to middle school and high school. Every resource is crafted to challenge and engage students at their respective level.

Here are some of our favorite resources for younger students!

1. Articulation Screen for Initial Consonant Blends by Baby Chatter Early Speech Sounds is a great screener and practice for young students to practice consonant blends including PR.
2. Five Green and Speckled Frogs – /r/ blends (black & white) FREEBIE by Speech Fun 4 Kids is a great game to play with your young students to practice R blends. 
3. Speech Therapy Craft: Pop Up Dragons and Princesses (Mini R Blends Unit) by Texas Speech Mom is a mini book created for k -1st grade.

Here are some great resources for high school students!

1. Winter (Snowflake) Articulation Freebie by The Speech Ladder is a great resource for middle and high schools students to practice articulation, including PR.
2. Speech Combo Dice Game by Just Peachy Speech with Jenny is an engaging dice game to play to practice articulation with your older students.

Utilizing Technology for Engagement

To captivate our students, we utilize technology such as interactive applications and digital resources, especially those compatible with the latest version of Google Chrome. Tools from TpT sellers are often designed to be interactive and align with our digital approach.

Here are some interactive PR Articulation resources for you!

1. Interactive, Digital Articulation Spinner FREEBIE /P/ by Speaking Spanglish is a fun and interactive digital spinner that targets p blends.
2. Where’s My /R/ Sound? Articulation (Boom Cards, Teletherapy, Distance Learning) by My Teletherapy Room is a highly rated set of boom cards for R blends. The power of technology makes these interactive and great for teletherapy!
3. Articulation Cards for Speech Therapy BOOM CARDS™ R Initial FREEBIE by Stacey Crouse are highly rated boom cards or r blends and PR articulation.

Conclusion

We hope that you have a deeper understanding on how to implement PR Articulation therapy in your classrooms, therapy rooms and homes now! 

Be sure to download our PR Articulation Freebie below! 

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Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we address common inquiries about using ‘pr’ blend words in speech therapy, sharing our expertise on effective strategies, exercises, and materials.

What types of worksheets are effective for practicing ‘pr’ blend words in speech therapy?

Worksheets that involve multiple repetitions of ‘pr’ blend words, such as word matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and picture identification, can effectively reinforce pronunciation. They should encourage repeated practice and include visual cues for proper articulation.

How can adults improve their pronunciation of ‘pr’ blends in speech therapy?

Adults can improve their ‘pr’ blend pronunciation through targeted exercises like minimal pairs training, where similar sounding words with and without the ‘pr’ blend are practiced. Tongue and lip positioning drills also help adults master the precise movements needed for ‘pr’ blends.

Can you suggest some sentences that include ‘pr’ blend words for articulation practice?

Yes, sentences like “The proud prince practiced his speech.,” and “She prepared fresh prawns for the dinner party.” are useful for practicing ‘pr’ blends within the context of natural speech.

What are some common ‘pr’ blend words that can be used in speech therapy exercises?

Common ‘pr’ blend words that are useful in speech therapy include ‘price,’ ‘print,’ ‘press,’ ‘pray,’ ‘prize,’ and ‘promise.’ These words can be integrated into various exercises to improve blend articulation.

Are there specific strategies for teaching ‘pr’ blends to children with speech difficulties?

For children with speech difficulties, strategies such as using playful activities like blowing bubbles to improve lip rounding and visual aids can be effective. We can also incorporate ‘pr’ blend words into songs and stories for engaging practice.

How can I differentiate speech therapy activities for ‘pr’ blends to suit various age groups?

To accommodate different age groups, we can adapt the complexity and context of activities. For younger children, we can use games and colorful picture cards, while for older individuals, we might choose age-appropriate stories or conversations that integrate ‘pr’ blends.

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