Early sounds
W Sound
Round the lips into a tight little circle, pull the back of the tongue up and back, then glide straight into the vowel. /w/ is a movement, not a hold.
- Sound
- /w/
- Typical age
- By age 2-3
- Voicing
- Voiced
- Type
- Labiovelar glide
- Words here
- 149
How to elicit W Sound
Ways to help the child make the sound on its own, before practicing it in words.
Placement, step by step
Where the lips, tongue and teeth go.
- 1Round the lips into a tight small circle.
- 2Pull the back of the tongue up and back.
- 3Glide straight into the vowel - /w/ is a movement, not a hold.
Elicitation strategies
Tips to help a child say this sound. Most need more than one.
Auditory
- Round and glide — "wuh-wuh-wuh", like a siren winding up.
- Contrast with /r/ if they are swapping the two, and with /b/ and /l/.
- Stretch the rounded start before letting it move into the vowel.
Visual
- Very visible: the lips round tight and then spread.
- Exaggerate the rounding in a mirror and hold it before releasing.
- Watch for lips that never round, which gives an /l/ or a vowel.
Gestural
- Both hands making a tight circle in front of your lips, then opening outward.
- The opening motion is the glide — do not hold the circle still.
- Start the circle small and tight; a loose one reads as /o/.
- Have them make the circle with their own hands as they say it.
Tactile
- Their fingers around your rounded lips, then around their own.
- A cheerio or a small ring of tape as a target to shape the lips around.
- Hand on the throat — the voice runs right through.
How to teach any soundThe practice ladder, shaping from a sound they have, and what to do when it stallsShowHide
The practice ladder
Speech practice climbs. Each step is harder than the one below it, and the jump that trips most people up is the one from single words to real talking. Work at the step where the child is right now - not the one you wish they were on.
- 1
Just the sound
“wwww”The sound on its own, with no word attached. If the child cannot make it here yet, this is the whole job for now.
- 2
The sound in syllables
“wa, wo, wee”The sound glued to a vowel. Nonsense syllables are useful precisely because they carry no meaning - nothing to get in the way.
- 3
Words that start with it
“watch, wet, web”The easiest place in a word, because the child gets to set up their mouth before they begin.
- 4
Words with it anywhere
“watch, away”Middle and end are harder - the sound has to be produced while the rest of the word is already moving.
- 5
Short phrases
“one wet worm”Two or three words together. This is the first step where the child has to think about something other than the sound.
- 6
Whole sentences
“One wet worm wiggled in the water.”A full sentence of their own. Expect the sound to slip here even though it was perfect in single words - that is normal, not backwards.
- 7
Reading and telling
“a paragraph, a story about their day”Longer stretches of talking, with the sound coming up over and over. Reading aloud is useful because the words are already chosen.
- 8
All the time
“in the car, at dinner, with friends”Real conversation with nobody reminding them. This is the goal, and the only step that actually counts as finished.
Two rules. Do not skip a step because the child is bored - go back one instead. And if the sound falls apart when you move up, that is information, not failure: drop down a rung, get a few easy wins, and try again in a day or two.
Start with a sound they already know
- “oo”
- /m/
From “oo”, the lips are already rounded — glide straight into the next vowel and the /w/ appears on its own. From /m/, open the closed lips into a round rather than a spread.
If it is not working
If a sound has not responded to several weeks of consistent work, stop and reconsider the target rather than drilling harder. There could be structural reasons a sound will not stabilize, and those need looking at before more practice will help.
Where this guidance comes from
- ASHA Practice Portal — Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology — Treatment framework, cue taxonomy, and named treatment approaches.
- ASHA Practice Portal — Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders — Why a resting tongue posture or open bite may need addressing before sibilant therapy.
- Boyce (2015), Articulatory Phonetics for Residual Speech Sound Disorders: A Focus on /r/ — Bunched versus retroflex /r/, the obligatory pharyngeal constriction, and /r/ error patterns.
- Shriberg (1978), Utilization of the "Straw Technique" for Correction of the Lateral Lisp (LSHSS) — A straw at the midline as a tactile cue for lateral /s/.
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Note
Initial W
105 wordsThe sound is at the beginning of the word.
1 Syllable73 words
- watch
- wet
- web
- wall
- walk
- wish
- worm
- wood
- wing
- wave
- wolf
- wheel
- whale
- white
- wade
- wag
- waist
- wait
- wake
- wand
- want
- warm
- warn
- was
- wash
- wasp
- waste
- wax
- way
- we
- weak
- wear
- weave
- wedge
- weed
- week
- weep
- weigh
- weight
- well
- went
- were
- west
- what
- wheat
- when
- where
- which
- whiff
- while
- whine
- whirl
- why
- wick
- wide
- wife
- wig
- wild
- will
- win
- wipe
- wise
- witch
- with
- woke
- wool
- word
- work
- world
- worse
- would
- wove
- wow
2 Syllables30 words
- water
- wagon
- window
- woman
- wallet
- walrus
- wizard
- waffle
- waiter
- walkway
- wander
- washer
- weasel
- weather
- wedding
- weekend
- welcome
- wetland
- whimper
- whisker
- whisper
- whistle
- wiggle
- willow
- winner
- winter
- wire
- wobble
- wonder
- worry
3 Syllables2 words
- wheelbarrow
- wonderful
High-frequency initial W words
Some of these also sit in the lists above, and none of them are picture-card words - which is exactly why most lists leave them out. They are the words the child already says hundreds of times a day — so they carry more carryover value than any noun on this page. Target them in conversation, not in drill.
- what
- we
- was
- with
- one
- will
- when
- would
- where
- were
- which
- wanted
- woman
- without
- once
- wants
- watch
- working
- waiting
- week
- wow
- worked
- wonderful
- worse
- watching
- weekend
- walked
- weak
- wet
- waited
Medial W
44 wordsThe sound is in the middle of the word.
2 Syllables35 words
- away
- sandwich
- hallway
- seaweed
- driveway
- highway
- beeswax
- cobweb
- kiwi
- rewind
- always
- railway
- sidewalk
- stairway
- backward
- awake
- homework
- pinwheel
- awoke
- backwards
- doorway
- driftwood
- earthworm
- freeway
- halfway
- onward
- password
- reward
- runway
- somewhere
- stopwatch
- subway
- unwind
- upward
- woodwork
3 Syllables8 words
- firewood
- anyway
- everywhere
- rainwater
- saltwater
- silverware
- underwear
- waterway
4 Syllables1 words
- underwater
High-frequency medial W words
Some of these also sit in the lists above, and none of them are picture-card words - which is exactly why most lists leave them out. They are the words the child already says hundreds of times a day — so they carry more carryover value than any noun on this page. Target them in conversation, not in drill.
- away
- always
- someone
- everyone
- anyone
- between
- somewhere
- anywhere
- usually
- everywhere
- nowhere
- toward
Phrases, sentences and reading
Using the sound in longer stretches of talking, once single words are easy.
Phrases 12
Most of these carry two targets, so each one is two chances to practice.
- one wet worm
- what is it
- where we walk
- a wagon wheel
- wash the window
- we will win
- a warm sweater
- wait for water
- work and walk
- a wide window
- which one
- with me
Sentences 12
- 1.One wet worm wiggled in the water.
- 2.What is in the wagon?
- 3.We walked to the window and waved.
- 4.Wash the window with warm water.
- 5.Wendy wore her warm wool sweater.
- 6.Where do we wait for the bus?
- 7.The wind blew the wet leaves away.
- 8.Will you walk with me to work?
- 9.Which one do you want?
- 10.The witch in the story had a wand.
- 11.We watched the whale swim west.
- 12.Wait one week and we will know.
Reading passage
Wet Weather Walk
One wet Wednesday, we went for a walk. The wind was wild and the water on the walkway was everywhere. We wore rain boots and warm woolly sweaters. Wendy watched a worm wiggle away while I waved at a window. When we went home we were wet through, so we warmed up with water in the kettle and waited for the weather to clear.
Phonological awareness
Hearing and playing with the sounds inside words — the listening skill that reading is built on.
Rhyming
Word families built on words from the list above. Say the family out loud, then ask for one more that fits.
-et family
wet, get, pet, jet, net, vet
-all family
wall, all, call, fall, ball, hall, tall, mall
rhymes with “walk”
walk, talk, hawk
rhymes with “wood”
wood, good, would, hood
-ing family
wing, thing, bring, king, ring, ding, cling
-ave family
wave, gave, brave, cave, pave
Syllable counting and blending
Clap or tap once per syllable. To blend, say the parts with a gap and let the child put the word back together.
- watch1
- water2
- wheelbarrow3
- underwater4
- wet1
- wagon2
- wonderful3
- web1
Sound blending
You say the separate sounds, the child says the word. Start with the two- and three-sound words.
- /w/ /ay/way
- /w/ /ee/we
- /w/ /ay/weigh
- /w/ /er/were
- /w/ /eye/why
- /w/ /ow/wow
- /w/ /ah/ /ch/watch
- /w/ /e/ /t/wet
- /w/ /e/ /b/web
- /w/ /aw/ /l/wall
- /w/ /aw/ /k/walk
- /w/ /i/ /sh/wish
Sound segmenting
The reverse, and the harder one. You say the word, the child breaks it into its separate sounds.
- way/w/ /ay/
- we/w/ /ee/
- weigh/w/ /ay/
- were/w/ /er/
- why/w/ /eye/
- wow/w/ /ow/
- watch/w/ /ah/ /ch/
- wet/w/ /e/ /t/
- web/w/ /e/ /b/
- wall/w/ /aw/ /l/
- walk/w/ /aw/ /k/
- wish/w/ /i/ /sh/
Generalization
Word lists get a sound into a child’s mouth. Generalization is what gets it into their life. These are activities where the target words come up on their own, so nobody has to be talked into practicing.
Play-based ideas for young children
Water play
Pour, splash and scoop water between containers. Ask "what" and "where" constantly.
Words that come up
water, wet, what, where, wow, we, want, wash, one, why, wait, away, work, walk
Wagon rides
Pull toys in a wagon around the room, stopping to load and unload.
Words that come up
wagon, want, we, walk, wait, wheel, way, where, what, one, whee, again, go, win
Wind-up toys
Wind up a toy and let it go. Say "wind it up" each time you do it, so the words are there to borrow.
Words that come up
wind up, want, wow, watch, wait, where, what, we, why, one, again, go, whee, win
Conversation and verbal games for older kids
Who what where
Play a question game where every question starts with a WH word. Most of them are /w/.
Words that come up
who, what, where, when, why, which, would, was, were, want, wait, well
Would you rather
The word "would" starts every round, and "want" appears in every answer.
Words that come up
would, want, wish, one, once, worse, worst, wonderful, weird, awful, always, anyway
Weekend recap
Talk about the weekend. "Weekend," "we," "went," "was" and "watched" carry the whole thing.
Words that come up
weekend, went, was, walk, watch, wait, week, wonderful, awful, away, twice, one
Play it
- Patchy's Slides & LaddersRoll, count your way along, say the word. Ladders climb; land on Patchy and slide back down.Choose position and play
- Enchanted ForestBeat dragons, trolls and witches at rock, paper, scissors on the way to the finish.Choose position and play
- Crazy EightsMatch the color or the animal, say the word to play the card, go out first.Choose position and play
- Build a CreatureMix heads, bodies, tails, wings and extras into something silly. Two words per part.Choose position and play
- Color PatchyColor him in one piece at a time. Every area costs one word.Choose position and play
- Sticker ScenePick a place, then drag people, things and clothes onto it. Best game for phrases and sentences.Choose position and play
Each game opens with W Sound selected. Choose a word position before playing. Score every production with Yes! or Not quite and a percentage appears at the bottom. Nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing is saved beyond this browser.