R Made Simple

Help students produce every ‘R’ sound confidently using a simple, sound-based approach.

R Made Simple teaches children to analyze the sound before the ‘R’ and use one of three tongue placements: Up, Down, or Slide, to correctly produce any ‘R’ sound, regardless of spelling or context. This complete speech therapy program simplifies R articulation and blends articulation, language, and literacy goals into one effective, easy-to-teach system.

What speech and literacy goals does this target?

• Accurate production of all /r/ sounds, including prevocalic, stressed and unstressed vocalic, blends, and diphthongs.
• Sound discrimination and motor planning skills to support speech sound accuracy.
• Structured movement from word-level articulation to conversational speech.
• Integrated support for language and literacy development.

What makes this articulation program so effective?

• Breaks down all ‘R’ sounds into three sound categories: Up, Down, and Slide.
• Connects each sound category with a specific tongue placement.
• Reduces the number of R contexts that need to be individually taught.
• Focuses on the sound that precedes the ‘R’ rather than spelling.
• Combines articulation, language, and literacy goals in one unified framework.
• Uses auditory, visual, and sensory modalities.
• Built on the principles of motor planning and multisensory instruction.

Why this learning approach works so well:

This method teaches students to plan their tongue movements based on the type of sound that comes before the ‘R.’ Using the Up, Down, & Slide Alphabet, students apply consistent tongue placements across all contexts. The program incorporates sound discrimination training and supports correction of the /r/ sound from words to conversation. Progress monitoring is built in with pre-/post-tests and data collection sheets.

How R Made Simple supports therapy outcomes:

• Helps students overcome pronunciation, spelling, and dialect barriers.
• Promotes generalization of the /r/ sound into conversational speech.
• Supports carryover and builds confidence in both individual and group settings.

Implementation tips for busy SLPs and educators:

• Lessons take only 15 minutes, making them ideal for short speech therapy sessions.
• Flexible enough for mixed therapy groups or classroom use.
• Requires minimal preparation with ready-to-use instructions and materials.

Digital materials and data collection tools included:

• Pre/post assessments to measure progress.
• Fillable drill worksheets and guided practice materials.
• Homework activities to support carryover at home.
• Data collection sheets for easy documentation and goal tracking.

Who is the R Made Simple helpful for?

This articulation program targets speech sound production and literacy skill development in students in grades 2 to 12 or ages 7 to 18. R Made Simple is an educational resource for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and is designed to help students beginning therapy as well as for students with distortions persisting after expected development.

Why Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) love this articulation program:

• Students make quick progress when the program is used consistently. 
• The method is easy to explain and makes sense to students. The detailed manual and visual supports helps teach concepts, and students like having the graphics showcasing the sorted into "up, down, slide, or combo".
  
• Students like having multiple ways to try and obtain their /r/ rather than trying to do it only one way over and over with minimal success.

The R Made Simple articulation program includes:

• Instructional manual.
• 8 articulation lessons.
• Language and literacy lessons.
• 144 picture cards.
• 40 verb cards.
• 29 individual letter cards (including 3 blends).
• 4 alphabet positioning cards for Up, Down, and Slide categories.
• 1 lesson indicator card.
• Downloadable interactive reproducibles, including:
  • Pre/post tests.
  • Drill practice worksheets.
  • Data collection sheets.
  • ‘R’-focused poems.
  • Homework activities.
  • Over 120 pages of fillable, reproducible content.