If you’re a speech-language pathologist looking for a quick list of initial and final v target words to practice during speech therapy, make sure to bookmark this post. You’ll also find some great ideas for making therapy more fun with a variety of engaging games, resources, and speech therapy activities for teaching the v sound. Not only does this blog post provide a list of initial, medial, and final v words, but it also suggests a variety of strategies for teaching correct placement.
Correct Production of V
Just like the f sound, the v sound is a labiodental fricative sound. The only difference, however, is that the v sound is voiced, meaning that the vocal cords, or vocal folds, vibrate. To produce the v sound, the top teeth need to rest against the bottom lip. When the top front teeth are placed on the lower lip, the air is directed through, and there is audible friction when this occurs. The result will be /v/ in isolation.
Peña-Brooks Adriana, and M. N. Hegde. “Chapter 8- Therapy for Phonetic Errors.”Articulation and Phonological Disorders: Assessment and Treatment Resource Manual, PRO-ED, Austin, TX, 2007,
How To Teach the V Sound in Speech Therapy
Many of the same treatment approaches for the f sound can be used to elicit the v sound. The child will need to learn how to turn the “voice on” to produce a v.
A great way to provide is a tactile cue is to tap your bottom lip.
Try giving the v sound a “funny name” for young children. While the f sound could be termed “the bunny teeth sound”, the v sound could be the “vroom vroom” sound.
Try placing a mirror in front of your student. Have him bite on his lower lip, and make sure he can see his upper teeth. Then have him blow air while drawing attention to the vibration that occurs with a voiced v sound.
Students with phonological disorders may exhibit a process called stopping. If a student stops the v sound (i.e., says “ban” for “van”), try slowing things down. Model the v sound, pause, then say the rest of the word. This technique can also work for a stop insertion error (i.e. your student says ‘b….van’). Model the v sound, open your mouth wide and exaggerate the vowel, then say the rest of the word. “V…AAAAAAn.” Read more about the different phonological processes.
Speech pathologists may benefit by having the childkeep the jaw in an elevated position. Try to encourage jaw stability.
Speech Sound Word Lists for the V Sound
The following word lists contain words with the initial v sound, medial v sound, and final v sound. Thesearticulation word listsallow the SLP to easily work on a target sound in articulation therapy. Quickly pull these word lists up during your speech therapy session and pair the target word list with the game or activity of your choice. Your student can also work at the sentence level by choosing at least 2 words from a selected list and creating a sentence to practice saying aloud.
Initial V Word List for Speech Therapy
Here is a list of v words in the initial position to use in speech therapy (v in the beginning of the word):
- van
- vase
- vine
- vote
- voice
- verb
- vacant
- vacuum
- vampire
- vanish
- Viking
- village
- villain
- Vincent
- viper
- visit
- vowel
- vacation
- Valentine
- vanilla
- vehicle
- video games
- violet
- vocabulary
- veterinarian
Medial V Word List for Speech Therapy
Here is a list of v in the medial position of words to use in speech therapy (v in the middle of words):
- adverb
- advice
- avoid
- beaver
- Cleveland
- clever
- cover
- David
- divide
- even
- ever
- favor
- fever
- given
- heavy
- invite
- ivy
- lava
- level
- living
- moving
- navy
- novel
- avalanche
- division
Final V Word Lists for Speech Therapy
Here is a list of v in the final position of words to use in speech therapy (v at the end of words):
- cave
- brave
- Dave
- dive
- five
- give
- glove
- hive
- leave
- move
- we’ve
- Steve
- stove
- wave
- above
- approve
- beehive
- believe
- forgive
- olive
- improve
- skydive
- expensive
- microwave
- positive
Speech Therapy Activities for the V Sound
Speech-language pathologists need effective materials to target a variety of speech sounds. Here are articulation activities that a speech therapist can use to target the V sound in speech therapy.
V Words Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards
These speech sound mouth cards will provide the perfect placement visual for practicing the v sound! A speech language pathologist can show the speech south mouth card first, which will remind a student of correct top teeth to bottom lip placement. These speech sound mouth cards are effective for students with a variety of speech sound disorders. The visual feedback these articulation cards provide will be incredibly useful. To assemble, simply print out the cards, laminate them, then cut them out. Assemble them together using a binder ring for easy storage.
Articulation Tic Tac Toe
Students with articulation disorders will love this articulation tic tac toe resource, which allows you to easily pair a magnetic wand and chips (or daubers) to the game for extra special fun! These no prep, ready to go articulation worksheets include a variety of speech sounds in single words, including a page that targets /v/ initial, medial, and final positions. This articulation tic tac toe resource is fun, quick, and easy. If you are working with a student who has an articulation disorder, this tic tac toe activity is well worth checking out!
Articulation Carryover Reading Passages
Do you need to work with older students at the carryover level? These passages were designed with your upper elementary and middle school caseload in mind. These articulation reading passages can be used on any speech sound you wish to target during articulation therapy. Your student can read the passage aloud, while highlighting and practicing words with his target speech sound. There are also comprehension questions included, so this resource is ideal for working with mixed groups of speech and language disorders. This particular resource addresses interesting topics, such as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, and the Princes in the Tower. There are also Scottish History-Themed articulation carryover passages available!
More Articulation Words for Speech-Language Pathologists
Are you in a hurry and need this article summed up? To see the V words, simply scroll up. Next, make sure to try out these best-selling V sound articulation resources:
- Speech Sound Mouths Articulation Cards
- Articulation Tic Tac Toe
- Articulation Carryover Reading Passages
Don’t miss these other articulation word lists!
- S Word Lists
- L Word Lists
- F Word Lists
- K Word Lists
- TH Word Lists
- R Words for Speech Therapy
- Z Word Lists
- CH Words for Speech Therapy
