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Skill Explainer

4.5 How to Teach Articulation: Moving Consonants

Articulation Skill Explainer

Letter Sound Description
qu /kw/ Produced with two sounds. The mouth starts open with the back of the tongue touching the back of the mouth; then the mouth is pursed in a circular shape. One sound slides into the other. ‘Q’ is never in a word without ‘u’ following it. ‘U’ is not considered a vowel when it is stuck to ‘q’. Tell students: “Q and u are stuck like glue!”
x /ks/ Produced with two sounds. The mouth starts open with the back of the tongue touching the back of the mouth; then the tongue slides forward as the lips are spread wide and the teeth stay together. One sound slides into the other.

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