Why Sound Walls Aren’t Enough: The Power of Video Modeling in Speech & Literacy
- Sydney Bassard
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
Sound walls have taken classrooms and therapy rooms by storm—and for good reason. They support phoneme-grapheme connections, promote accurate speech-to-print alignment, and are far more inclusive of all sounds than traditional word walls.
But here’s the hard truth. . . SOUND WALLS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH, especially for students with speech sound disorders or phonological processing challenges.
Sound Is Visual, Too
Sound walls are great at showing where a sound lives (front, middle, or back of the mouth) and what it looks like on paper. But they don’t show what it actually takes to make that sound.
Speech is not just an auditory process—it’s a motor process. And for students to learn how to say a sound correctly, they need visual cues!
Where should my tongue go?
Is this a quiet or loud sound?
Are my lips round or flat?
This is where videos come in handy
Video modeling allows students to see how a sound is made. It gives them a visual anchor and allows for repetition, pausing, slow motion, and comparison—things you can’t always do live or with a static wall.
Here’s why it works:
It supports articulation by showing placement and movement
It reinforces phonological awareness by linking sound + sight
It meets the needs of diverse learners (especially DHH, apraxia, and students with language delays)
It gives kids independence—they can rewatch and self-monitor
How to Use Video Modeling with Your Sound Wall
You don’t have to toss your sound wall. Just enhance it.
Try these easy strategies:
Record yourself or use existing YouTube videos, modeling each sound, and post them in your digital learning platform
Add QR codes to your sound wall that link to short videos
Use videos during small groups to teach articulation and phonics simultaneously
Play videos in slow motion or frame-by-frame to analyze tricky sounds
Free Videos to Get You Started
Here are some YouTube videos that model the correct production of common English speech sounds. Use these as-is or embed them into your therapy slides, Google Classroom, or sound wall!
Individual Sound Modeling Videos (by Peachie Speechie):
She has videos for each of the speech sounds.
Bonus for Vowel Sounds:
It is not one or the other; it is BOTH.
Sound walls are powerful literacy tools—but they weren’t designed to replace speech modeling. If we want to support the whole child—especially those with speech or language differences—we need to give them dynamic, visual, and accessible models.
Combining a sound wall with video modeling creates a multisensory powerhouse for learning.
📌 Pin it. Share it. Try it. Let me know how you are using videos for speech sound modeling in your therapy sessions or classroom.
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