Chains of three are vocally contagious. Having observed adults and children singing over the years, I always smile when I see vocal participation during a robust rendition of a simple "na na na" or "la la la." Although they are not words, these chains of sounds give children the chance to sequence sounds together. Maybe they sing more with these songs because they don't have to worry about lyrics. Anything goes with a "la la la"!

These chains also are bridge-to-phrase productions. I have found that practicing words in chains of three prepares children for production of two- and three-word phrases. These chains appear to close the gap between single words and phrases. They offer the practice of sound sequencing without the grammatical and semantic complexity that happens when words change.

When stacking blocks, for example, I may say, "Up, up, up" before I progress to "Go up." When playing cars, I might model, "Go, go, go" before I say, "Go car." Kids are enticed to imitate these chains.

Chains of three teach children to move and vocalize simultaneously. When rocking and rolling with simple chains-of-three songs, I notice that children have an easier time vocalizing and moving at the same time. I love classics like "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," but children often cannot combine the finger plays with the words of the song. Even children who speak normally may have trouble doing both.

I challenge you to branch out a bit on the types of songs you sing with your students. Think about the goal of your song. If it is verbal practice and you are not getting output from children, switch to an easier song that encourages simple movements and verbalizing. Chains of three may be the ticket. My motto is "Sing a simple song that kids can simply sing."

The skill of moving while talking or singing is important to any child trying to speak. Children with speech and language delays often are painfully quiet during play. Perhaps it is too complex to do the motor planning of playing with a toy and saying a word or phrase at the same time. Randomly singing in chains of sounds or simple words during play contributes to the goal of communicating with words while moving and playing.

Sing your own words to any tune. I occasionally use a rock 'n' roll song like "Rock Around the Clock" to help students vocalize. Recently, I sang, "Ball, ball, ball. Roll the ball," with one of my students while he played ball with his mom. After giving repetitions of "ball, ball, ball," he began saying the words.

Chains of three can promote consonant blends. This technique works for children who simplify consonant blends. If a child has a final /s/ but omits the /s/ in a word like "smile," I recommend using a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word with a final /s/, such as "mess." Saying it three times in one breath ("messmessmess") results in /sm/ blending. Blends such as /pl/ also can be practiced with a word like "lap" ("laplaplap"). This chain of three can be used for a variety of consonant blend work.

Explore music and chains of three in your speech and language work with children. Age does not matter. If you listen to rock 'n' roll, you will get a number of ideas, from articulation drills to grammatical error identification. Let your imagination run wild as you motivate students to practice.

In order to teach a child to say "yes," I've used the Beatles song "She Loves You," which includes the phrase "yeah, yeah, yeah." A boy's father wanted him to be able to answer yes and no, so I encouraged them to sing that little phrase on the way to day care every day. By the end of the week, the boy was answering "yeah" to questions. He didn't have the final /s/ yet, but we worked up to that. You don't mess with Beatles lyrics.

Rachel Arntson provides services in an early intervention program in Maple Grove, MN. She can be contacted at kids@expresstrain.org.