table of contents

A NOTE FOR THE SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST FROM THE AUTHOR 6

WHY IS THE /R/ SOUND SO TRICKY? 7
R CONTEXTS (DIFFERENT VOCALIC R SOUNDS) 8
SELF REPORT 9
SPEECH ANATOMY: LEARNING ABOUT THE PARTS OF THE MOUTH 10-11
BUNCHED R VS. RETROFLEXED R WITH VISUALS 12
HOW TO PRODUCE THE BUNCHED R - PLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS 13
HOW TO PRODUCE THE RETROFLEXED R - PLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS 14
HOW DO I SAY THE R SOUND? MOUTH ANATOMY COLORING 15-17
MAKE YOUR OWN TONGUE: MODELING DOUGH ACTIVITIES 18-19
MAKE YOUR OWN MOUTH MODEL 20
SHAPING L INTO AN R 21-26
SHAPING EE INTO AN R 27-28
SHAPING SH INTO AN R 29-33
BALLOON TONGUE VISUAL 34-35
FEEL THE TENSION: TACTILE CUE 36
TOOLS FOR TEACHING THE R SOUND (TONGUE DEPRESSORS, FLOSSERS, ETC.) 37-40
STABILIZING THE JAW FOR PRODUCTION OF R 41
VISUALS FOR THE R SOUND: HAND CUES, BEAR, PIRATE, ROOSTER, CAR 42-43
REDUCING LIP ROUNDING 44-45
USING K AND G TO HELP YOU SAY THE R SOUND 46-50
EUREKA AND KARLA: HELPFUL WORDS 51-54
RL WORDS 55-56
AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION 57-61
R PRACTICE - DRILL SHEETS FOR PRACTICE IN ISOLATION 62-64
MINIMAL PAIRS CARDS /W/ VS /R/ - LISTENING FOR THE R SOUND 65-70
COARTICULATION: ELICITING VOCALIC R 71-83
R IN SYLLABLES 84
SOUND-BY-SOUND: WORD LEVEL PRACTICE WITH MOUTH VISUALS 85-108
WORD LEVEL DRILLS WITH MOUTH VISUALS 109-124
SAY AND DOT R PRACTICE 125-150
SAY AND DOT HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS 151-176
WORD TO PICTURE MATCHING 177-182
DRAW AND PRACTICE 183
TIMED ARTICULATION 184-194
SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT: WORD LEVEL PRACTICE 195-202
NONSENSE WORDS 203
R SOUND TIC-TAC-TOE 204-208
R CLUES CUT AND PASTE 209-218
DICE GAME 219-228
UNSCRAMBLE THE R WORD AND ANSWER KEYS 229-249
WORD SEARCHES AND ANSWER KEYS 250-257
2-WORD PHRASES 258-265
CARRIER PHRASE FUN 266-268
SENTENCE LEVEL PRACTICE 269-289
SILLY SENTENCES: READ AND ILLUSTRATE 290-305
SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS WITH THE R SOUND 306-313
STORY TIME: READ AND ILLUSTRATE R STORIES 314-320
CARRYOVER ACTIVITIES 321-332
ADDITIONAL WRITING PAGE 333
RESOURCES 334

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 6

a note for the speech-language pathologist

I hope this workbook helps you as you work with your client to achieve
accurate production of the R sound.

While this workbook was written for SLPs, it was also designed to be child
and parent friendly. Therefore, instead of using the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) symbols to distinguish between / /, / /, /r/, etc., this
workbook just refers to the sound as the R sound, regardless of what
context is being targeted.

This workbook is a collection of instructional sheets, practice pages, and

activities that have helped me successfully motivate and teach my
students to produce the R sound. This workbook is not a replacement for
speech therapy, of course. It is simply a collection of materials that
speech-language pathologists may find useful during therapy sessions.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments please feel free to

email me at meredith@peachiespeechie.com

Meredith Avren, M. Ed., CCC-SLP

Thank you for being a Peachie Speechie customer! You’re sure to love our
other “I Can” workbooks, including:

• I Can Say the S Sound • I Can Answer WH Questions

• I Can Say S-Blends • I Can Make Inferences
• I Can Say the L Sound • I Can Describe & Categorize
• I Can Say the SH Sound • I Can Determine the Main Idea
• I Can Say the TH Sound • I Can Have Conversations
• I Can Say the K and G Sounds • I Can Use Context Clues
• I Can Say the F and V Sounds • I Can Use Figurative Language
• I Can Say Final Consonants • I Can Use Verbs
...and more!
Just go to peachiespeechie.com and click materials!

Important disclaimer about this resource, “I Can Say the R Sound”: This workbook and the
techniques presented in it are designed to be used by a speech-language pathologist with an
in-depth knowledge of anatomy and speech sound production. Users must use professional
judgment and common sense when implementing techniques described in this product. Appropriate
techniques vary based on the individual being treated.

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I can say the r sound!

Learning the R Sound

L R Slide

Use the L R slide (discussed on page 23) to help you say the word learning!

Lo

L R

L R Slide + NING

After you do the L R slide, add NING to the end.

NING LEARNING
L R

Once you can say the word learning, practice the phrases below:

Learning to swim Learning to sing

Learning to dance Learning to knit

Learning to cook Learning to paint

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I can say the r sound!

Shaping an EE into an R

Say the EE sound.

Hold it out as you
think about your
tongue position. You
will feel the back
sides of your tongue
touching your back
teeth.

As you are saying

the EE sound, pull
your tongue back.
Your whole tongue
will slide back. You
will feel the back
sides of your
tongue sliding back
along your teeth.
Listen to the sound
change. It will
sound like you said
the word EAR.

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balloon visual
It’s time to focus on TENSION! Your tongue needs to be in the correct position for R,
which includes making it tense when you say the sound. You will be tightening
your tongue. A flour-filled balloon can be a useful visual for tongue tension.

BALLOON TONGUE First, shape your

BAC
K SIDES ARE HIGH balloon into the
bunched R shape
as shown on page
TONGUE
TIP
34.

TO K
NG AC
UE I B
S BUNC H E D I N

Squeeze the
balloon in your
palm to show
tension. Practice
saying your R
sound as you
squeeze.

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eureka and karla: helpful words

There are several words that have been popular among

speech-language pathologists for teaching the R sound. One is Eureka
(Henderson Jones, 2004) and another is Karla. These two words are
thought to be helpful for teaching the R sound because the sounds
around the R sound help it get into position. Eureka and Karla take
coarticulation into consideration to help achieve production of the R
sound. The tongue is high and tense as the child says the Y sound and
then moves into saying, “Eureka.” Henderson suggests phrases beginning
with the Y sound such as you’re ready, you’re reading, etc. when
practicing.

With the word Karla, the movements of the tongue help facilitate
accurate production. For this method, the client says, “ka-la, ka-la,” and
as they say the “la,” they slide their tongue back along the roof of the
mouth (retroflexed position) until “ka-la” becomes “Karla”. I have found
success having my students say car key (bunched position), earring, and
Kira as well because tense vowels and velar (back) sounds, help the
tongue find the right spot.

eu r e k a
karla
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RL Words
Words that have the RL sound at the end can be particularly challenging for many
students. It can be helpful to break down the tongue movements and slowly move
from the ER sound to the L sound when initially targeting this sound combination.

Say the ER sound in Slide the tongue tip forward

isolation. to the alveolar ridge for
production of L.

R L

Do this slowly, and it will sound like you are

saying the name Earl. Practice saying the
word EARL, checking a box for each
production.

earl

*If your client is not yet stimulable for the ER sound, you may want to try working
on LR words before RL words. See page 23 for a helpful elicitation technique!

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RL Words
Words that have the RL sound at the end can be particularly challenging for many
students. It can be helpful to break down the tongue movements and slowly move
from the ER sound to the L sound when initially targeting this sound combination.

Say the ER sound in Slide the tongue tip forward

isolation. to the alveolar ridge for
production of L.

R L

earl
Earl

pearl

curl

swirl

girl
*If your client is not yet stimulable for the ER sound, you may want to try working
on LR words before RL words. See page 23 for a helpful elicitation technique!

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auditory discrimination: r vs. w

Listen as your SLP/helper says the words aloud. As you hear the word,
color one picture to show what you heard.

Ring
or
Wing

Red
or
Wed

Ride
or
Wide

Rich
or
Witch
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I can say the r sound!

Say the words below. Be sure to use your best R sound. Mark a box for every
production. If you complete the entire worksheet, you will have practiced 100
times!

ER WORDS
•Pull your tongue back
•Keep it high
•Make it tense
Retroflexed R Bunched R
•Turn your voice on

Earth
Early
Either
Exercise
First
Flowers
Finger
Heard
Her
Hours
The above target words are high frequency words, sight words and common
nouns. These words were selected to support reading skills in addition to speech
sound production. (Fry, 1997)
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I can say the r sound!

Say the words below. Be sure to use your best R sound. Mark a box for every
production. If you complete the entire worksheet, you will have practiced 100
times!

ER WORDS
•Pull your tongue back
•Keep it high
•Make it tense
Retroflexed R Bunched R
•Turn your voice on

However
Learn
Letter
Major
Matter
Measure
Modern
Mother
Never
Number
The above target words are high frequency words, sight words and common
nouns. These words were selected to support reading skills in addition to speech
sound production. (Fry, 1997)
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I can say the r sound!

Say the words below. Be sure to use your best R sound. Mark a box for every
production. If you complete the entire worksheet, you will have practiced 100
times!

ER WORDS
•Pull your tongue back
•Keep it high
•Make it tense
Retroflexed R Bunched R
•Turn your voice on

Other
Over
Paper
Perhaps
Person
Summer
Surface
Teacher
Water
Weather
The above target words are high frequency words, sight words and common
nouns. These words were selected to support reading skills in addition to speech
sound production. (Fry, 1997)
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

REST

RAN

ROUND

RULE

READY

REGION

RETURN

RAIN

WRITTEN

REASON
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

RACE

RECORD

ROOT

RAISED

RESULT

RIDE

ROLLED

REMAIN

ROW

WROTE
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

REPORT

RISE

RECEIVED

RING

RATHER

RICH

RYTHM

RADIO

REPEATED

ROPE
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

FROM

GREAT

THROUGH

THREE

TRY

TREE

GROUP

GROW

PROBLEM

FRIENDS
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

PRODUCTS

TRUE

DRAW

CRIED

GROUND

TRAVEL

FRONT

PRODUCE

GREEN

BROUGHT
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

BRING

DRY

TRAIN

DROP

PROBABLY

PRESENT

GRASS

DRIVE

CROSS

PHRASE
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

FREE

BRIGHT

BROKEN

FRACTION

TRIP

FRENCH

DRESS

GREW

PRESIDENT

BROWN
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

TROUBLE

DRAWING

PRACTICE

BREAK

CROPS

PROVIDE

TRADE

CROWD

BRANCHES

FRUIT
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Initial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

PROCESS

PROPERTY

TRUCK

PRINTED

TRIANGLE

FRANCE

GREEK

CREATE

BRITISH

TRACK
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Medial R Blend Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

ACROSS

HUNDRED

PARAGRAPH

REPRESENT

DESCRIBE

AFRICA

EXPRESS

CONTROL

INCREASE

ELECTRIC
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Medial ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

WORD

FIRST

WORK

TURN

DIFFERENT

LEARN

EARTH

BIRDS

HEARD

HOURS
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Medial ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

COVERED

PATTERN

CERTAIN

PERSON

VERB

SURFACE

CIRCLE

PERHAPS

ENERGY

RETURN
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Medial ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

MEMBERS

EXERCISE

INTEREST

THIRD

FLOWERS

CENTURY

BURNING

SERVE

DESERT

MODERN
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Medial ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

DOLLARS

OBSERVE

PROPERTY

TERMS

CURRENT

SOUTHERN

WESTERN

CHURCH

FORWARD

DETERMINE
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Final ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

WERE

OTHER

HER

NUMBER

WATER

OVER

AFTER

ANOTHER

PICTURE

LETTER
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Final ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

MOTHER

ANSWER

FATHER

NEVER

UNDER

PAPER

TOGETHER

RIVER

COLOR

EVER
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Final ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

ORDER

BETTER

HOWEVER

MEASURE

FIGURE

POWER

MATTER

CENTER

SUMMER

WINTER
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Final ER Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

BROTHER

WHETHER

TEACHER

EITHER

WONDER

DOCTOR

RATHER

CONSIDER

SIR

ENTIRE
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I can say the r sound!

Say and Dot: High Frequency Final OR Words
Mark the circles below as you practice the R sound.

!""# $"%# &"#' (')"#' )"%#

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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

initial r

rain

raft
rip

rocket
robin

ribbon

rat

recycle

runway
radio
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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

initial r
research
robot

roof
ring

rocking horse

write

robe

roll
rowboat
rApPel

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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

medial r

camera

parakeet

exercise
heart

circus tent
lizard
certificate

skirt barn giraffe

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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

medial r

energy
marshmallow

alarm

shirt hydrant
turtle

earrings

siren
paperclip
turkey
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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

final r

mother

door fire

guitar

trailer

presenter
officer

hammer

store
hamster
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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

final r

newspaper
pour

chair

Deer

theater
doctor
hear

hiker tower
juggler
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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

r blends
crab

presentation

crane

dress

tractor

grow

tree

present
drum

grapes

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SPIN IT, SAY IT, COLOR IT

Put a paperclip in the middle of the spinner circle. Then, stick the tip of a pencil through one end of the
paperclip to form a “spinner.” Spin the paperclip. Whatever number it lands on is how many times you
must practice one of the R words pictured on the page. Select the word you want to practice, say it the
correct number of times, and then color the picture. Do this until all of the pictures are colored.

r blends grill

Graduate

Trash

Bread

Drink

Drill

Grapefruit
Truck
Broken
Trail

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I can say the r sound!

Play tic-tac-toe, but before you take your turn, say the R-word in the square you plan to mark.

ARTICULATION TIC-TAC-TOE!

MEDIAL AR MEDIAL ER

barn cart shark burn purse turn

start tarp large dirt learn girl

bark yard dark turkey first skirt

MEDIAL AIR MEDIAL OR

parent fairy staring corn fort torn

married stereo cherry shorts story storm

parrot carrot hairy morning forest bored

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synonym search
Read the sentences below. Replace the underlined word with a
synonym that has the R sound in the middle. Write the synonym MEDIAL
on the line and practice saying it with your best R sound. R

WORD BANK

hard start large

terrible weird dirty

1. I’m not going to school today

because I feel awful.

2. That math test was difficult!

3. After going camping, my

shoes were filthy.

4. My mom made a big pizza for

dinner.

5. My grandma’s cat looks odd.

6. The party will begin at five

o’clock.

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antonym search
Read the sentences below. Replace the underlined word with an
antonym that has an initial R blend in it. Write the antonym on R
the line and practice saying it with your best R sound. BLENDS

WORD BANK

bright friend pretty

dry crooked create

1. Grandma’s brown cat is ugly.

2. The light in the kitchen is dim.

3. I am going to destroy a block

tower.

4. Her boots are wet.

5. He has been my enemy for a

long time.

6. The children were in a straight

line.

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story time medial
r
Read the story aloud. Be sure to use your best R What was Karen preparing for?
sound! Then, answer the questions about the story
and illustrate it in the space provided.
carrot cake surprise
What kind of cake is Mary’s favorite?
Karen was preparing for her cousin Mary’s
surprise birthday party. Karen was baking
Mary a carrot cake. Mary was turning
thirty, and carrot cake has always been her
favorite! As Karen was baking, she ran out of
carrots! Karen went to see her neighbor, How old was Mary turning?
Barney. She asked him if she could borrow
some carrots. Barney gave Karen several
carrots. Karen finished the cake just in time.
Mary loved her birthday surprise!
illustrate the story What problem did Karen have in the story?
Who helped Karen?
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carryover activity: describing

Once you can say the R sound in speech therapy, it is important to work on carrying that skill
over to connected speech/conversation. Even if you can say the R sound perfectly in sentences,
it can be tricky to remember it when you are chatting with your friends. This activity will help
you practice your R sound in connected speech.

Directions: Write six things you would like to describe in the spaces below. You will talk about
the items/events. You will describe them in detail. Be sure to think about your R sound while
you are talking. Once you’re done, rate how you think you did by marking one of the faces.

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