Teaching · Speech and Language

Sun, not ton.
Pairs for sounds that should flow.

When a child stops, the long airy sounds (/s/, /f/, /sh/, /th/) come out as short pops, and “sun” turns into “ton”. Deal minimal pairs by sound group and place in the word, each with a sentence that needs the target and what both words mean.

Make a set of pairsWhat you get
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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Speech & Language toolkit, $79 for 88 items.

Make a set of stopping pairs

The worked example is made up: a three-year-old on /f/ and /v/ and a five-year-old on /sh/, /ch/ and /j/. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Teaching · Speech & Language$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A set of 6, 10 or 16 minimal pairs for stopping, chosen by sound group (/s z/, /f v/, /sh ch j/, /th/) and place in the word, each with a target sentence and what both words mean, plus notes on how practice went.
Who it is for
School and clinic speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants, and the teachers and families they hand home practice to.
Format
Browser card maker with saved sets. Prints the cards as a cut-out sheet or a list for home practice; presents one card at a time for a screen or a tablet at the table; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Speech & Language toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Speech & Language space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick the sound group the student is ready for; /f/ and /s/ usually come before /sh/ and /th/.
  2. Start with listening: say one word, and the student points to its card.
  3. Then the student says a word and you respond to exactly what you hear.
  4. Cue length: a long sound you can stretch, a stop you cannot.
  5. Note what worked; print the cards for home.

Make a set of pairs

What stopping is

A long sound becomes a short popFricatives/s/ /z/ /f/ /v//sh/ /th/Air keeps flowing: youcan hold themAffricates/ch/ and /j/A stop that opens into ahissStops/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/Air is blocked, thenpops outStopping uses theseinsteadA long sound becomes a short popFricatives/s/ /z/ /f/ /v//sh/ /th/Air keeps flowing: you can hold themAffricates/ch/ and /j/A stop that opens into a hissStops/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/Air is blocked, then pops outStopping uses these instead
Drawn for this page. Stopping of /f/ and /s/ usually fades by about three; /sh/, /ch/ and /j/ later; /th/ last.

Different sounds settle at different ages

Stopping of /f/ and /s/ usually fades early, around three; /sh/, /ch/ and /j/ later; /th/ is often the last, sometimes past five. Choose the group with that order in mind.

Pairs that carry meaning

Every pair here is two real words that differ only in the target sound. When the stopped word is heard, the listener gets the wrong meaning, which is what makes the contrast worth learning.

Dialect matters

In some English dialects /th/ is said as /t/ or /d/ as a normal feature, not an error. Treat it only when it differs from the child’s community.

Sources

  1. Weiner, F. (1981). Treatment of phonological disability using the method of meaningful minimal contrast: Two case studies. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 46(1), 97 to 103. PMID 7206686.
  2. Dodd, B., Holm, A., Hua, Z., & Crosbie, S. (2003). Phonological development: A normative study of British English-speaking children. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 17(8), 617 to 643. PMID 14977026.
  3. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Practice Portal: Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology (asha.org/practice-portal).
  4. Bowen, C. (2015). Children’s Speech Sound Disorders (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. Phonological processes and typical ages of elimination.

Word pairs, sentences and meanings were written for this page; the example sets and students are made up. Ages are rough guides from published norms and vary with the child and the dialect. The cards support practice a speech-language pathologist plans; they do not assess or diagnose. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.