Diphthong Sounds (oi, oy, ou, ow) — Spelling
Literacy · Grades 2–3 · 16 cards
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Ask which spelling before the student builds the word. Where is the sound — middle or end — is the question that decides it, and making the student answer that out loud turns a guess into a rule. Group the words by spelling as you go rather than mixing them, so four oi words in a row establish the pattern before four oy words test it.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to read it.Log as correct
- Point to itPoint to the letter pattern that matters, or tap under each sound.Log as cued
- Sound it outSay the first sound together, then let the student blend the rest.Log as cued
- ModelRead it, tapping each sound; the student reads it after you.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer cards and start with the patterns the student already reads, such as 'coin' and 'join'.
Read the words in a sentence, or spell them from dictation.
Matching IEP goal
Given decodable word cards, such as 'coin' and 'join', Student will read the target pattern accurately in 8 of 10 words across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The sixteen diphthong words — coin, join, boil, soil, boy, toy, joy, enjoy, cloud, house, mouse, found, cow, now, brown, town — as a spelling task. Derived from the flashcard deck, and this is the version where the position rule actually pays off: reading oi and oy is easy because both say the same thing, and spelling them requires knowing which one goes where.
What to listen for
Watch for oy in the middle of a word or oi at the end, which are the two errors the rule prevents. Notice enjoy, where the sound sits at the end of a two-syllable word — students who have learned the rule as short words often hesitate. Watch found and cloud, where the ou is followed by a consonant and the vowel is easy to spell as ow.
Carrying it home
Ask for the spelling pattern rather than the whole word: does boy use oi or oy, and why. The reasoning is the part that transfers, and it takes five seconds — much less than spelling out a list, and considerably more useful.
What's in this activity
- coin
- join
- boil
- soil
- boy
- toy
- joy
- enjoy
- cloud
- house
- mouse
- found
- cow
- now
- brown
- town
Questions
- Is this the same as the flashcards?
- Same sixteen words, built from letters. Spelling is where the oi-or-oy decision matters, so this version exercises the rule more than reading does.
- Do I need an account?
- No, it plays free in the browser.
- Are there exceptions to the position rule?
- Few enough that the rule is worth teaching as reliable. Oi and ou go in the middle, oy and ow at the end — with ow also appearing mid-word in words like brown and town.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.