Diptongos: ie, ue, ua, ai
Práctica de diptongos en palabras cotidianas: tierra, puerta, agua, aire, cuento.
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
Say the two vowels slowly and then run them together. Because Spanish spelling is regular, the student can see exactly what the sound is made of, and that transparency is worth using: i-e says ie every time. Do ie and ue first, which are the most frequent, then ua and ai. Eight minutes covers all sixteen.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to say it.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for diphthongs, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Shape cueStart in the mouth shape of the first vowel and glide to the second in one beat: 'pie' is one syllable, not 'pi-e'.Log as cued
Adjust it
Tap out the syllables and say each one on its own, then two at a time, then the whole word.
Say each word in a short sentence of the student's own.
Matching IEP goal
Given picture cards, Student will produce diphthongs in Spanish in single words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Sixteen everyday Spanish words grouped by diphthong: tierra, siete, viento and pie for ie; puerta, cuento, fuego and juego for ue; agua, cuatro, guante and cuaderno for ua; aire, baile, paisaje and hay for ai. Spanish diphthongs are consistent in a way English ones are not — the letters say what they say — which makes them a good early target for a Spanish-speaking student.
What to listen for
Listen for the diphthong being split into two syllables. Tie-rra as three syllables rather than two is the characteristic error, and it changes the word's rhythm noticeably. Watch guante and cuaderno, where the u follows a g or c and the spelling gets more complicated — those two are where a student who has the sound can still stumble on the letters.
Carrying it home
These words come up constantly in Spanish-speaking homes: agua, puerta, cuatro, juego. Saying the word slowly and then at speed lets a child hear the two vowels inside one syllable.
What's in this activity
- tierra
- siete
- viento
- pie
- puerta
- cuento
- fuego
- juego
- agua
- cuatro
- guante
- cuaderno
- aire
- baile
- paisaje
- hay
Questions
- Is this board in Spanish?
- Yes, the words are Spanish. The page is in English so an English-speaking clinician can find and evaluate it.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all sixteen words play with no account.
- What grades is it for?
- First through third, for Spanish-speaking students working on syllable structure and articulation.
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.