Easy Onset Practice Cards
Flashcards for easy onset on vowel-initial words.
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
Let the spelling do the instruction. Reading aaapple with the vowel stretched produces an easy onset almost automatically, which is quicker than explaining the technique. Once a word is easy, shorten the stretch until the word is normal length with the gentle start intact — that fading is the actual skill. Eight minutes covers the sixteen with fading on the easy ones.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student uses easy onset on their own. Listen without reminding.Log as correct
- Visual reminderPoint to the picture or card that stands for the technique.Log as cued
- Verbal reminderSay a short reminder, such as 'Gentle start.'Log as cued
- ModelSay it yourself using the technique; the student copies, then tries the card again.Log as cued
Adjust it
Go back to shorter turns: single words or two-word phrases.
Move to longer turns, a new listener, or a little time pressure.
Matching IEP goal
Student will use easy onset in single words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual reminder.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Sixteen vowel-initial words written the way they should sound: aaapple, uuup, ooopen, eeevery, uuunder, aaafter, aaalways, iiice cream, eeeat, ooover, eeeasy, aaask, ooorange. The stretched spelling is the cue — the vowel is drawn out so the student starts it gently rather than pushing it out, which is what an easy onset is.
What to listen for
Listen for the catch at the start. A hard onset has an audible click before the vowel, and it is the thing to point out first, in your own voice before theirs. Watch I am and ice cream, which are the two multi-word items here and are harder, since the technique has to be applied twice.
Carrying it home
Ask the family to listen for the start of words beginning with a vowel, not for the whole sentence. Apple, open, always and eat are frequent enough that one gets noticed most days.
What's in this activity
- aaapple
- uuup
- ooopen
- eeevery
- uuunder
- aaafter
- aaalways
- IIII am
- iiice cream
- eeeat
- iiin
- ooon
- ooover
- eeeasy
- aaask
- ooorange
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through eighth grade — a wide range, because easy onset is taught at whatever age it is needed.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all sixteen cards play with no account.
- Why are the words spelled with repeated letters?
- The spelling is the cue. Stretching the first vowel makes a gentle start almost unavoidable, which teaches the feeling faster than an explanation does.
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.