About this activity
Twelve short words ending in /g/: bag, bug, dog, egg, log, pig, rug, tag, dig, hug, fog, leg. All single syllables with simple structures, which suits the age this target usually belongs to — /g/ is an early sound, and a child working on it is generally young enough that longer words get in the way.
How to use it in a session
Ask for the word and then a two-word phrase — big dog, my bag — and stop there. The final /g/ is quiet and easily dropped, so exaggerate it in your model slightly rather than asking the child to say it louder. Six minutes covers twelve cards, which is about the right length for a preschool or kindergarten session.
What to listen for
Listen for the sound being dropped rather than replaced. Do for dog is the characteristic error in final position — the whole consonant disappears — and it is a different pattern from dot, where a /t/ has been substituted. Watch egg and leg, where the vowel is short and the final consonant is easy to swallow.
Carrying it home
Dog, bug, pig and hug come up constantly with young children. Asking a family to listen for the end of the word, rather than the whole word, gives them something specific enough to actually notice.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Preschool through second grade. /g/ develops early, so it is usually a target for younger children.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve cards play with no login.
- My child drops the last sound entirely. Is that different from substituting?
- Yes, and it points at a different pattern — final consonant deletion affects many sounds at once, not just /g/, and is usually worth addressing as a pattern rather than sound by sound.