Hard/Soft C and G Sounds
Apply the hard/soft c and g spelling rule when reading 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
State the rule and let the words prove it. C and g are soft before e, i and y, and hard before everything else — sort the sixteen and let the student check it against every one. Cycle and gym are the y examples and are worth doing last, since y as a vowel is a separate complication. Ten minutes covers the sixteen with the sorting.
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.
Read the words in a sentence, or spell them from dictation.
Matching IEP goal
Given decodable word cards, 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
Sixteen words split by the rule: cat, cup, cold and candy have a hard c; city, cent, circle and cycle have a soft one; goat, game, gum and garden have a hard g; giant, gym, gentle and giraffe have a soft one. The rule that decides it is genuinely reliable and rarely taught explicitly — the letter that follows determines the sound.
What to listen for
Watch whether the student uses the rule on an unfamiliar word. Recognising that cat has a hard c is recognition; predicting that a new word beginning with ce will be soft is the rule working. Notice giraffe, which follows the rule with an i, and get, which is a genuine exception — worth mentioning so the student is not thrown when they meet it.
Carrying it home
Point out the letter after the c or g in words while reading. Circle and cat on the same page make the rule visible in about five seconds, and once a child has seen it hold twice they start checking it themselves on every new word.
What's in this activity
- cat (hard c)
- cup (hard c)
- cold (hard c)
- candy (hard c)
- city (soft c)
- cent (soft c)
- circle (soft c)
- cycle (soft c)
- goat (hard g)
- game (hard g)
- gum (hard g)
- garden (hard g)
- giant (soft g)
- gym (soft g)
- gentle (soft g)
- giraffe (soft g)
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second and third, as part of structured phonics work on spelling rules.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all sixteen words play free.
- Are there exceptions?
- A few, mostly with g — get, give and girl have a hard g before e or i. C is more reliable. The rule is worth teaching as strong rather than absolute.
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.