Pares mínimos: pero / perro
Contraste de vibrante simple y múltiple con pares mínimos: pero-perro, caro-carro, coro-corro.
Words
Match
How to run it
Do the listening half first. Say one of the pair and have the student choose; only when they can hear the contrast reliably is production practice worth doing. Then reverse it — they produce one and you choose — which gives them feedback that is not an opinion. Use the meanings: pero is but and perro is dog, and a sentence where the wrong one is comical makes the contrast memorable. Twelve minutes covers the set both ways.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student says the word on the card; you point to the one you heard. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to the part of the word that changes between the two cards.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay both words slowly, stressing the difference; the student repeats the target word.Log as cued
- Placement cueOne quick tap for 'pero', a longer flutter of the tongue tip for 'perro'.Log as cued
Adjust it
Listen first: you say one of the pair and the student points to it, before they say any.
Use each word of the pair in a sentence, so the difference has to survive at speed.
Matching IEP goal
Given minimal-pair cards such as 'pero' and 'caro', Student will produce the contrast between the tap and the trill 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
Twelve Spanish minimal pairs contrasting the single tap and the trilled r: pero and perro, caro and carro, coro and corro, para and parra, cero and cerro, ahora and ahorra, pera and perra, careta and carreta. In Spanish this is not an accent difference — the two sounds distinguish words, and pero and perro mean entirely different things.
What to listen for
Listen for the trill being replaced by a tap, which is the usual direction and turns perro into pero. Watch for the reverse too, where a student over-applies the trill and produces carro for caro. Notice that the trill develops later than most Spanish sounds, so a young child producing taps is often within the expected range rather than in difficulty.
Carrying it home
These are common words in any Spanish-speaking home. Asking which word someone said — pero or perro — is a game that takes seconds and builds the discrimination the production depends on.
What's in this activity
- pero perro
- caro carro
- coro corro
- para parra
- cero cerro
- ahora ahorra
- moro morro
- foro forro
- careta carreta
- pera perra
- vara barra
- hiero hierro
Questions
- Is this board in Spanish?
- Yes, all twelve pairs are Spanish words. The page is in English so an English-speaking clinician can find and evaluate it.
- Do I need an account?
- No, it plays free in the browser.
- Is the trill a late-developing sound?
- Yes, it is one of the later ones in Spanish. A young child producing taps where trills belong may well be within the typical range, so the child's age and exposure matter before calling it an error.
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.