Postvocalic Devoicing Minimal Pairs: Cab or Cap?
Eight minimal-pair cards for postvocalic devoicing, played as a memory game: a voiced last sound like /b/, /d/, /g/ or /z/ against the quiet sound it turns into, from cab and cap to eyes and ice.
How to run it
Play it as memory: turn two cards, and keep them when a target word and its partner match. Name both cards on every turn. Stretch the vowel a little before a voiced ending: piiig. When the student keeps a pair, they say the target word. If you hear cup for cub, point to the cup and ask which one is a baby bear. The eight pairs take about six minutes.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student names one card of the pair; you point to the card you heard. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Listen firstSay both words of the pair, then ask the student to say the one you point to.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the target word slowly, stressing the sound that changes, and the student repeats it.Log as cued
- Placement cueHand on the throat: keep the buzz going right to the end of the target word, as in buzzz. Stretch the vowel a little before the voiced ending.Log as cued
Adjust it
Start with the /z/ pairs, where the buzz is easy to feel and hold at the end of the word.
Mix all the pairs, and have the student say each target word in a short phrase, such as a big pig.
Matching IEP goal
Given minimal-pair picture cards, Student will produce voiced consonants at the end of words, without devoicing them, 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
Eight minimal pairs for postvocalic devoicing, the pattern where a voiced sound at the end of a word is said without the voice. With the voice off at the end, cab becomes cap, seed becomes seat, eyes becomes ice, log becomes lock, cub becomes cup and buzz becomes bus. Each pair differs only in the last sound, so leaving the voice off at the end changes the word.
What to listen for
Notice which endings lose their voice: /z/ in eyes and buzz may be harder than /g/ in log and pig. Listen to the vowel before the ending, too, because the vowel is usually a little longer before a voiced sound, and a student who lengthens it is often getting close. Watch for a final sound that is voiced but followed by an extra vowel, as in pig-uh.
Carrying it home
Play buzz and bus: buzz like a bee, then say bus quietly, and let the child hear the difference at the end. Use real things for a pair or two, a seed and a seat, or ice and your eyes. Say one and let the child point, then swap. Short and often is better than a long session.
What's in this activity
- cab cap
- seed seat
- eyes ice
- log lock
- pig pick
- cub cup
- buzz bus
- robe rope
Questions
- What is postvocalic devoicing?
- Postvocalic devoicing is a speech pattern where a voiced sound at the end of a word, like /b/, /d/, /g/ or /z/, is said without voice, so cab sounds like cap and buzz sounds like bus.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
- Can I play the same pairs as a different game?
- Yes. Copy it to your own library, open the copy in the Activity Studio, and switch the template between Match Up, Memory Pairs and Find the Match. The same pairs play in each.
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.