Prevocalic Voicing Minimal Pairs: Pear or Bear?
Eight minimal-pair cards for prevocalic voicing, played as a memory game: a quiet first sound like /p/, /t/ or /k/ against the voiced sound it turns into, from pear and bear to coat and goat.
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. Put a hand on the throat to feel the buzz in bear and the quiet in pear. When the student keeps a pair, they say the target word. If you hear goat for coat, point to the goat and ask which one you wear. Keep the pairs for one sound together if that helps.
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: pear starts with quiet air and no buzz, bear starts with a buzz. Blow a little puff of air on the first sound of the target word.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use only the /p/ pairs at first, and let the student feel the puff of air on a hand in front of the mouth.
Mix all the pairs, and have the student say each target word in a short phrase such as a red coat.
Matching IEP goal
Given minimal-pair picture cards, Student will produce voiceless consonants at the start of words, without voicing 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 prevocalic voicing, the pattern where a quiet, voiceless sound at the start of a word is said with the voice on. With the voice on, pea becomes bee, pear becomes bear, pin becomes bin, peach becomes beach, coat becomes goat and fan becomes van. Each pair differs only in that first sound, and the difference is whether the voice is on or off.
What to listen for
Notice which voiceless sounds are voiced and which are not: /p/ may be fine while /k/ in coat and curl is voiced. Listen for a sound that is in between, which can mean the student is working on it. Watch for a puff of air on /p/ and /t/: a student who adds that puff is usually on the right track.
Carrying it home
Play the quiet sound and the buzzing sound. Put the child's hand on your throat and say pear, then bear, so they feel the difference. Then name a pair, coat and goat or pin and bin, and let the child point to the one you said. Swap so the child says one and you point. A few pairs a day is enough.
What's in this activity
- pea bee
- pear bear
- pin bin
- peach beach
- coat goat
- fan van
- curl girl
- ten den
Questions
- What is prevocalic voicing?
- Prevocalic voicing is a speech pattern where a voiceless sound before a vowel, like /p/, /t/ or /k/, is voiced, so pear sounds like bear and coat sounds like goat.
- 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.