Regular Plural -s
Practice adding the regular plural morpheme /s/ /z/ /ɪz/ to nouns.
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
Say the three groups aloud and ask what the base nouns have in common. The /s/ group all end in a voiceless sound, the /z/ group in a voiced one, and the syllable group already end in a hiss or a hush. That single observation turns twelve items into a rule the ear can check without any spelling knowledge. Eight minutes covers the twelve.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintStress the part of the sentence that changes, or point to the word ending.Log as cued
- Sentence starterSay the first half of the sentence and let the student finish it.Log as cued
- ModelSay the correct form in the whole sentence; the student repeats it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a sentence starter every time, and do fewer cards.
Ask for a new sentence of the student's own with the same form, with no card to lean on.
Matching IEP goal
Given sentence cards, Student will produce the target grammatical form in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve nouns grouped by how the plural sounds: cat, cup, book and hat take an /s/; dog, bee, car and bed take a /z/; box, bus, dish and glass add a whole syllable. The rule is the same one that governs the past tense — the ending assimilates to the sound before it — and teaching both together makes each easier.
What to listen for
Listen for the syllable group. Boxes, buses, dishes and glasses need an extra syllable because the word already ends in a hissing sound, and a student who says boxs is trying to do something the mouth cannot easily manage. Watch for the plural being omitted entirely, which is a different pattern and common in early development and in some language backgrounds.
Carrying it home
Counting things gives plurals for free, and the number is what forces the form. Two cats, three dishes, five books — the child hears the correct version in a real sentence rather than on a card.
What's in this activity
- cat → cats (/s/)
- cup → cups (/s/)
- book → books (/s/)
- hat → hats (/s/)
- dog → dogs (/z/)
- bee → bees (/z/)
- car → cars (/z/)
- bed → beds (/z/)
- box → boxes (/ɪz/)
- bus → buses (/ɪz/)
- dish → dishes (/ɪz/)
- glass → glasses (/ɪz/)
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Kindergarten through second, and older students learning English as an additional language.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all twelve nouns play free.
- Why do 'box' and 'dish' need an extra syllable?
- Because they already end in a hissing or hushing sound. Adding a plain /s/ would be inaudible, so English adds a vowel to make the plural hearable — the ear can check it.
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.