/s/ Blend Flashcards (sp, st, sk) — Spelling
Articulation · Grades 1–4 · 16 cards
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 word, name the two letters, then build. Keep the attention on the first two letters, since the vowel spellings in spoon, sky and stove are separate problems that will distract from the target. School is the exception worth explaining rather than sounding out — the ch spells a /k/ sound, which no rule predicts.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAfter building each word, the student says it aloud. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /s/ blends, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueHold a steady /s/, then go straight into the next sound with no vowel between: 'sss-top', not 'suh-top'.Log as cued
Adjust it
Split the cluster with a short pause ('s… top'), then close the gap until it is one sound.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /s/ in it.
Matching IEP goal
Given word cards, Student will produce /s/ blends 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
The sixteen /s/ blend words — spoon, spider, spot, spill, spin, star, stop, stamp, stick, stove, sky, skate, skunk, skip, school, desk — as a spelling task. Derived from the flashcard deck, and the spelling makes the cluster visible: a child who drops the /s/ in speech and writes poon has made the same error twice, which is worth pointing out.
What to listen for
Watch for the s going missing in the writing. Poon for spoon on paper is the written form of cluster reduction, and the match between what the child says and what they write makes the error concrete. Notice desk, where the cluster is at the end and both letters are usually produced correctly even by children who reduce initial clusters.
Carrying it home
Ask which two letters start spoon. Five seconds, no materials, and it puts the child's attention exactly where the target is — and if they can name both letters and then say the word without dropping either sound, that is the whole skill in one exchange.
What's in this activity
- spoon
- spider
- spot
- spill
- spin
- star
- stop
- stamp
- stick
- stove
- sky
- skate
- skunk
- skip
- school
- desk
Questions
- Is this the same as the flashcards?
- Same sixteen words, built from letters. It gives fewer productions per minute and makes the cluster visible, which helps some students.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account or card needed.
- Why is 'school' spelled with ch?
- It is a historical spelling from Greek, where ch represented a /k/ sound. There is no rule to work it out, so it is learned as a whole word.
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.