/th/ Voiced vs. Voiceless Sort
Sort /th/ words by voiced vs. voiceless.
Drop here
Drop here
0/10 sorted
How to run it
Put a hand on the throat. The two sounds are made identically apart from the voicing, and feeling the buzz is far more reliable than hearing it. Say the pairs back to back — the and think — and let the student sort by feel. Point out the function-word pattern, which is not universal and holds for almost every common word a student will meet.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student says each word aloud as they place it. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /th/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueTongue tip peeks out between your teeth. Blow air gently over it: voice off for 'think', voice on for 'this'.Log as cued
Adjust it
Drop to syllables ('thah' and 'thoo'), or use fewer cards.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /th/ in it.
Matching IEP goal
Given word cards, Student will produce /th/ 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
Ten words sorted by whether the /th/ is voiced: the, this, that, those and them are voiced; think, three, thumb, thin and thaw are voiceless. Both are spelled th and English gives no clue which is which — but there is a pattern worth knowing: the voiced ones here are all function words, and the voiceless ones are all content words.
What to listen for
Listen for the student attempting to hear a difference in the sound quality. There is very little — the difference is voicing, and it is felt rather than heard by most children. Notice whether they can produce both deliberately, since being able to switch the voicing on and off is what makes the distinction usable rather than accidental.
Carrying it home
The throat cue works anywhere and children find it interesting. Asking which /th/ words buzz, during a conversation, turns a technical distinction into a game.
What's in this activity
- voiced
- voiceless
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Third through fifth, for students who have both /th/ sounds and are learning to distinguish them.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all ten words play free.
- How do you know which th is which?
- There is no spelling clue, but a useful pattern: function words like the, this and that take the voiced one, and content words like think and thumb take the voiceless one. It holds for nearly every common 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.