/th/ Voiceless Flashcards
Cards for voiceless /th/ (think, thank, three).
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
Show the tongue. /th/ is fully visible — the tongue tip comes forward between the teeth — and a mirror does more here than any description. Do the simple words first: think, thin, thumb, thick. Save three, thread and throne for last, since the cluster with /r/ requires the tongue to move from the front of the mouth to a completely different position at speed. Eight minutes covers the ten.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to say it.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for voiceless /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 with your voice off.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 picture cards, Student will produce voiceless /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 with the voiceless /th/ at the start: think, three, thin, thumb, thread, throne, thick, thaw, thigh, theme. Three of them — three, thread, throne — put the sound in a cluster with /r/, which is a considerably harder context and worth separating from the simple words.
What to listen for
Listen for /f/ or /t/ replacing it. Fink for think means the tongue has stayed behind the teeth; tink means it has gone to the ridge instead of forward. Watch the cluster words specifically — a student who has thin and not three has the sound and not the transition, which needs different work.
Carrying it home
Think, three and thumb are ordinary words. /th/ is visible enough that a family can see whether the tongue came forward, which makes it one of the easier sounds for them to notice at home.
What's in this activity
- think
- three
- thin
- thumb
- thread
- throne
- thick
- thaw
- thigh
- theme
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Second through fifth. /th/ is among the last sounds to develop and is a normal target well into the school years.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all ten cards play with no login.
- Why are 'three' and 'thread' harder?
- Because the /th/ is followed by an /r/. The tongue has to move from between the teeth to a completely different position very quickly, which is a different motor task from a simple /th/ before a vowel.
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.