Two-Minute Talks with Easy Onset
Two minutes of continuous talking per card, with easy onset held across the whole turn rather than practiced one word at a time.
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
Use this once easy onset is solid in single sentences. Time the two minutes, because keeping the technique going is the point. The self-monitoring cards — count how many sentences you started easily, rate your onsets from one to five, keep a count of restarts — give you something to compare with your own count. The book, film or game card asks for easy onset only in the second minute, which makes the difference easy to hear for both of you. Fifteen minutes covers four or five talks with a short review after each.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student uses easy onset on their own. Listen without reminding.Log as correct
- Visual reminderPoint to the picture or card that stands for the technique.Log as cued
- Verbal reminderSay a short reminder, such as 'Gentle start.'Log as cued
- ModelSay it yourself using the technique; the student copies, then tries the card again.Log as cued
Adjust it
Go back to shorter turns: single words or two-word phrases.
Move to longer turns, a new listener, or a little time pressure.
Matching IEP goal
Student will use easy onset in structured conversation in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual reminder.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten two-minute talking tasks with easy onset held across the whole turn rather than practised one word at a time: talk about a hobby starting every sentence with a gentle, breathy first sound; describe your favourite meal using easy onset on vowel-initial words; tell me about a trip starting with the word I; explain a rule you think is unfair. Each card adds a twist — counting, a partner tapping the table, rating yourself.
What to listen for
Listen for easy onset fading after the first few sentences; most students start well and drift. Compare the student's own count or rating with yours — a close match means they are monitoring, and a big gap is the thing to work on. On the partner-tap card, notice whether the student hears the missed onset before the tap. The unfair rule card is last on purpose: watch whether the technique holds when the student feels strongly.
Carrying it home
Ask the student to explain something they know well for two minutes and to rate their own onsets at the end. The parent's job is to ask for the rating, not to give one.
What's in this activity
- Talk for two minutes about a hobby. Begin every sentence with a gentle, breathy first sound.
- Describe your favorite meal for two minutes, using easy onset on every word that starts with a vowel.
- Explain something you are good at. Count how many sentences you started easily and say the number out loud.
- Talk about a pet or an animal you like. Your partner taps the table on any hard onset you miss.
- Tell me about a trip. Begin with the word “I”, the hardest one, and use easy onset every time it comes up.
- Talk about what you did yesterday for two minutes, then rate your own onsets from one to five.
- Describe a room in detail. Restart any sentence that begins with a hard attack, and keep a count of the restarts.
- Talk about a book, a film or a game. Use easy onset only in the second minute, then compare the two minutes.
- Answer “what did you do this weekend” as if a stranger asked. Plan your first word before you speak.
- Explain a rule you think is unfair. Notice whether easy onset gets harder when you feel strongly.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Third through twelfth grade.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all ten cards play free in the browser. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment.
- What is easy onset?
- Starting the voice gently, with a little air first, instead of with a hard push. It is one of the fluency-shaping techniques students practise to make the start of speech smoother.
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.