/z/ Medial Flashcards
Conventional medial /z/ targets at the single-word level.
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
Split at the sound: mu-sic, li-zard. Splitting gives the student a final /z/ and then an initial one, both usually easier than the medial version. Easy and busy are the shortest and the best starting point; blizzard is the longest and puts the target after a cluster. Six minutes covers the twelve.
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 /z/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueSame shape as /s/: teeth close, tongue tip just behind the top teeth, air down the middle. Now turn your voice on so it buzzes like a bee.Log as cued
Adjust it
Drop to syllables ('za' and 'zee'), or use fewer cards.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /z/ in it or mix in /z/ words from another position.
Matching IEP goal
Given picture cards, Student will produce /z/ in the word-medial position 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
Twelve words with /z/ in the middle: music, puzzle, lizard, dizzy, busy, cousin, dozen, buzzer, easy, fuzzy, blizzard, wizard. Half of them spell the sound with an s — music, busy, cousin, easy — which makes this a set where the sound and the letter regularly come apart.
What to listen for
Listen for devoicing between vowels, which turns easy into eassy — the placement stays and the voice goes off. Watch music and cousin, where the /z/ is spelled with an s and a student who is reading rather than listening may produce an /s/ for a spelling reason rather than a speech one.
Carrying it home
Music, easy, busy and cousin are ordinary words. The throat cue works at home as well as anywhere, and children usually find the buzz interesting enough to check for themselves.
What's in this activity
- music
- puzzle
- lizard
- dizzy
- busy
- cousin
- dozen
- buzzer
- easy
- fuzzy
- blizzard
- wizard
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- First through fourth, usually after initial /z/ is stable.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve cards play with no account.
- Why is 'music' in a /z/ deck?
- Because the s in the middle is pronounced /z/. The target here is the sound rather than the letter, and English spells /z/ with an s more often than with a z.
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.