Are you forgetting the first step of minimal pairs therapy? Because I’m going to admit it… back in my early career days, I may have missed this step!
Familiarizing your students with the target words (usually picture cards) is a critical step of minimal pairs therapy. The whole point of the approach is that we are teaching the child that if they say the word differently, it means something completely different!
I’ve put together a short video walking through exactly how I do this familiarization step — including a quick 5-minute version and a slightly longer 10-minute version that I really recommend if you have any concerns about a child’s language:
So as you can see, it really comes down to making sure the child has a good connection to the words — so that when that breakdown occurs, it truly clicks for them.
HOW DO YOU FAMILIARIZE MINIMAL PAIR WORDS?
There are two ways to do this — a short way that takes about 5 minutes, and a longer way that takes about 10 minutes. I really do think the longer version can be so helpful, especially if you have any concerns about a child’s language skills.
I generally start by picking word pairs that I think the child would understand given their age and language skills. It’s also worth keeping in mind that there are always some low frequency words in minimal pairs sets — we just want to make sure that there isn’t any confusion, and that the set of words we have chosen are going to work well for the client.
Let’s use ‘sn’ being replaced with an ‘n’ as an example. My first word pair is nail and snail.
The short way is to show the child the card and say something really simple about it:
This is a nail, it starts with the ‘n’ sound. Builders might bang a nail with a hammer when they’re building things. Have you ever seen anyone use a hammer and nail?
Look at this picture! This is a slow, slimy snail. Snail starts with ‘sn’. I get lots of snails in my garden, and I even find them in my mailbox. Have you ever found a snail in your garden?
The longer way is to see if the child has any personal connection to the words — because that connection is something you can use later in your feedback. For example, rather than just naming the card, you might say: Do you ever wrap any birthday presents? Does mum ever let you use sticky tape? Or at Christmas, was it your job to give Dad the tape?
That way you’ve had a little conversation with the child and you’re really making sure that they understand those words.
I then put the cards on the table and ask the child to pick up the picture that I am saying. I like to alternate the order and see if I can ‘trick’ the child: “snail – snail – nail – snail – nail”.
WHY DOES THIS STEP MATTER SO MUCH?
We are aiming for high practice — we really want the child to be able to look at the card and know what the word is and know what it means. The reason why we want them to know the meaning is so that when a breakdown occurs and you confront them with it, it really clicks.
For example, if a child is looking at cape but says tape, you can say: Tape? I don’t see anything there that you can wrap presents with — there isn’t even a present there! And the child can have that aha moment. A lot of the times when they have that aha moment, they’ll laugh — because they realize that you’re right, that actually doesn’t make sense. That little giggle tells you that they truly understand that what they said doesn’t make sense, because they’ve used the wrong sound.
Your feedback of you have to use that sound if you mean cape, otherwise I’m thinking you want sticky tape — it clicks for them.
If I miss these steps in minimal pairs therapy and don’t check to see that the child understands the words and can hear the difference, our progress might stall. Starting therapy from a strong foundation — rather than realizing mid-session that there is a gap — makes all the difference.
TRY THESE S CLUSTER REDUCTION MINIMAL PAIRS ON BOOM CARDS™
If you are working on S cluster reduction and want a resource that already has the familiarization, auditory discrimination, and word practice steps built in — this interactive Boom Cards™ deck was designed with exactly that in mind.
Students are familiarized with the minimal pair targets first, before moving into a “point to the one I say” auditory discrimination task, and then into word practice — the same therapy steps we’ve been talking about throughout this post. Because there is context built into each card, your child may find it easier to engage with and understand the therapy. And because it’s digital, you can use it on a computer, iPad, tablet, or smartphone — whether you’re in the clinic or delivering sessions via telehealth.
The deck covers word pairs for all S clusters — SK, SL, SM, SN, SP, ST, and SW — with up to 8 pairs per target. Students say their target words and can drag the image across to the matching picture, making it fun, meaningful, and high in practice trials.
Boom Cards™ have changed my SLP life! You can play anywhere you have an internet browser. Read reviews and see what’s included in this S Cluster Reduction deck.
One Response
Hi, I am a new SLP- I have been struggling with how to improve the phonological error of backing. I have tried contrastive approaches such as minimal pairs and maximal pairs! However I not seeing the progress I would like… should I be using more of a multiple opp. Approach