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This Reading Mama

The Two Sounds of Final S

By thisreadingmama Leave a Comment

The two  sounds of final s, /s/ and /z/, can be a confusing concept for beginning and struggling learners. After creating a pack for the three sounds of _ed, I created this hands-on printable pack for you.

You might also like our Interactive Inflected Endings Bundle Pack!

The Two Sounds of Final s - This Reading Mama

*The download can be found at the END of this post. Look for and click on the teal download button.

The Two Sounds of Final S

I have two quick things I feel are important to note before getting to the freebies:

1. The terms voice and unvoiced are important concepts for kids to understand in order to know when to use /z/ and /s/ on the end of words.

Voiced sounds are sounds that engage the vocal folds. In other words, when you put your hand on your neck/throat, you can feel your vocal folds vibrating. Sounds like /b/, /d/ /m/, and /g/ are voiced sounds. So are all the vowels.

Because /z/ is a voiced sound, it comes after words that end with voiced sounds. Say these words and listen for the /z/ sound at the end of stars, webs, flags, or runs.

Unvoiced sounds do not engage the vocal folds. When you place your hand on your neck/throat, you will not feel a vibration. Sounds such as /t/, /f/, /k/, and /p/ are unvoiced sounds.

Because /s/ is an unvoiced sound, it comes after words that end with unvoiced sounds. Say these words and listen for the /s/ sound: rocks, cats, mops, or sits.

 

2. Encourage learners to say these words OUT LOUD, as /z/ can be mistaken for /s/ if you’re whispering.

I also encourage you to say the words out loud because when we whisper, we typically don’t use our vocal folds, even for voiced sounds. This means that your voiced /z/ can be mistaken for /s/.

Okay, now for the freebies! This pack comes with:

Two Sounds of Final s Chart - This Reading Mama

1. One-page Chart for remembering the two sounds of -s. {This is offered in color and blackline.}

 

Two Sounds of Final s Word Sort - This Reading Mama

2. Word Sort – Learners cut apart the sort and sort them under “Sounds like s” and “Sounds like z.” The sort comes in two versions: one with the base word underlined and one without the base words underlined. This can help you better differentiate for learners on different levels with this concept.

 

Two Sounds of Final s Worksheet - This Reading Mama

3. Read, Highlight, & Circle – Learners read the sentence, find the word that ends with -s, highlight it, then circle {or highlight} the sound the final -s makes, either /s/ or /z/.

 

Two Sounds of Final S Coloring Page - This Reading Mama

4. Two Sounds of Final s Coloring Page – Learners use two colors {blue & red} to color the words based on the sound of final s.

5. Answer Keys – Lastly, this pack has an answer key for the sorts, coloring page, and sentence page!

 

 

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

 

You’ll Also Like:

Inflected Endings

 

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Filed Under: Phonics and Word Study Tagged With: SWS

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Hi! I’m Becky, a homeschooling mama with 4 blessings who keep me on my toes {and knees}. Before homeschooling, I was a classroom teacher (M.Ed.) and reading tutor. Read more about me here.

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