Minimal Pair Activity

Minimal Pair Activity

Activity Time: 5 Minutes

Level: Late Early Production – Early Speech Emergence

Goal:  The purpose of this activity is to inform and assess students’ ability to distinguish and reproduce individual English phonemes (in this case, vowels) using minimal pairs in way that does not confuse early learners with the concept of ‘rhyming.’



Approach:  The basic execution of the activity uses the sociolinguistic view; however, there is an easy, optional adaptation one can make to practice more conventional written spelling of the phonemes in the word recognition approach.



Do Now:  (None…this brief activity may be an appropriate Do Now by itself)



Activity I. Teacher will display an image similar to that below on the blackboard or Smartboard.
(sorry the images won't copy here...it's basically just a slice of bread, a line, a slice of bread and a plate; this is repeated two times)


The teacher will say the sound a consonant sound that is go in both slices of bread and randomly call on a student to come up and write the letter that makes the sound (for example, “both slices of bread are ‘p’.”)   Other students will be used to assist if the original student cannot produce the ‘p.’

            Afterwards, a different student will be called up to offer up a ‘meat’ for the sandwich.  (“What can go in between the bread?”)  A combination that doesn’t make a word (“pape”) will be congratulated, but the teacher will encourage the student to come up with a “meat” that makes a word. Once such a “meat” has been offered (ex., “u”) it will be written on the line.  The final, ready-to-eat ‘sandwich’ will then be placed on the “plate” (“pup”). 

            An identical set of two breads and a plate will be revealed below (see example above) and a new student will be asked to come up.  S/he will be informed that we’re using the same bread (“p”) but we want new meat!  S/he will be asked to think of another sound we can put in between the bread.  Note: silly words like ‘poop’ will not be discouraged; similarly, words with more complicated spellings like ‘pipe’ will not be discouraged…the proper convential spelling, in a word recognition view, can be fixed on the “plate” at the end.  In other words  p +  i  +  p  may become ‘pipe.’

            The teacher will have students repeat, in chorus, both words.  If the term ‘minimal pair’ is being taught, it will also be explained (and, if appropriate, noted) at this time.



Activity II.  Students will receive a handout identical to the design they have seen in the front of the room (similar to the set up above, however, the sandwich ‘pairings’ will be clearly delineated by squares or squiggles).  In pairs or groups of 3,  students will now be challenged to quickly come up and set up two ‘sandwiches’ for the bread that the teacher assigns.  Students will be told not to put the sandwich on the plate until the teacher checks that it is ready-to-eat.  The teacher may select different consonants (for example, “the first bread is a ‘p’ but the second bread is a ‘t’.”)  Once the breads have been announced, the pairs or teams will race to assemble two sandwiches that use the same bread(s).  Teacher will circulate and monitor.



Once time is up (1-2 min), teacher will randomly call on students to share out their ‘sandwiches,’ and lead the class in a choral repetition of the minimal pair that the group created.  This game may be repeated as time allows.



Word recognition adaptation:  To pay closer attention to more conventional spellings, the teacher can be more proactive in helping each group create an accurately spelled word on the ‘plate’ on their sheet;  similarly, at the end, the teacher can have the class copy down the correct spelling on their ‘plates’ as group(s)  share out.  In other words,  the teacher may either monitor for identification and practice of varying yet minimal pair-producing phonemes and have class say the word out loud, allowing for spelling mistakes on the ‘plate’ (socio-linguistic) OR ensure that spellings on the plate are accurate at every step of the process (word recognition) and have students say the spelling out loud, as well.