Easys-blends
Smart snails smile in the snow.
Tongue twisters · sk · sl · sm · sn · sp · st · sw
S + consonant
Snake, not esnake: no e sneaks in before st, sp, sn.
- Age
- Ages 3–11
- Skill
- Speaking · Phonics
- Format
- Printable
Why this sound is hard
the Spanish trapNo Spanish word begins with s plus another consonant — Spanish adds an e (España, escuela, estrella). So snake becomes esnake and school becomes eschool. Russian is full of such clusters (стол, спать, сколько), so Russian-speaking children usually say them easily.
Where the mouth goes
Start with a long snake hiss before the word: ssssss-nake. Then shorten the hiss until it joins the next sound. Lips stay in a smile — if the mouth opens before the s, an e has sneaked in.
The twisters, easy to hard
Listen slowly first, then at normal speed — then say it three times fast against the stopwatch. Dotted words open the picture dictionary.
Easys-blends· traditional
Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim!
Mediums-blends
Stella's star sparkles in space.
Mediums-blends· traditional
Hards-blends· traditional
Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
Hards-blends· traditional
A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
One card per twister, no buttons — cut them apart for a twister jar.
Practise the same sound
Train the ear first with a listen-and-pick game, then read the sound in words.
Related resources
Lesson Plan
Online lessons
You're on mute, can you see my screen, wave goodbye — the phrases every Zoom or Meet lesson with children needs.