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  4. J7: Snip It Off: Last Sound

J7: Snip It Off: Last Sound

  1. Overview
  2. Materials
  3. Activity
  4. Confidence Builder
  1. Extension
  2. Variation
  3. Small Groups
  4. Questions and Answers

1. Overview

“Snip” a sound off the end of a word to make a completely new word. Your child will take a three-sound word, and remove a sound from the end to create a word with two sounds (phonemes). This is the reverse of the previous activity, Snap It On: Last Sound. NOTE: This activity is about counting and ordering the sounds in words. It is not about spelling!
snip it off last sound
J7: Snip It Off: Last Sound
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2. Materials

Print out the word list, mat and sound counting cards, preferably on sturdy card-stock paper. Cut apart the sound counting cards. The word list is for the adult’s reference only. Set the mat in front of the child, with the sound counting cards next to it. ↑ Top

3. Activity

Video: How to play Snip It Off: Last Sound
Explain to your child how you can have one word and then take a sound away from the end of it, “snipping it off,” to make a brand new word with the parts that are left. Review dividing words into individual sounds, and emphasize counting the sounds.
Adult: Sometimes you can snip a sound off the end of a word to make a brand new word. Let me show you how. Listen to my word: fuse. “She lit the fuse for the fireworks.” Fuse. What word? Child: Fuse! Adult: What’s the first sound you hear in fuse? Listen: fff-ūūū*-zzz. Child: fff. Adult: Yes. Put a card for the fff sound here. [point to top left “window” on mat] Child: [Puts down sound counting card.]
Continue this way until the child has identified the second and third sounds in fuse and has put a sound counting card in the top row of the mat for each sound.
Adult: Now point to each card in the top row and say its sound, in order. Always start here. [Point to top left “window.”] Get ready. Child: fff [points to first card] ūūū [points to second card] zzz [points to third card] Adult: Now I’m going to snip off a part of fuse. You find the sounds I say and move those cards from the top row to the bottom row. Get ready: few. “I have just a few pennies.” What word? Child: Few! Adult: What’s the first sound you hear in few? Child: fff. Adult: Yes. Find the card you used for the fff sound in fuse and slide it down to the bottom window here. [Point to bottom left “window.”]
Continue this technique of identifying the sound and moving the sound counting card for the ūūū in few.
Adult: Touch under the cards in the bottom row and say the sound for each card. Child: [points to left card] fff [points to right card] ūūū. Adult: Say the sounds fast. What word? Child: Few! Adult: Look at the top row of windows. Tell me what sound you snipped off of fuse to make few? Child: zzz! Adult: Yes. You snipped off the zzz sound at the end of fuse, and the sounds that were left made the word few.
Have the child remove the sound counting cards from the mat to get ready for the next round of the game. “Snip” sounds off of six to ten words in a session.

NOTE: A line above a vowel (for example, ā) indicates that it is the “long” vowel sound, which is the same as the vowel’s name.

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4. Confidence Builder

  • Use only words with continuant consonant sounds (e.g., rain, mile, lice).
  • Reduce the number of words in a session, and repeat the ones used several times, in random order.
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5. Extension

Present the two words (e.g., fuse and few) without the grid, and have the child tell you the sound that was eliminated from the first word and the location (beginning or end) of the snipped-off sound. ↑ Top

6. Variation

At the end of a round, encourage the child to “snap” the bottom row sounds back to the top row and say the original three-sound word. ↑ Top

7. Small Groups (2-5 children)

Lesson Objective: Using manipulatives and a counting mat for visual aids, children will say the phonemes in a three-phoneme spoken word in correct order, then delete the last phoneme to create a new two-phoneme spoken word. GELDS (Georgia Early Learning & Development Standards): CLL6.4f Georgia Standards of Excellence: ELAGSEKRF2.e Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E Additional Materials:
  • enough work mats and sound counting cards for each child
  • optional: pocket chart
Adaptation: Read the main activity, watch the video, and follow the instructions above, with the following changes: Remind the children how they “snipped” a sound off the beginning of a word to make a new word. Explain that they are now going to snip a sound off the end of a word to make a brand new word. Do the activity as a group. Demonstrate how to place the sound cards on the mat as you say the sounds, providing several examples. When the children have a grasp of the concept, give each one a work mat and three sound cards. Have the children verbalize the phonemes as they manipulate their counters on their mats. Use words from the word list to provide many opportunities for practice. Call on different children to respond for each step of the process and to say the phoneme as they manipulate its corresponding sound marker. Then the whole group can repeat and follow what that child is doing. Have the whole group say the new word together. Reinforcement: Repeat the activity, but at the end of each round encourage the children to “snap” the deleted sound back onto the new word to make the original three-sound word. Have them say the original word again. Use this Reinforcement at Home form to tell parents and guardians how they can reinforce lessons outside the classroom. ↑ Top

2 Responses to “J7: Snip It Off: Last Sound”

  1. Colin

    Hi. Again thanks for your wonderful site.
    I was wondering if this was one of your very rare errors? On this page https://sightwords.com/phonemic-awareness/connecting-sounds/snip-it-off-last-sound/ , under “Materials” you have “Snip It Off: First Sound mat” but the link is to your “snip_it_off_last_mat”.
    Thanks again for the excellent resources, the clear layout, the straightforward instructions, and such a really well thought out and sequenced resource.

    Reply

    • Sight Words Admin

      Hi, Colin! Thank you for your kind words and support! As for the error — thank you for catching that as well! Our sincere apologies. We have fixed the link so you can actually access the first sound mat here already. Thanks again!

      Reply

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