Patina · Pronunciation

S at the Start

scarf, not escarf

Many English words start with s + another letter: scarf, sky, storm, sweater. Start with the s. Hiss it. No sound before it.

★ the rule, the s words, consonant or vowel?  ·  ★★ fix the spelling, read it out loud  ·  ★★★ fix the sentence, your turn

Download the PDF PDF · 3 pages

For the teacher · In class

Why: Spanish (and Portuguese, Persian, Arabic) never starts a word with s + a consonant, so students add a vowel: eschool, estudent, Espanish. The cognates (estudiante, escuela, estación) put the same e in their spelling. Model it big: teeth together, a long hiss, then the word: "ssss-carf". A helper: link it to the word before, "it's-scarf", "this-school", so the s has somewhere to start. For The s words, the room repeats each word after you. For Read it out loud, call on a student per number and listen only for the s start.

★ Start with the s

English words can start with s + another letter. Start with the s. Hiss it: ssss-carf.

ssss · carf

Not: escarf

Start with your teeth together. Hiss the s like a snake, then say the rest.

★ The s words

Click a word to hear it. Say it back: s first, no sound before it.

sc

sk

sp

st

sw

sm

sn

sl

squ

★ Consonant or vowel?

Look at the second letter. S + a consonant, or s + a vowel? Click one. The consonant words are the careful ones.

  1. 1scarf
  2. 2soup
  3. 3sun
  4. 4spider
  5. 5stew
  6. 6sweater
  7. 7salad
  8. 8September
  9. 9sunset
  10. 10squash

★★ Fix the spelling

Some languages put an e before s. English does not. Write the English word.

  1. 1estudent
  2. 2eschool
  3. 3Espanish
  4. 4especial
  5. 5estation
  6. 6estomach
  7. 7espinach
  8. 8estatue

★★ Read it out loud

Read each sentence out loud. Hiss the s in every bold word. Click a sentence to hear it.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

★★★ Fix the sentence

Each sentence has two words with an extra e. Write the sentence correctly.

  1. 1My estudents are wearing escarves.
  2. 2We eat estew at the estation.
  3. 3Petra speaks Espanish at eschool.
  4. 4The Estatue of Liberty is especial.

★★★ Your turn

Now you.

  1. 1Write one sentence with two s words from this sheet. Use and, but, so or or. Then say it out loud.For example: It's stormy, so I'm wearing a scarf.
  2. 2Write one more. Then put it in the chat.For example: I like spicy stew, but I don't like squash.

For the teacher · Answer key

Consonant or vowel? consonant: scarf, spider, stew, sweater, squash  ·  vowel: soup, sun, salad, September, sunset.    Fix the spelling: student  ·  school  ·  Spanish  ·  special  ·  station  ·  stomach  ·  spinach  ·  statue.    Fix the sentence: My students are wearing scarves.  ·  We eat stew at the station.  ·  Petra speaks Spanish at school.  ·  The Statue of Liberty is special.