Minimal Pairs Activity

My idea for a 5 minute activity would go as follows.

During the week, I would use direct instruction to teach and practice the following minimal pairs.

Hair-Chair-Pear
Cat-Bat-Mat
Dog-Hog-Log
Feet-Beat-Meat
Rug-Bug-Mug

The activity will be a simple scavenger hunt that will require the student to listen carfully to each phomene. I will have manipulatives setup around the room. For example, I will have a "Pear" on my desk and a wig (Hair) set on a coat hanger in the back of the room. I could have a toy "dog" on a book shelf and a toy "hog" on a filing cabinet. Every manipulative will be easy to find. I will split the class into teams. With mental or learning games, I always like to set teams up as boys versus girls (If numbers in gender are even). Once even teams are selected, I will have one student at a time listen to my instruction. "Find/Bring me the mug." The student will have 10 to 15 seconds to find the object. If they get it correct and on time, their team is awarded a point. If they are in correct they do not get a point. Once that team member takes their turn a player from the other team will try to find the next object I tell them to.  Penalty points are taken if either team talks or tries to confuse their opponent when they are looking for the item. This activity is designed for smaller classes. For larger classes this may take longer than 5 minutes.