The Three Sounds of -ed Printable Pack - This Reading Mama - Free Printable

The image shows a fun and educational worksheet titled "Color the Sound of -ed" from *This Reading Mama*. The goal of the activity is to read each word ending in "-ed" and color it based on how the "-ed" suffix sounds.

🎯 Objective:

Color each word according to the sound of the "-ed" ending, using three colors:

- Blue for /d/ sound (as in "moved")
- Red for /t/ sound (as in "started")
- Orange for /id/ or /əd/ sound (as in "drilled")

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🔤 How to Determine the Sound of "-ed":

The pronunciation of "-ed" depends on the last sound of the base verb:

1. /d/ sound:
→ When the base verb ends in a voiced sound (like /b/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /v/, /z/, etc.)
Example: *moved* → ends with /d/ → color blue

2. /t/ sound:
→ When the base verb ends in a voiceless sound (like /k/, /p/, /s/, /f/, /sh/, /ch/, etc.)
Example: *started* → ends with /t/ → color red

3. /id/ sound:
→ When the base verb ends in /t/ or /d/
Example: *drilled* → ends with /d/ → adds /id/ → color orange

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✔ Let's go through the words and check the coloring:

| Word | Ending Sound | Color | Reason |
|------------|--------------|--------|------|
| moved | /d/ | Blue | Ends in voiced /v/ → /d/ |
| started | /t/ | Red | Ends in voiceless /t/ → /t/ |
| kicked | /t/ | Red | Ends in /k/ → voiceless → /t/ |
| drilled | /id/ | Orange | Ends in /d/ → /id/ added |
| acted | /id/ | Orange | Ends in /t/ → /id/ added |
| fished | /t/ | Red | Ends in /sh/ → voiceless → /t/ |
| loved | /d/ | Blue | Ends in /v/ → voiced → /d/ |
| blasted | /t/ | Red | Ends in /s/ → voiceless → /t/ |
| waited | /d/ | Blue | Ends in /t/ → but /t/ + /ed/ = /id/? Wait — actually: waited ends in /t/, so /id/ → should be orange? ✘ But here it's colored blue. Let's double-check! |

Wait — there’s a mistake in the coloring!

Let’s fix that.

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🔍 Let’s Correct the Coloring:

| Word | Base Verb End | Sound of -ed | Correct Color | Current Color in Image |
|------------|----------------|--------------|----------------|-------------------------|
| moved | /v/ (voiced) | /d/ | Blue | ✔ Blue |
| started | /t/ | /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| kicked | /k/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| drilled | /d/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| acted | /t/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| fished | /sh/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| loved | /v/ (voiced) | /d/ | Blue | ✔ Blue |
| blasted | /s/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| waited | /t/ | /id/ | Orange | ✘ Blue (incorrect!) |
| stayed | /d/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| printed | /t/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| camped | /p/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| twisted | /s/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| smelled | /l/ (voiced) | /d/ | Blue | ✔ Blue |
| folded | /d/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| washed | /ʃ/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| watched | /t/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| locked | /k/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |
| called | /l/ (voiced) | /d/ | Blue | ✔ Blue |
| started | /t/ | /id/ | Orange | ✔ Orange |
| used | /s/ (voiceless)| /t/ | Red | ✔ Red |

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❗️Correction:

- "waited" is incorrectly colored blue, but it should be orange because the base verb ends in /t/ → adding "-ed" makes it /waɪtɪd/ → /id/ sound.
- Similarly, "printed", "stayed", "watched", etc., are correctly colored orange.

So, "waited" should be colored orange, not blue.

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✔ Summary:

- The worksheet teaches phonics by distinguishing how the "-ed" suffix is pronounced.
- Students learn that the sound of "-ed" depends on the final sound of the base verb.
- The correct colors are:
- Blue: /d/ (after voiced consonants like /v/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /g/, etc.)
- Red: /t/ (after voiceless consonants like /k/, /p/, /s/, /f/, /sh/, etc.)
- Orange: /id/ (after /t/ or /d/)

> ⚠️ Fix needed: Color "waited" orange, not blue.

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💡 Teaching Tip:

Use this activity to reinforce:
- Voiceless vs. voiced consonants
- Phonemic awareness
- Spelling patterns

It’s a great hands-on way for kids to practice decoding and spelling rules!

Let me know if you'd like a printable version or a corrected key!