❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
A My Name Is...
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. List of children’s names
1. Use this familiar jump rope chant to familiarize children with the intial letter
sound of their name.
2. Insert a child’s name into the first line of the chant. Encourage the other
children to add additional words to the chant that share the initial sound.
3. Chant- (letter) my name is (child’s name) and my friend’s name is (name).
We live in (place)and we sell (item).
4. The book, A My Name is Alice, by Jane Bayer and illustrated by Steven
Kellog could be used as part of this activity.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Going on a Picnic
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Chart paper
1. Introduce this game to a group of children by saying, “We are going on
a picnic and we need to bring several things that begin with a particular
letter, such as the /m/ sound.” Examples could include macaroni salad,
marshmallows, and a map.
2. Markers
2. Support the children in thinking of items that begin with the highlighted
sound. These items could be written on the chart paper.
Virginia SOL: K.4
3. After a few items are identified, begin again with a new letter sound.
4. This activity could be modified for any theme, including a field trip, vacaton,
or camping trip.
5. Keep chart paper up so that during lunch/snack children can add the names of
their food to the list. Items can also be added throughout the day, as children
think of them.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Letter Muncher
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Empty tissue box
1. To make a letter muncher, stand the tissue box on it’s end and create a
construction paper face using the opening as a mouth.
2. Construction paper
2. Label the muncher with a letter of your choice.
3. Small magazine pictures
3. Mount the pictures onto construction paper to give them a firm backing.
4. Tape or glue
4. Instruct the children to look at each picture and to determine if it begins with
the indicated letter.
5. If it does, feed the picture to the letter muncher. If not, set the picture aside.
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7
EXTENSION
Collect tissue boxes so that all children have a letter muncher. Provide each
child with his/her own letter muncher that displays a familiar letter. Spread
picture cards that match the letters on the munchers all around classroom.
Students walk around the room and munch the picture cards that correspond
to the letter on their letter muncher.
Source:
The Mailbox: The idea magazine for teachers. (1996).
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Listen Up!
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. For this activity, you will
select a specific sound
for children to listen
to. Every time children
hear the target sound
in a word, they are to
clap their hands, repeat
the sound, hold up a
counter, or choose
some other designated
way of responding.
1. Explain to the children that you are going to play a listening game. They are
going to listen for words that begin with /s/ as in sun.
NOTE: Begin with
“continuous” consonants
(f,l,m,n,r,s,v,z) before “stop”
consonants (b,d,g,k,p,t)
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7
2. You will say a word. If they hear /s/, children are to slap their hands.
3. If they clap their hands after a word that does not contain the sound, ask the
children to listen again as you repeat the word, emphasizing the beginning
sound by extending it.
4. For children having difficulty demonstrating sounds, help them to hear the
sounds by saying the words slowly, extending the sound.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Name-Recognition Photo Cards
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. One photo of each child
in your class
1. Write each child’s name on an index card, a sentence strip, or a tongue
depressor, and then attach his or her photo to it.
2. Index cards, sentence
strips, or tongue
depressors
3. Pocket chart
4. Name-recognition song
or rhyme
Virginia SOLs: K.4, 1.6
2. Place the name cards in the pocket chart or hold them up while you sing
name-recognition songs.
First and Last Sounds
(sing to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?”)
What’s the first sound?
What’s the first sound?
In Hannah?
In Hannah?
/H/ is the first sound,
/H/ is the first sound,
In Hannah,
In Hannah.
EXTENSION
Save the photos of the children. Have students help you put the photos under the
corresponding beginning letter on your alphabet chart.
Source:
Jordano, K., Johnston, K., & Tom, D. (1998). Winter phonemic awareness songs & rhymes:
Fun lyrics sung to familiar tunes (pp. 10). Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Name Sound Substitutions
Back to Beginning Sounds
Procedure
Virginia SOLs: K.4, K.7, 1.4
1. Some teachers focus on one particular letter at a time as they introduce the
alphabet and sound/symbol correspondances. This is an excellent time to
encourage children to identify as many items in the classroom that begin
with that sound and then to substitute that sound into the initial position of
other words.
2. In emphasizing the letter T, for example, the teacher might ask children to
name objects in the classroom that begin with /t/. Then they create new
words by substituting /t/ for the initial sound of other objects; thus, a chair
becomes a tair and a desk becomes a tesk.
EXTENSION
Students substitute the initial sound in their name for the target sound.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Round Robin
Back to Beginning Sounds
Procedure
Virginia SOLs: K.7, 1.4
1. Have children sit in a circle. Tell them that you are going on an imaginary
trip.
2. You will say one item that you want to take on the trip. The children are to
repeat the item and then name another item whose name begins with the
same sound. For example, if you say, “I’m going to the park and I’m taking
a ball”, the next child might say, “I’m going to the park and I’m taking a ball
and a blanket.”
3. Continue around the circle until the children can think of no more words that
begin with that particular sound.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Silly Greeting
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Student photographs
1. Collect or take student photographs.
2. During a morning group time, introduce a letter sound. Greet children by
replacing the first letter of their names with the identified letter, such as Tally
for Sally.
3. Show a few student’s pictures at one time and have the class greet their
classmates with a “Good Morning” chant.
4. “I say good morning to Tary (Mary)/Good morning to Trew (Drew)/Good
morning to Tustin (Dustin) and Talice (Alice) too!
Source:
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen
reading skills (pp. 27). CA: Creative Teaching Press.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Sing a Song of Sounds
Back to Beginning Sounds
Procedure
Virginia SOL: K.7
1. Have children sing the following song to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You
Know It.”
“If your name begins with /m/, stand up; If your name begins with /m/, stand
up; If your name begins with /m/, stand up and take a bow; If your name
begins with /m/, stand up!”
2. Repeat with different phonemes and movements such as clapping your hands,
turning around, touching your toes, or jumping up and down.
Variation: Have children use picture cards with the song. For example, “If your
picture begins with /s/, stand up...”
Source:
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen
reading skills (pp. 26). Cyprus, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Sound Bags
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Small bags labeled
with an uppercase and
lowercase version of a
letter
1. Assign each child a letter and a small plastic bag.
2. Ask children to search at home (with parent’s help) for 1-2 items that begin
with the letter sound.
3. Have children bring items to school in bags and share with the class.
EXTENSIONS
Collect and keep the students’ bags to use in the following activities.
Virginia SOL: K.7
1. Create a center by placing three bags on a table. Dump out and shuffle the
items from the bags. Students resort the items by placing them in the bags.
2. Spread items from the bags around the classroom. Students go on a treasure
hunt around the classroom and find the items that go in their bag.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Sound I Spy
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Familiar items from
room
1. Choose an item in the classroom.
2. Chart paper
2. Identify the beginning sound of the item such as /t/ in table.
3. Ask the children to identify other items in the room that share that beginning
sound by saying, “I spy something that begins with the /t/ sound.” As
students state items, write it on the chart paper under the header T.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
The Cook Loves Peas
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Pictures of food items
or plastic play food
1. Ask a group of children to sit in a large circle. Place the pictures of food pieces
in the middle.
Virginia SOL: K.4
2. After each food item has been named, tell the children that the cook loves P’s
and their job is to name other foods that cook will love that begin with the
letter P.
3. Each child could repeat the saying by inserting the new items, such as the
cook loves pizza, pears, peanuts, or pickles.
4. Encourage the children to use the pictures or play food as guides as well as
thinking of other food names on their own.
5. The game is continued with a new initial letter name such as “The Cook loves
Apples”.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
The Sound Can
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Large coffee can
1. Decorate empty can.
2. Teach and focus for the day on one letter.
3. Send the can home with directions for a child that read, “Please fill this can
with as many items that begin with the enclosed letter and return to school
tomorrow.”
EVALUATION:
1. Write the names of each item on chart paper and include incorrect answers.
2. Discuss answers with the class.
3. Count the items in the can and place can in the ABC center for the remainder
of the week.
Source:
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com (2002).
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Tongue Twisters
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Alliterative sentences
1. Ask children to repeat a variety of tongue twisters.
2. Encourage children to increase their speed or to make up some original
verses.
3. Examples - “Sally sells seashells by the seashore” or “Bubby baby buggy
bumpers” or “Busy Barry Bear barely bakes berries” or “Peter Pepper picked a
peck of pickled peppers”.
EXTENSION
1. Pick three picture cards that share the same initial sound (e.g. top, tag, & ten).
Use the cards to make a tongue twister sentence, such as Tilly has ten twisty
tops with tags.
2. Create sentences (as a whole class activity or as a center for independent
practice) that addresses alliteration and set sentence structure. Each word in
the sentence should begin with the same initial sound. Sentence structure
could follow a format such as:
The ___________ _________ ______ ___________.
(describing word)
(color word)
(noun)
(action word/verb)
ex: The big blue bug barked.
The rowdy red robin rubbed.
Source:
Bennett, R., & Bennett, S. T. (1991). 365 TV free activities you can do with your child.
(pp. 326). Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams.
❑ Pre-K
❑ Kindergarten
❑ Grades 1–3
Weird Words
Back to Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Familiar words
1. Select a familiar object in the room.
2. Substitute the first letter of the word with another letter sound, preferably a
consonant sound the children are familiar with.
3. After saying this new word, ask the children to guess what object has been
identified.
4. A child who correctly answers could use that same initial letter to make a new
word.
5. The game could continue until all children have had their chance to make a
new word with the beginning sound.
Source:
Bennett, R., & Bennett, S. T. (1991). 365 TV-free activities you can do with your child.
(pp. 350). Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Beginning Sound Concentration
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Beginning Sound
Concentration Cards
1. Place the picture cards face down in a rectangular array.
Virginia SOLs
2. Children take turns flipping over two picture cards at a time. If the two
pictures share the same beginning sound, the player keeps the cards. The
player who makes a match gets another turn..
K.4, K.7
Source: Jones, M. (1998). Effinger Elementary School. Rockbridge County, VA.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Follow-the-Path Game
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Follow-the-Path Game
board
1. Paste the game board on the inside of a manila folder. Label each space on
the game board path with one of four letters, using both upper-case and
lower-case forms.
2. Manila Folder
3. Game pieces for 2 to 4
players
4. Picture cards
2. Reproduce a set of picture cards that correspond to the four letters labeled on
the game board. Copy the pictures on cardstock or paste them to index cards
for durability.
3. Turn the picture cards face down in a stack.
4. Each player draws a picture in turn and moves their playing piece to the next
space on the path that is marked by the corresponding initial sound.
Virginia SOLs
5. The winner is the first to arrive at the destination.
K.4, K.7
6. VARIATIONS: To increase the challenge of the game, use digraphs, blends,
and vowel patterns instead of initial sounds.
Source: Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1999). Words their way: Word study for phonics,
vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, 134.
Start
Stop
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Getting to Know You
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Paper Doll Outline
1. Have children practice attending to the beginning sounds by asking them to
name their favorite hobby or treat. Explain that their “favorite” must begin
with the same sound as their first name (e.g., Patty and peanut butter).
2. Have children draw pictures of themselves on paper dolls. Write each child’s
“favorite” on the bottom of his or her doll.
Virginia SOLs
K.7
Source:
3. Invite children to introduce themselves to the class. For example, “I am Sam
and I like soccer and salamanders.” This is a great activity to use at the start
of the school year!
Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen beginning
reading skills (pp. 20). Cyprus, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Go Fish
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Picture cards
1. Put a small piece of magnetic tape on the back of each card, which serve as
fish. Spread the picture cards (the fish) out on the floor (the pond).
2. Small pieces of
magnetic tape
3. Fishing poles
2. Using fishing poles with magnets or large paper clips, the children take turns
catching “fish”.
3. When a child catches a fish, s/he must name the picture and pronounce its
initial sound (e.g. “map, /m/”). If correct, the child keeps the fish.
4. Paper clips or small
magnets
Virginia SOLs
K.7
Source: Lindsey, D. Postman Poquoson Primary School, Poquoson, VA.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Initial Sound Bingo
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Leveled Bingo Boards
1. Each child receives a Bingo board and enough markers to cover spaces. The
Bingo boards correspond with the suggested sequence for initial consonant
and vowel instruction. There are three Bingo board variations for each
level. The Bingo boards progress in difficulty as the teacher introduces new
consonant and vowel patterns/sounds.
2. Bingo chips or markers
3. Beginning Sound Bingo
Picture Cards
Virginia SOLs
2. Reproduce the Beginning Sound Bingo A-Z Picture Cards. You may wish to
copy the pictures on cardstock, paste them to index cards, and/or laminate
them. These will become the deck from which the beginning sounds are
called aloud during the game. Note that it is important to distinguish
between /c/ and /k/ by saying, “/c/ as in cat” or “/k/ as in king.”
K.4, K.7
3. The first student(s) with a completely filled horizontal, vertical, or diagonal
row wins.
Source: Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1999). Words their way: Word study for phonics,
vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, 121.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
My Name Begins Like...
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Pictures cut from
magazines
1. Give each child a copy of the My Name Begins like template.
2. Ask each child to write his/her name in the blank.
2. My Name Begins Like
template
3. Instruct each child to glue or draw pictures of items with the same beginning
sound as his/her name.
3. Crayons and markers
4. Play a guessing game during group time, where the children must guess the
child’s name using the beginning sound pictures as clues.
Virginia SOLs
K.4, K.7
Source: The Mailbox: The idea magazine for teachers. (2000).
My name is
My Name begins like...
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Picture Sorts
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Choose 5-6 beginning
sound picture cards
1. Use letter cards to head each category. Select a key picture for each
sound (such as “mouse” and “sun”). Put the key picture cards under the
corresponding letter. You can emphasize and elongate the beginning sound
to establish the sort.
Picture sorts always contrast
at least two sounds. A
good starting point is to sort
pictures that begin with /m/
and /s/. These sounds are
very different from each
other and can be said slowly,
without distortion.
Suggested sequence for initial
consonant sound sorting:
M-S; M-S-B; M-S-B-R; P-N;
P-N-T; P-N-T-G-C-F; C-F-D;
C-F-D-H; J-L; J-L-K; J-L;K-WV-Y-Z
Virginia SOLs
2. Shuffle the rest of the picture cards and say to the child, “We are going to
listen for the sound at the beginning of these pictures. We will decide if they
begin like mmmmouse or like ssssun.”
3. After the teacher models the sorting process, take turns with the child until
the stack of picture cards is depleted. Each time the child places a picture in
a particular column, all the pictures in the column (top to bottom) should be
pronounced to determine if each contains the same beginning sound.
4. After completing the first sort with your help, immediately ask your child
to independently sort the pictures again. The child’s responses may be slow
at first, but after extended practice, the child will begin to sort quickly,
accurately, and with confidence.
5. EXTENSION: As a means of providing independent practice, create a file
folder game that allows students to sort previously taught letter sounds.
Laminate a file folder and place several velcro dots on the folder. Place one,
two, or three velcro dots at the top of the file folder that will hold header
picture cards. Provide students with picture cards (that also have velcro dots)
of several letter sounds. Students sort the picture cards by placing the cards
on the velcro dots under the appropriate header. Instead of Velcro, pockets
may be used as well.
K.4, K.7
Source: Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1999). Words their way: Word study for phonics,
vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Sound Line
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Rope
1. Write upper-case and lower-case letters on the top of the clothespins.
2. Clothespins
2. Paste picture cards that represent each beginning letter sound on a square of
tagboard and laminate.
3. Tagboard
3. Students can match the picture card to the clothespins and hang it on the
rope.
4. Beginning Sounds
A-Z picture cards
Virginia SOLs
K.4, K.7
Source: Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1999). Words their way: Word study for phonics,
vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, 130.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Sound Puppet
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Puppet
1. Distribute at least two picture cards to each of your students.
2. Two picture sound cards
per student
2. Explain to children that the “sound puppet” only likes things whose names
begin with a sound it chooses. For example, if the puppet likes licorice, it will
also like other things whose names being with /l/.
Virginia SOLs
K.4, K.7
3. Tell children that the sound puppet will name an object. If they have any
picture cards whose name begins with the same sound, the children are to
hold up the card and say the sound. For example, if the puppet says, “I like
tomatoes”, the children holding the ten, tie, and top picture cards should hold
up their cards and say /t/.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Sound Shopping
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Brown paper bags with one
letter written on the outside
1. Each child is given a bag with a letter and is instructed to “go shopping” and
only buy those items that begin with the same letter that is on their bag.
2. Beginning sound picture
cards
2. As the children look through the picture cards spread on a table, they must
make the sound of their letter and isolate the beginning sound of each picture
to make a match.
Virginia SOLs
3. After placing the correct pictures in the bag, each child shares with the group
what was “bought” with the letter.
K.4, K.7
Source: Michalochick, R. (2001). Red Mill Elementary, Virginia Beach, VA.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
Spin-A-Letter/Pick-A-Sound
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. A spinner divided into 3
to 4 sections with a letter or
word feature in each section
1. To begin play, children take turns drawing picture cards and turning them
face up on their boards in a 3x3 array until all the spaces are filled.
2. Picture cards
3. Tic-Tac-Toe grid
Virginia SOLs
K.4, K.7
2. The first player spins and removes all pictures that begin with the sound
indicated on the spinner. The pictures go into his/her “point pile.”
3. That same player draws enough pictures from the pile to replace the gaps in
their board before play moves to the next student.
4. Play continues until a player has removed all pictures and there are no more
to be drawn as replacements. The winner is the player who has the most
pictures in his/her pile.
5. VARIATION: You can use the same materials to play a Tic-Tac-Toe game.
Players prepare boards as described above, but when they spin they can turn
face down the pictures that have that feature. The student who turns down
three in a row wins.
Source: Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen reading skills. Cyprus, CA:
Creative Teaching Press, 26.
q Pre-K q Kindergarten
q Grades 1–3
What’s My Sound?
Phonological Awareness / Beginning Sounds
Materials
Procedure
1. Picture cards
1. Punch holes in the picture cards and string a piece of yarn through each
picture to create necklaces. Give a picture necklace to each child.
2. Hole punch
3. Yarn
Virginia SOLs
K.7
2. Choose a target phoneme such as beginning /b/ sound. Choose children
wearing pictures with the target phoneme to stand in front of the class.
3. Have classmates guess the target phoneme, then start again with the new
“secret” sound.
4. Extend the activity by making new necklaces using magazine and newspaper
photos or invite children to draw their own illustrations. Children also enjoy
making necklaces with beginning sound pictures that match the beginning
sound of their names.
Source: Fitzpatrick, J. (1997). Phonemic awareness: Playing with sounds to strengthen reading skills. Cyprus, CA:
Creative Teaching Press, 21.