Beginning Sounds: The First Step in Phonics

By the Print and Learn team · 4 min read

Reading starts with the ears, not the eyes. Before a child can match letters to sounds, they need to notice that words are made of sounds at all. The easiest sound to hear is the first one.

Letter names vs. letter sounds

Children often learn letter names first ("bee" for B) from alphabet songs. For reading, the sound matters more: B says /b/, as in ball. When you talk about letters, try saying the sound: "Ball starts with /b/."

Games that need nothing but your voice

• I spy with sounds. "I spy something that starts with /k/." (A cup, a car, a cat.)
• Silly names. Change the first sound of your child's name: "Is your name Banya? Tanya? Manya?" Children love spotting the change.
• Sound sorting. Collect toys and sort them into two baskets: things starting with /s/ and things starting with /m/.
• Same or different? "Do sun and sock start the same? Do sun and fish?"

Tricky sounds

Some pairs are easy to confuse: /b/ and /p/, /d/ and /t/, /f/ and /v/. If your child mixes them up, exaggerate the difference and let them feel their throat: /b/ buzzes, /p/ is just a puff of air.

Moving to paper

Once your child can play these games easily, a picture worksheet helps connect the sound to the written letter. Try First Sounds and A is for Apple. LKG children can go further with Beginning Sounds and Fill the Vowel.