Beginning Sounds Activities
These hands-on beginning sounds activities are awesome for helping kids to learn about letter sounds!
Highlight and Hole Punch
This a fun activity which also helps develop fine motor skills. Kids get super excited about using hole punches and highlighters! You can use the activities on their own or you can make up workbooks. Kids need to highlight the letters and use a one hole punch to punch all of the pictures that begin with the focus sound.
Click here to find out more about these sorting activities. If you like this activity, you may also like the blends and digraphs version which is available here.
Sorting Beginning Sounds
The great thing about having a set of sorting activities, is that it makes it so easy to differentiate learning. You can have one group working on sorting “s” and “a”, whilst another group is working on “m” and “r”.
I’ve made a sort and classify pack which can be used in a few different ways. You can sort beginning sounds pictures onto the mats. You can use the letter headings and hoola hoops to sort. If you have a pocket dice, you can also roll a letter and get kids to find a picture that begins with that sound.
Another thing I love to do (not shown) is to use puppets. Tell the kids the puppet wants a word that begins with a “s” sound. Then the kids get to feed a picture beginning with “s” to the puppet. Kids LOVE doing this!
Click here to find out more about these sorting activities.
Ice Cream Puzzles
Kids love solving these beginning sounds puzzles! You can differentiate learning by giving kids just the puzzles with the letters they are familiar with such as SATPIN. Kids learn how to match upper case and lower case letters. They also learn how to identify the beginning sounds of various words that are familiar to them such as “sun” and “dinosaur”.
Click here to find out more about these super cute ice cream puzzles.
You can choose from Zaner Bloser or various Australian school fonts.
Playdough Mats
Kids love making play dough letters and identifying the different words that begin with each lettter sound.
Click here to find out more about these alphabet playdough mats.
I’ve made a Zaner Bloser and Australian school fonts version. The Australian version also comes in a lower case and upper case letter pack.
Alphabet Charts
I use alphabet charts all the time. I typically have one set on display and keep another set for modelling during handwriting lessons. Kids love using the handwriting charts as a reference when they are writing on their own, either on mini whiteboards or a piece of paper.
I have made a variety of charts with the cutest pictures I could find. I love everything to look cute :)!
Click here to find out more about these alphabet charts.
I’ve made a Zaner Bloser and Australian school fonts version. The Australian version also comes in a lower case and upper case letter pack.
Beginning Sounds Clip Cards
These are great for morning work or independent work. Place the cards beside a basket of pegs. Kids need to say the word (shown in the picture) and what sound it begins with, for example “rainbow, rainbow begins with an “r” sound. Then they need to place a peg on the letter that makes that sound. To grab these clip cards, click on the link below.
I hope you find these resources helpful.
Happy teaching :)!