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As students master the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make, it’s important for them to listen for the initial sounds in words. This foundational skill will help students become confident and proficient in reading and spelling. If you’re looking for some fun ways to incorporate beginning sounds practice into your literacy instruction, you’re in the right place! Today I’m going to share eight of my favorite beginning sounds activities for kindergarten. Your students will love these hands-on activities!
The following beginning sounds activities will help your students identify initial sounds in a variety of ways. These activities will provide the variety you need to keep your students engaged in practicing beginning sounds.
Alphabet books are a fun way to help students see beginning sounds in action! Each of my printable alphabet books contains fun activities to help students learn more about each letter of the alphabet, including beginning sounds. The theme for each book is based on a word that begins with that letter sound. Plus, each book contains a trace and read page that has students find and trace beginning sounds before reading the sentences.
These alphabet books are perfect for literacy centers, morning work, fast finishers, or even homework! Since each book follows a similar pattern, your students will thrive on this alphabet practice routine.
One of my favorite ways to encourage students to talk about the alphabet is with hats! Students love to answer questions about their fun alphabet hats when they wear them around the school. However, these hats are more than just conversation starters. They can also be used for beginning sounds practice!
Each hat comes with a selection of pictures that help students practice beginning sounds. After finding the three pictures that begin with the correct sound, students will color each one and attach it to their hat. Your students will proudly wear these alphabet hats!
Crafts are a great way to help students strengthen their fine motor skills while practicing literacy concepts, including beginning sounds! I have created a set of alphabet crafts for uppercase and lowercase letters that incorporate beginning sound practice along with letter identification!
Each craft is based on an object or animal that has the beginning sound of that particular letter. The craft also comes with a tracing activity that allows students to practice writing each letter. For the label at the top, students can write the letter in a bright color to really make the beginning sound stand out! This is a fun way to reinforce beginning sounds during alphabet practice!
Printable alphabet activities can help you fit in extra practice for beginning sounds with minimal prep time! You can use these alphabet printables any time during the school day, whether it’s literacy centers, morning work, or even homework. The best part is that these beginning sound worksheets won’t feel like work because they are fun for students to complete!
Students can identify pictures that begin with the correct letter, create lift-the-flap activities, and even practice cutting and pasting! With so many fun activities to choose from, these alphabet printables will bring some much-needed variety to your beginning sounds practice!
Have you ever tried mystery pictures in your kindergarten classroom? They are always a hit with students! These mystery pictures are a fun and engaging way to help students identify a variety of beginning sounds!
There are many important skills practiced with this one activity! Students can apply their knowledge of beginning sounds to fill in the key on the right side of the page. After filling in the key, students will then identify which colors they will be using by reading the color words. Finally, young learners will improve their letter identification and fine motor skills as they find and color the correct letters on the page.
Beginning sounds can be incorporated into any alphabet activities, including handwriting practice! After tracing and writing both uppercase and lowercase letters, students can turn their attention to beginning sounds.
Each worksheet contains one correct example to which students can compare the beginning sounds of other pictures. After finding the correct pictures among some non-examples, students can cut and glue them onto the paper.
If your students like mystery pictures, they will LOVE mystery puzzles! This engaging activity encourages students to apply their knowledge of beginning sounds as they work to complete a puzzle.
Students will begin by filling out the key at the bottom of the worksheet. They will identify the beginning sound in each numbered box and write it on the corresponding line below. Once the key is ready, students can cut and assemble the puzzle pieces in the correct places based on the key of beginning sounds. This activity is also a great option for building stamina and following multi-step directions!
Once your students have had a chance to learn and practice beginning sounds, it’s time to review! A beginning sounds bingo game is a fun way for students to review a variety of sounds. Students will cover the letter that matches the beginning sounds on a variety of picture cards. This is a fun game to play all together as a class or during small group instruction.
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I hope this post has given you some fun ideas for practicing beginning sounds with your class. This important phonics skill will help your students build a strong foundation for reading! If you’d like to come back to these activity ideas and resources later, be sure to save this post! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest so you can quickly find this post whenever you need it.
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
