Your Child Will Learn
To separate the beginning sounds of spoken words with help from adults
Here’s What to Do
- Visit a public place where your child will hear different sounds of things in the surrounding environment; examples of places to visit are playgrounds, parks, nature trails, or busy city streets.
- Ask your child to listen carefully and tell you when they hear a sound.
- Identify what’s making the sound, and say the word. Help your child hear the beginning sound of the word. Tell them the letter name that matches the beginning sound.
- Repeat with more sounds you hear.
Put PEER Into Action
PAUSE
- Tell your child that you will play a game that requires sharp listening skills and to “turn” on their ears (motion turning on your ears).
ENGAGE
- “Do you hear a tweeting noise? Who’s making that noise? A bird, right!”
- “Now let’s think about the sounds in the word ‘bird.’ Bird starts with ‘buh buh, buh-ird.’ Can you say ‘buh’? That’s the sound letter B makes, and bird starts with B!”
ENCOURAGE
- Your child probably won’t be able to identify the beginning sound of a word without your help. You’re modeling how they can listen to a word and begin to break it down into different sounds.
- When talking about letters with your child, it’s a great idea to say the letter name and it’s sound, which can be different. (i.e. for letter Z: its name is pronounced “zee” but its sound is “zzzz”)
REFLECT
- Do you think your child is beginning to grasp the concept of starting sounds of words?
Not Quite Ready
Keep practicing saying starting word sounds of objects as you go through your day. Over time, your child will begin to be able to hear the starting sounds.
Ready for More
Work on hearing the beginning and ending sounds of words.
As Your Child Masters This Skill
| They will be able to identify the beginning sounds of spoken words with help from adults |
Time to Complete
10-15 minutes
Materials Needed
None