Letter Hide & Seek

Your Child Will Learn

To identify letter sounds in the middle of words.

Here’s What to Do

1.  Think of familiar 3-letter words with a vowel in the middle. Examples: cup, kid, top, nap, bus, pen, fox, get, cat, dog, etc.
2. Draw a rectangle and divide it into 3 boxes. Choose one of your 3-letter words. Write the first letter in the first box and last letter in the last box. Be sure to leave out the middle letter.
3. Say the word out loud, then sound out the first and last letter. Ask your child which letter is the missing one that makes the sound in the middle. You or your child can write the letter inside the middle box.
4. Repeat with more 3-letter words.

Put PEER Into Action

PAUSE

• Count the rectangle boxes together with your fingers, 1, 2, 3.  Take a deep breath together after each box.  Now you are ready to begin!

ENGAGE

• Say to your child, “some letters are hiding and we have to find them to make our words complete.”
• “Cat. It starts with the ‘kuh’ sound and ends with the ‘ttt’ sound. What sound is in the middle between ‘kuh’ and ‘ttt?’ What letter makes that sound?”

ENCOURAGE

• If your child is having difficulty hearing the sound in the middle, say the sound for them and see if they can guess the letter. Like: “ah, ah, what letter makes the a sound like a-pple?”
• This is super tricky! The vowel sounds can be pretty similar to each other. You’re helping your child hear the different letter sounds in words, and over time it will become easier for them.

REFLECT

• Ask your child to explain why knowing letters and sounds are important for learning to write.

Not Quite Ready

Play this game with a missing first letter instead.

Ready for More

Without help from you, ask your child to make all the letter sounds in a 3-letter word with a vowel in the middle.

As Your Child Masters This Skill

They will be able to hear letter sounds in the middle of words.

Time to Complete

10 minutes

Materials Needed

Paper, pencil