Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
Hello! Last time, you helped the child match capital and lowercase letters and name them out of order. Today, those familiar letters gain a second kind of answer: a letter has a name, and it can represent a sound in a word. The child will listen to your question and give the answer you asked for.
Allow about 45 minutes for the child-facing lesson. Use the alphabet picture below and the letter cards from the previous lesson. The aim is a lively first encounter with sounds across the alphabet; keep a note of sounds that need more practice rather than expecting every one to be secure today.
“What is its name?” or “What sound does it make?”
Show S and s. Ask, “What is this letter’s name?” Model ess if needed. Then say sun, drawing out its first sound slightly: “S can make /s/, the first sound in sun.” Ask, “What sound?” Listen for /s/, not ess. Both shapes have the same name and can represent the same sound.
Try the contrast with A–a: its name is ay, but the sound you are practicing today is /æ/, as at the beginning of apple. Say the two questions in an unmistakably different way:
- “What is this letter called?” — the child says its name.
- “What sound does it make in apple?” — the child says /æ/.
For now, give a familiar example word with the sound question. Later in the lesson, ask some sound questions without that clue. Letters can represent other sounds in other words; today you are introducing one useful beginner sound for each letter.
Hear names, sounds, and words together
The Alphabet Song | Phonics Song for Kids | Kindergarten Alphabet Song | Jack Hartmann
Watch “The Alphabet Song” from Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel to hear letters paired with sounds and example words. Use it as a model to pause and speak with the child, not as something she must memorize in one viewing.
Watch A through H, I through P, and Q through Z. Pause after a few letters at a time. Point to one of their cards and alternate “Name?” with “Sound?” Listen especially for a short, clean consonant sound: /p/, for example, rather than “puh.” For Q, teach the sound with qu in queen; for X, notice the sound at the end of fox.
After watching, hold up B, M, and A in a mixed order. On each card, ask for the name first and then the sound. This brief change of order matters: the child is listening to your prompt, not continuing the song.
Give every sound a memorable word
Use the picture chart as a bank of visual clues. Point to a letter, say its name, then say its sound and a word. Let the child echo the sound and word, then ask either “Name?” or “Sound?” before moving on. Cover roughly half the chart, take a short stand-and-stretch break, and finish the rest. Spend more time on letters the child cannot yet answer than on ones she knows.
The tables below are your pronunciation guide, not a list for the child to read. The slash marks indicate the sound to say aloud. For vowels, keep the sound short, as in the example word. In American English, the sound at the start of octopus is the “ah” sound shown for O.
| Letter | Sound to model | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A a | /æ/ | apple |
| B b | /b/ | ball |
| C c | /k/ | cat |
| D d | /d/ | dog |
| E e | /ɛ/ | egg |
| F f | /f/ | fish |
| G g | /g/ | goat |
| H h | /h/ | hat |
| I i | /ɪ/ | igloo |
| J j | /dʒ/ | jam |
| K k | /k/ | kite |
| L l | /l/ | leaf |
| M m | /m/ | mouse |
| Letter | Sound to model | Example |
|---|---|---|
| N n | /n/ | nose |
| O o | /ɑ/ | octopus |
| P p | /p/ | pig |
| Q q | /kw/ with u | queen |
| R r | /r/ | rat |
| S s | /s/ | sun |
| T t | /t/ | tent |
| U u | /ʌ/ | umbrella |
| V v | /v/ | van |
| W w | /w/ | watch |
| X x | /ks/ | fox |
| Y y | /j/, the first sound in yes | yo-yo |
| Z z | /z/ | zipper |
Three letters need a little care. C and K can both make /k/ in these examples; that is fine. Q is normally followed by u in beginner words, so model qu together in queen, rather than inventing a separate sound for q. X is different from most picture clues here: listen at the end of fox, not the beginning. For the letter name Z, continue to use American English zee.
If a vowel sound is hard to hear, place its word back into the question: “Listen: apple. What sound do you hear first?” Model it once, let the child repeat, and return to that card later. There is no need to explain the pronunciation symbols to her.
Make the question decide the answer
Before the session, you can look at the mixed-order lists in Letter Name and Letter Sound Assessment from Reading Rockets. They offer a way to avoid giving clues through alphabet order. This lesson’s activity is practice, not a timed test.
Letter Name and Letter Sound Assessment
Read this teacher reference to see how separate name and sound prompts can be given with letters in mixed order.
On the first page, find “Name the lower case letters,” “Name the upper case letters,” and the following “Scoring and Prompts.” Then find “Say the consonant letter sounds,” “Say the short vowel sounds,” and “Letter Name and Letter Sound Assessment Student Copy.” In the Student Copy, use the mixed-order lists as a reference for changing the order of your cards. Notice that letter names and letter sounds receive separate prompts; you will alternate those prompts during the game instead.
Shuffle the letter cards and work in small groups of six or seven. Give the child a card and choose one prompt: “What is its name?” or “What sound does it make?” On early sound turns, add the example word: “What sound does M make at the start of mouse?” Once she responds comfortably, try “What sound does M make?” Include both uppercase and lowercase cards, and change which question you ask for a letter on its next appearance.
Keep the turns quick and conversational. If the child says em when you asked for /m/, respond, “Yes, that is its name. I asked for its sound. Listen: /m/, mouse.” Let her say /m/, then bring back M after a few other cards. If she gives a sound when you asked for a name, make the same gentle distinction in reverse. This corrects the choice of answer without treating her knowledge of the letter as a mistake.
For a final five-minute check, show a handful of cards from different parts of the alphabet, including A, C, Q, X, and several ordinary consonants. Ask name and sound questions in an unpredictable order. Quietly note two things separately: letters whose names need review and letters whose sounds need review. Give each unfamiliar sound its example word again rather than requiring a guess.
A letter’s name is what it is called; a sound is what you can hear it represent in a word. Today the child practiced giving the one you requested, with pictures and words to support new sounds. Keep the uncertain cards handy: the next lessons will give s, a, t, then p, i, n, extra attention and familiar words, while speaking activities begin alongside the phonics work.