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Hello! In the last lesson, the child practiced answering two different questions: “What is this letter’s name?” and “What sound does it make?” This lesson gives three letters more attention. By the end, she should be able to say the usual beginner sound for s, a, and t, and connect each sound to at least two familiar words.
Plan on about 40–45 minutes. Have six simple pictures or objects ready: a sun, a sock, an apple, an ant, a table, and a toy. You can draw the sun and ant; the child does not need to read the words yet.
Three letters, three sounds
Show S–s, A–a, and T–t in mixed order. The picture below makes the lowercase shapes easy to spot. The large letters at the top also spell a word, but do not ask the child to read it yet; today’s job is to recognize the individual letters and hear their sounds.
Model one letter at a time, pairing its sound with two words the child can see or picture:
| Letter | Say its sound | Familiar words |
|---|---|---|
| S–s | /s/, a long, gentle hissing sound | sun, sock |
| A–a | /æ/, the short sound at the start of apple | apple, ant |
| T–t | /t/, a quick sound made with the tongue | table, toy |
Keep letter names separate from sounds: ess is the name of S, but /s/ is the sound you hear first in sun. Likewise, the name A is ay, but the sound here is the short /æ/ in apple; the name T is tee, but its sound here is /t/.
Let the child look at or hold each object as you say its word. For example, point to a sock and say, “Sock. Listen to the beginning: /s/ … sock. What sound comes first?” Accept the sound /s/, then show s. Repeat with the second word for that letter before moving on. Say /t/ briefly rather than adding an extra vowel and turning it into “tuh.” These are useful sounds for these letters, not a claim that a letter sounds the same in every English word.
Listen for more words
The short clips below give the child another voice to imitate. Some examples differ from your six anchor words; use them for listening and speaking, then return to the familiar objects and pictures.
Learn Letter Sounds! | Learn Pre-Reading Skills | Toddler & Preschool Learning đź“š
Watch the s, a, and t clips from “Learn Letter Sounds!” by Ms. Monica. Each clip models a sound and says words beginning with it.
Watch the s sound for snake, snacks, and snail. Then watch the a sound for apple and alligator, and the t sound for table and taco. Pause when each sound is modeled so the child can say it, then invite her to repeat one example word. The clips are in different parts of the full video, so use the marked ranges rather than watching straight through.
Afterward, show the apple and the table. Ask for the sound at the beginning of each word, not the letter name. If alligator or taco is unfamiliar, there is no need to teach it now: apple, ant, table, and toy provide the words she will use in today’s practice.
Connect what she hears to what she sees
A picture-to-letter game makes the association more active than repeating after you. The following teacher activity describes the useful sequence: name a picture, notice its first sound, and find the matching letter. Read only its short instruction section; its full set of letters is broader than this lesson.
k1_p016_letter_sound_dominoes.pdf
Read the Florida Center for Reading Research’s “Letter-Sound Dominoes” instructions for the picture-to-first-sound matching routine. You will adapt the routine to just three letters.
On the instruction sheet labeled P.016, find “Activity” under “Letter-Sound Dominoes.” Read steps 1 to 5, starting with the description of matching picture sounds to letters and stopping before “Peer evaluation.” Notice that the player names the picture and says its first sound before finding the letter. Use that order, but not the full domino deck.
Put s, a, t letter cards on the table and place your six pictures or objects beside them, mixed up. Take a turn first: “This is a sock. I hear /s/ first in sock. I’ll put it beside s.” Then let the child place another. Encourage her to say the word aloud before choosing; otherwise, she may match from memory without listening to it.
Once all six are placed, mix them again and change the direction of the game. Point to t and ask, “What sound?” After she says /t/, invite her to find two things beginning with that sound. Do the same for a and s, changing the order each round. A toy she chooses herself can make toy easier to remember.
For a little more speaking, keep the exchange natural: “What is this?” “It’s a toy.” “What sound do you hear first in toy?” She is practicing a spoken English word as well as its first sound; she is not expected to spell or read toy yet.
A short check and a helpful correction
For the last few minutes, put the six pictures aside. Show s, a, and t one by one in a new order and ask, “What sound?” Then bring the pictures back and ask for two words that start with each sound. If she can supply her own familiar word instead of one of the prepared examples, welcome it when its first sound matches.
Notice which part needs help. If she says ess when asked for /s/, you can respond, “Yes, ess is its name. What sound do you hear first in sun?” If she says the name ay for a, return to apple: “Listen to its first sound: /æ/.” Model once, let her try, and revisit the letter after another turn. You are looking for a growing connection among the letter, its sound, and two words, not a fast answer.
The key connections today are s with /s/ in sun and sock, a with /æ/ in apple and ant, and t with /t/ in table and toy. Keep the pictures available for a brief review at the start of the next session. Next, you will give p, i, and n the same focused attention before moving further into everyday spoken English.