Letter Sounds Learning: Tips To Make It Easier And Fun

Get tips to make letter sounds learning easier and fun so your preschool or kindergarten child won't struggle to learn alphabet sounds and can start reading words.

Tips to Make Letter Sounds Learning Easier And Fun for Preschool and Kindergarten Kids

What Is The Meaning of "Letter Sounds Learning" And Why Is It Important?

Learning letter sounds is important for learning to read. According to the science of reading, the best way to teach children to read is through explicit instruction of the code between speech sounds and written symbols.

When you look on Pinterest for ideas for "letter sounds learning" or "teaching alphabet sounds", you'll actually be learning how to teach phonics, or sound-letter correspondence, to your preschool or kindergarten child.

What Age Is Best To Start Letter Sounds Learning?

Many young toddlers will start pointing to letters and words in the environment and ask what they are. Parents sometimes assume that it must be time to start teaching letters to their 2 year old.

The reality is that young toddlers are very focused on building vocabulary and they just want to learn the names of everything they see. Children who are 2 years old usually aren't yet developmentally ready to understand that letters represent speech sounds. 

It is best to wait to start letter sounds learning until your child is 3-4 years old and has developed more capacity for abstract thinking.

Keep reading for more tips to make it easier and fun for your preschool or kindergarten child to learn letter sounds. You'll also learn how to avoid the struggles with letter sounds learning that happen when teachers make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Start With Phonemic Awareness Games When Your Child Is 3 Years Old

The alphabet letters are written symbols that represent speech sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. 

That's why it's best to start with phonemic awareness games to draw attention to speech sounds in spoken words. 

It's as easy as playing I Spy except that you'll ask your child to find an object that starts with the speech sound you say instead of an object that is a specific color.

Here's a FREE beginning sounds game printable. This is a spoken language activity and no letters are involved.

Once your child can think of and say a couple of words that start with a speech sound you say, then you'll know your child is ready to associate speech sounds with the alphabet letters. 

Teach One Sound Per Alphabet Letter And Pronounce The Alphabet Letter Sounds In English Correctly

Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in words we say. There are more phonemes in the spoken English language than the 26 alphabet letters.

Phonemes can be spelled with a single alphabet letter or 2 or more letters. An example is the sound /sh/ that you hear when you say the word fish.

You won't want to overwhelm 3-4 year old children with all the spelling variations for phonemes when you start letter sounds learning!

You can keep it simple by deciding to teach one sound per alphabet letter when your child is getting started with letter sounds learning. 

It's a good idea to practice pronouncing the alphabet sounds in English so that you're familiar with them before you start playing phonemic awareness games during the preschool and kindergarten years. Practice saying the short vowel sounds and the hard consonant sounds in isolation.

For example, you'll pronounce the /a/ sound as in apple not airplane and the /g/ sound as in gift not giraffe. The correct way to pronounce the /x/ sound is "ks" as in box instead of the sound you hear when you say xylophone or x-ray. It might be helpful to have an alphabet letter sounds chart for quick reference.

Also, try your best not to add "uh" to the ending of the consonant sounds. Children who learn "duh" instead of /d/ and "guh" instead of /g/ might struggle to hear the word "dog" when they try to blend d - o - g.  

Teach Letter Sounds First

Should you teach letter names or sounds first? This is a common question that parents have when getting started with letter sounds learning at home.

You should teach letter sounds first and refer to letters only by the sound they represent. Letter names are unhelpful for learning to read using phonics. 

Don't mention letter names at all during letter sounds learning activities. This really simplifies the process and avoids confusion between letter names and sounds when a child is first learning how to sound out words.

If you have already taught letter names first, then it's not the end of the world. Simply stop talking about letter names from this point on and refer only to the sound that a letter represents.

Use Montessori Sandpaper Letters For Teaching Sound-Letter Correspondence

If you start letter sounds learning with phonemic awareness games, then your 3-4 year old child will absorb the idea that words are made up of speech sounds in a row. The next step is to show what a specific speech sound looks like.

Inside the Playful Path to Reading preschool phonics program, I recommend using a set of Montessori sandpaper letters to help your 3-4 year old child learn sound-letter correspondence.

Tracing a tactile letter with 2 fingers while saying the sound helps children build visual, auditory and muscle memory of the pathway.

The reason why we want to encourage preschool and kindergarten children to trace each letter using 2 fingers is to strengthen the muscles needed to develop the tripod grip for later handwriting with a pencil.

Model what you hope to see, but it's ok if your child uses just 1 finger. Often preschoolers aren't  yet able to trace letters with 2 fingers even though they have enough phonemic awareness to get started with letter sounds learning.

Remember That Alphabet Letters Don't Make Sounds

Try your best to avoid saying that letters "make" sounds. It's more accurate to say that the alphabet letters are written symbols that represent speech sounds.

When I was teaching in a Montessori classroom, it slipped out one day. The 3 year old boy that I was with took me literally and gave me a strange look! Then he corrected me and said that animals make sounds, not alphabet letters.

Are you wondering what to say instead? Whenever I point to a letter, I'll say "This IS ..." and then say the speech sound that the letter represents. 

Teach Lowercase Letters First

The goal of letter sound learning is for your child to remember sound-letter correspondence to be ready for reading using phonics.

Since most letters in books are lowercase, it's ok to postpone teaching uppercase letter sounds until your child is ready for reading sentences.

Focusing first on lowercase letter sounds is another way to simplify letter sound learning with your 3-4 year old child.

Do Matching Activities With Montessori Language Objects

Do you prefer play-based learning instead of alphabet sounds worksheets for learning letter sounds activities? Invite your preschool or kindergarten child to say the beginning sound of a several Montessori language objects and match them with the alphabet letter that represents each speech sound.

Montessori language objects offer a fun way to keep your child engaged for a little longer and reinforce sound-letter correspondence.

It's also easy to repeat this same matching game by choosing a different set of beginning sounds objects and alphabet letters on a different day.

Quick Summary: Letter Sounds Learning - Tips To Make It Easier And Fun For Preschool And Kindergarten Kids

Your preschool or kindergarten child will need to know letter sounds to be able to sound out words using phonics. Some children have trouble learning letter sounds, but you should be able to avoid those struggles and make it fun by following these 9 tips.

1. Postpone letter sounds learning until your child is 3-4 years old and has developed more capacity for abstract thinking and is ready to become aware of the speech sounds in spoken words.
2. Start with phonemic awareness activities such as a beginning sounds game. You want your 3-4 year old child to understand that alphabet letters are written symbols that represent speech sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
3. Keep it simple by teaching one sound per alphabet letter during the preschool and kindergarten years. Teach only the short vowel sounds and the hard consonant sounds when your 3-5 year old child is getting started with letter sounds learning.
4. Practice saying the letter sounds in English so that you are modelling them correctly in isolation. Avoid adding "uh" to the end of consonants. 
5. Teach letter sounds first, not letter names. Refer to the alphabet letters only by the sound they represent. This will avoid confusion between letter names and sounds when your child begins sounding out words.

6. Use Montessori sandpaper letters as the main letter sounds learning activity. Show your 3-4 year old child how to trace them with 2 fingers while saying the sound. This will help your child build visual, auditory and muscle memory of the pathway.

7. Avoid saying that letters "make" sounds. It's more accurate to say that they are written symbols that represent speech sounds.
8. Focus first on teaching lowercase letter sounds to set up your child for success with learning to read. Most words in beginning reader books are lowercase.
9. Invite your child to say the beginning sound of a several Montessori language objects and match them with the alphabet letter that represents each speech sound. Repetition via a fun sound-letter matching game will make it easier for your child to remember letter sounds.