Sound-Symbol Relationships: Early Reading Games with Letters and Sounds
One of the first skills that young children learn at school, is to recognise sound-symbol relationships. That is, the connection between the letter names and the sounds made by them. Understanding sound-symbol relationships is a vital step in becoming independent with reading and writing.
While there are 26 letter names, and learning these is a huge task on its own, there are many more sounds. To break the job down into easier parts, early childhood teachers often focus on one letter at a time, and place the emphasis for younger learners, on the simplest or most common sound made by each letter. Most consonants make a simple short sound, like mmm for M, or zzz for Z. The vowels are much trickier. Teachers often start by looking at the "short" Aa, as in apple, the "short" Ee as in egg and so on. I have made some games with the focus on the "short", common sounds, but also have a selection of games that include other sounds - for example, Gg makes the hard sound like go, and the soft sound like giraffe, c makes the hard sound like cat, and the soft like city, and y makes different sounds at the beginning and end of words.
Learning all the letters and their sounds can be loads of fun with these games. There are lots of different ones, so children never lose interest, even if they are playing the games every day (which they will want to!).
This is an activity for learners who enjoy tactile experiences. Set up a shoe box or tray filled with sand. Children dig for letters and match them with the cards. The letters in the sand could be substituted with small objects beginning with the letter sound. Then learners would match the beginning sound of each object with a letter card. Upper and lower case letters are included.
This is a game for younger learners who are making connections between letter symbols and sounds. Players respond to the letters or pictures that they land on.
This is a game for younger learners who are making connections between letter symbols and sounds. Players respond to the letters or pictures that they land on.
This is a game for younger learners who are making connections between letter symbols and sounds. Players respond to the letters or pictures that they land on.
This game has matching cards that have the same letter and picture as the board, so it is ideal for very young learners who are just beginning to understand letter-sound relationships. There are 4 boards and 24 cards.
Alphabet Bingo Boards (class set)Upper Case CardsLower Case Cards
This set comprises 25 different boards with 8 lower case letters on each. Play with the whole class, using either matching lower case cards, or use upper case cards to give students experience in pairing them. The boards are very plain so children will remain focused on just the letters. They look good printed onto lots of different coloured cards, and students will enjoy swapping boards between games. This is a very useful activity for students still learning the letters, and it only takes short bursts of time for each game. Instructions for this game are included with both sets of Cards.
Elephant Capitals
A game with upper case and lower case letters on cards. Players need to match the two to keep the pair. The board is shared, so the game moves quite quickly.
Mailbox Letters: upper and lower case letters A game with upper case and lower case letters on cards. Players need to match the two to keep the pair. The board is shared, so the game moves quite quickly.
There are 2 kinds of cards: upper case (jungle) and lower case letters (snakes). Put upper case cards aside to be drawn at each turn. Each player puts 4 lower case cards on their board. Take turns to draw a card. If the matching letter is on your board, make a pair, and place another lower case card on your board. If it is not on your board, leave it face up on the table for other players to use when it is their turn. Play continues until all cards have been matched.
Trick or Treat Letter Sounds Matching beginning letter sounds with picture cards (with these letters: wgnvyk). Each player has a board. Place the cards face down and take turns to choose a card. If the player has a space for the matching sound, they keep it. The first player to complete their board wins.
Carrots For Rabbits Matching beginning letter sounds with picture cards (with these letters: bftlms). Each player has a board. Place the cards face down and take turns to choose a card. If the player has a space for the matching sound, they keep it. The first player to complete their board wins.
Monkey Sounds Matching beginning letter sounds with picture cards (with these letters: hrpdjc). Each player has a board. Place the cards face down and take turns to choose a card. If the player has a space for the matching sound, they keep it. The first player to complete their board wins.
Hungry Parrot Game A game where players listen for the sounds at the beginnings of words by looking at pictures. Sounds included are: k,v,g,t,m,l,d,s,w
Instructions: Share picture cards between players. Place a letter card on the parrot's plate. All players look for pictures beginning with the letter sound card on display. Place all cards that match onto the parrot. Players may place multiple cards at a time. When players are happy they have placed all their cards for this letter, a new letter card is selected. Play continues until one player has placed all their picture cards (or until everyone has).
Hungry Robot Game A game where players listen for the sounds at the beginnings of words by looking at pictures. Sounds included are: b,j,f,y,r,h,p,c,n,d
Instructions: Share picture cards between players. Place a letter card on the robot. All players look for pictures beginning with the letter sound card on display. Place all cards that match onto the robot. Players may place multiple cards at a time. When players are happy they have placed all their cards for this letter, a new letter card is selected. Play continues until one player has placed all their picture cards (or until everyone has).
A simple game for children who are learning about letter sounds.
Each player collects the fillings for a sandwich by matching beginning letter sounds using pictures, and upper case and lower case letters.
A simple game for children who are learning about letter sounds.
Each player collects the fillings for a sandwich by matching beginning letter sounds using pictures, and upper case and lower case letters.
A simple game for children who are learning about letter sounds.
Each player collects the fillings for a sandwich by matching beginning letter sounds using pictures, and upper case and lower case letters.
A simple game for children who are learning about letter sounds.
Each player collects the fillings for a sandwich by matching beginning letter sounds using pictures, and upper case and lower case letters.
The letters have been grouped into 4 different games, but are all interchangeable. Teachers may select the letters of most use to a particular group of students, and combine them to introduce or revise each letter sound. The individual cards could also be used in a "Letter of the Week" display or activities. This game involves a lot of preparation with the cutting and laminating and cutting again (if you choose to do it this way), but it is bound to become a favourite with beginning learners!
This game uses pictures to assist young learners with the letter sounds.
There are 26 picture cards to match the 13 letters included (2 for each letter).
This game uses pictures to assist young learners with the letter sounds.
There are 25 picture cards to match the 13 letters included (2 for each letter except x).
This game uses pictures to assist young learners with the letter sounds.
There are 26 picture-letter cards - one for every letter and 12 End of the Rainbow cards.
This game has 26 picture-letter cards (showing both upper and lower case), and 12 special cards.
This game include the option of using some extra cards that show the soft c and g, and the long vowel sounds.
Stardust Sounds Game - letters cgnpvyz
