Knowing the name of a letter is one thing. Knowing the sound it makes is what opens the door to reading. You don't need to be a teacher to help with that, just a few minutes of listening and playing together.
Teaching Alphabet Sounds (teachingalphabetsounds.com) is for the grown-ups who help young children, about 3 to 6, with letter sounds: parents and grandparents at the kitchen table, caregivers between naps and snacks, and pre-K teachers with a room full of different learners.
Our guides are short on theory and long on what to do. You will find the exact words you can say, what a child might answer, and one clear next step, so you can try something tonight and see how it goes.
What you will find here
- Letter Sounds: the sound each letter makes, how to say it clearly, and which sounds to start with.
- Listening Games: games that help children hear sounds: rhymes, first sounds, clapping syllables and I spy.
- Sound Activities: hands-on activities that connect letters and sounds at home or in class.
- Blending Sounds: putting sounds together to read first words, one small step at a time.
- Tricky Sounds: the sounds that trip children up, like short vowels and letters that look alike, and how to help.
Who we are
Teaching Alphabet Sounds is part of the Kids Learning Essentials family. Kids Learning Essentials makes story-based early learning: 26 alphabet storybooks, one for each letter, plus printables and activities built from the same stories. You will see those books in the ads on this site.
Read How We Write to see what you can expect from our guides, and join the newsletter to get new ones by email.