Beginning Sounds Worksheets

Our beginning sounds worksheets are perfect for early readers who are starting to sound out words and develop phonemic awareness. These free printable initial sounds worksheet are perfect for kindergarten and first graders. Simply print beginning sounds worksheets for kindergarten pdf and you are ready to play and learn with a beginning sounds activity. 

Beginning sounds worksheets

Looking for some engaging worksheets to help kids to practice beginning sounds? Our  beginning sounds worksheets for kindergarten pdf is perfect for you! And the best part? These initial sounds worksheets are so easy to prepare. Just print, and go. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – you will love these handy, no prep Beginning Sounds Worksheets forkindergartners and grade 1 students.

Beginning sounds worksheets pdf

Start by scrolling to the bottom of the post, under the terms of use, and click on the text link that says >> _________ <<. The beginning letter sounds worksheets pdf file will open in a new window for you to save your freebie.

Why Is It Important To Learn Beginning Sounds?

Before we dive into the phonics worksheets, lets answer a basic question. Why do we teach beginning sounds? I think we can all agree that reading is one of the most important skills that are students need to develop. It is our job to get students started on the road to literacy.

One of the most important skills young readers need to develop is phonological awareness. In a nutshell, this is the ability hear the different sounds in a word and associate those sounds with letters (phonics). Building the relationships between the sounds and the letters is critical. It sets the foundation for learning to read and write.

It is so important, that a recent study concluded that a well developed phonological awareness in kindergarten is a strong predictor of later reading success.

Isolating the different sounds in a word is an important part of that. Once they have that down, they can move on to identifying letter names and what sounds they make. We start with beginning sounds because they are the easiest for younger readers to hear.

We want our students to get to the point where they can look at a new word and be able to sound it out. Helping them associate letters and sounds will help them do that. We know that students will be reading a lot in school. Making that a positive experience for young readers is a huge gift.

How to Teach Beginning Sounds To Students?

We need a multifaceted approach to teaching phonics for kids as with everything else. Some of your students will come to Kindergarten with a well-developed phonological awareness and others will be starting from scratch. Every child is unique, and they all have different ways of learning. So, we need to approach this in as many ways as possible. Like anything else practice is key. The more our students work on those beginning sounds, the easier it will become.

We’ve put together a set of FREE beginning sound worksheets for you to use in the classroom or at home. They are perfect for students who need extra practice listening for those letter sounds.

Common Core Standards

If you follow the common core standards, this set of worksheets covers the following reading standards:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.D Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

Initial sounds worksheet

There are 2 different sets of worksheets. Both require the students to identify the beginning sounds of simple words.

The worksheets in the first set has nine pictures corresponding to 9 simple words. The words are written under the picture but are missing the first letter. Most of the words are CVC words, but we also have a few four-letter words in the mix. Students are invited to say the word out loud, identify the beginning sound, and then write in the missing letter.

Free printable letter sound activities

The second set of worksheets is based on the I spy game. Students are given the first letter and will

• Read the letter and identify corresponding letter sound in the directions.
• Look at the pictures and identify those that start with the correct beginning sound.
• Color, cut out, and glue those pictures into place.

I’ve found that students love cut and paste activities. It never seems to get old for this age group. It also makes the worksheets a little more hands-on and interactive. Always a good thing!

The beginning sounds worksheets don’t require any preparation- just PRINT AND GO. They can be used in small groups, literacy centers, independent work, or homework. Feel free to use them as you wish in your classroom or at home.