Beginning Sounds Worksheets

Before your child learns phonics, they need to hear the sounds. These beginning sounds worksheets use pictures to keep the focus on sounds.

Seems simple – words are made of sounds?

Turns out, it is not that simple for most children. And for the 20% of children with dyslexia or other reading challenges, hearing sounds in words is really diffcult.

You don’t need a master’s degree in reading science to teach your child. These beginning sounds worksheets are a simple and practical tool for developing phonemic awareness.

Beginning Sounds Worksheets

These worksheets focus mainly on pictures with minimal letters. The purpose is to really focus on the sounds for phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness skills are the cornerstone for using phonics to sound out words. Before your child can match sounds to letters, they need to learn that sounds even exist!

Connecting to the letter is an important step for developing phonics. But most parents (and many teachers) rush that before a good awareness of sounds is present.

Free Beginning Sounds Worksheet PDF

You can grab five free beginning sounds worksheets in the box below.

The beginning sounds worksheets included in the free download are:

• Beginning Sounds A-Z Worksheets for /a/
• Match the Beginning Sounds Worksheets for /b/ and /c/
• Sounds the Same Worksheet for /k/ spelled k and c, /o/, and /g/
• Beginning Sounds Cut and Paste Worksheet for /d/
• Beginning Sounds Maze for /b/

If you love these samples, you can check out the complete Beginning Sounds Worksheet.

Using the Beginning Sounds Worksheets

Since these are phonemic awareness worksheets, it is very important your child hear the sounds. These are not independent work.

Say the Name for Each Picture

Make sure to name every picture for your child or student. You need them to hear how you say the words.

Plus, some of the pictures won’t be obvious to children. They might not yet the word in their speaking vocabulary yet.

Child Repeats the Name

Ask your child or student to repeat back what you said. For example, you would say:

• “This is an ax. Repeat ax.”
• Child: “Ax.”
• “Great.”

They need to hear the beginning sound and feel how their mouth makes the sound.

Give Neutral Corrective Feedback

In order to learn to read, children need corrective feedback. We want to avoid bad habits like guessing.

Your feedback needs to be firm, but kind. That could sound like this:

• Bow starts with /b/.
• Apple starts with /a/.
• Bow doesn’t start with /a/.

Once you have those steps in place, you’re reading to begin the worksheets.

Beginning Sounds A-Z Worksheets

In these worksheets, your child will color by beginning sounds from A-Z.

the words that start with that beginning sound. They will color the o

Here is a sample script:

• Parent: “The first picture is ax. Repeat, ax.”
• Child: “Ax.”
• Parent: “Does ax begin with the same sound as apple? Repeat ax, apple.”
• Child: “Ax, apple. Yes.”

Match the Beginning Sounds Worksheets

In these worksheets, your child will match the picture to the beginning sounds. This is a beginning sounds cut and paste worksheet.

They have to choose between two sounds to decide where to glue the picture. In the included worksheet, your child decides between /b/ for ball and /k/ for cat.

Here is a sample script you can use when helping your child:

• Parent: “The picture is barn. Repeat.”
• Child: “Barn.”
• Parent: “Does barn belong with ball or cat? Barn, ball, cat. Repeat barn, ball, cat.”
• Child: “Barn, ball, cat.”
• Parent: “Where does barn belong?”
• Child: “With ball.”

Beginning Sounds Worksheets for Kindergarten

I used these Sounds the Same worksheets as an assessment in Kindergarten. Assess is just a teacher word for test.

After we had done a lot of beginning sound work, the Sounds the Same showed me if my kindergarten students understood the concepts.

You can use it for your child, too, regardless of grade. You will help them name each picture correctly.

See if they can isolate and hear the first sounds well enough to find the two that sound the same.

Here is a sample script for using this worksheet with your child:

• Parent: “Point to number 1.”
• Child: points
• Parent: “Thank you. The pictures are key, kite, and hat. Key. Repeat key.”
• Child: “Key.”
• Parent: “Kite. Repeat kite.”
• Child: “Kite.”
• Parent: “Hat. Repeat hat.”
• Child: “Hat”
• Parent: “Key, kite, hat. Which two start the same?”

Beginning Sounds Cut and Paste Worksheets

This beginning sounds cut and paste worksheet is similar to the match worksheet above. However,  your child doesn’t have to do choose between two sounds.

Instead, each picture either has the focused sound or it does not. For example, the included worksheet has the focus sound of /d/.

You could use this sample script:

• Parent: “We’re looking for words that begin with /d/. Repeat this sound /d/.”
• Child: “/d/”
• Parent: “Thank you. Door. Repeat door.”
• Child: “Door.”
• Parent: Does door start with /d/? Yes (point to thumbs up) or no (point to humbs down)?”
• Child: (points to thumbs up)
• Parent: “Leaf. Repeat leaf.”
• Child: “Leaf.”
• Parent: Does leaf start with /d/? Yes (point to thumbs up) or no (point to humbs down)?”
• Child: (points to thumbs down)

Beginning Sounds Mazes

• This is the most complex activity. It will need explicit modeling under a document camera at school. Parents, print your own copy so you can show your child how to do it and they can follow along with their copy.
• Sample script:
• “We’re looking for words that start with /a/. Repeat this sound /a/. Okay we start with alligator. Alligator starts with /a/. Sometimes it’s hard to hear with /l/. Let’s look at how our mouths start with the sound /a/ and move to /l/.”
• “Now lets look at the other pictures: apple that would show us how to get to the finish: Barn. Repeat. Apple. Repeat. Which one starts with /a/.”

More Phonemic Awareness Worksheets

You can grab a ton of phonemic awareness worksheets in the Printable Parents’ Shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Phonemic Awareness Bundle

The Phonemic Awareness Worksheet Bundle is the best deal.   It’s also a growing bundle which means it’s a low price now because it is in process.

As the bundle gets more worksheets added, you get the updates for FREE.

How will this help your child? If your child can’t sound out words, they need to work on phonemic awareness.

Check out the Phonemic Awareness Worksheet Bundle in the Printable Parents’ Shop or grab the Phonemic Awareness Worksheets on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Rhyming Worksheets

Children who can rhyme well are more likely to be strong readers. Help your child practice this important skill – while building phonics knowledge – with Rhyming Worksheets.

You’ll find over 60 print-and-go worksheets to help your child bring awareness to sounds in language. Your child will love the variety of activities and you’ll love the consistency. You can give directions less often!

You can find these worksheets in the Printable Parents Shop or check out the Rhyming Worksheets for Kindergarten and First Grade on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Syllables Worksheets

Breaking big words into syllables helps children hear groups of sounds in words. This is essential for spelling and really useful for developing phonemic awareness.

These syllable worksheets are better than the rest because they are sorted by phonics skills. So it packs a double punch of literacy development.

Check out the Syllable Worksheets in the Printable Parents’ Shop or find the syllable worksheets for phonemic awareness on Teachers Pay Teachers.