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Beginning Sounds for Preschool

8 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Picture pages for hearing the first sound in a word: which one starts the same, dot the beginning sound, and cut and paste sorts with dot marker twins.

Download the beginning sounds worksheets

Which one starts the same?

Pictures only: listen for the first sound.

Dot the beginning sound

Beginning sound sorts

Each sort comes as cut and paste and as a dot marker page with the same pictures.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these beginning sounds worksheets

These beginning sounds worksheets for preschool help children hear the first sound in a word. Every page uses big, plain pictures with names a three- or four-year-old knows, like bee, moon, sun and pig.

The "which one starts the same" pages use only pictures, no letters. Children listen for the first sound and circle the picture that matches. When they are ready to link sounds to letters, the dot the beginning sound pages give three letter choices for each picture.

The picture sorts for S and M and for B and T come as cut and paste pages with a matching dot marker twin, so every child can do the same sort with or without scissors. Every page has an answer key on page 2, with the picture names.

Standards

  • ELOF P-LIT 1Child demonstrates awareness that spoken language is composed of smaller segments of sound.
  • ELOF P-LIT 3Child identifies letters of the alphabet and produces correct sounds associated with letters.

How to use them

  1. Say each picture's name slowly with your child, stretching the first sound: "mmmoon".
  2. Start with the picture-only pages, then move to the pages with letters.
  3. Use the key's picture names if a picture could be called something else.
  4. Play "I spy something that starts with /s/" after the page to keep the sound going.

Teaching tips

  • Say the letter's sound, not its name: /m/ as in moon, not "em".
  • Keep the sound short. /b/ is a quick puff, not "buh".
  • Sounds that last, like /s/ and /m/, are easier to hear than quick ones like /b/ and /t/, so start with the S and M sort.
  • If your child guesses, say both words slowly side by side: "sun, sock. Do they start the same?"

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are beginning sounds?

The beginning sound is the first sound you hear in a word, like /m/ in moon. Hearing it is an early step toward reading.

Does my child need to know letters first?

No. The "which one starts the same" pages use only pictures. The other pages add letters once your child is ready.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Every page has an answer key on page 2 that also lists the picture names.