Lots of fun activities to support learning about the initial sound of words
Picture of a lady and a girl walking through a field
Hide and Seek
Hide 10 objects in the sand. Each object should have an object that starts with the same sound. For example: cat – car; dog – duck; milk – mouse; hat – house; chair – cheese. As you find each object talk about what sound it starts with. Once you have found all 10 objects pair them up.
Odd One Out
Collect five objects. Talk about what sound each of the objects start with. Then encourage the child to work out which one is the odd one out. For example: boat, bucket, shell, ball, bag
Same or Different
Introduce two pictures. Talk about what sound the pictures start with. For example:
- Crab starts with a ‘’k’ sound, seaweed starts with a ‘s’ sound. They start with different sounds
- bucket starts with a ‘b’ sound, ball starts with a ‘b’ sound. They start with the same sound
Sound Hunt
Choose a sound for the day/ week. Go on a hunt for items that start with the sound of the day/ week. Collect the items and put them in a box/ tray.
Take photos of items and create a picture collage
Cut out items from a catalogue and stick them on your picture collage
For example: ‘s’ – sock, sand, seaweed, sausage, sack, seal, sun…
Sorting
Collect items that start with various sounds including the sound of the week. Put all items that start with the sound of the week on the sound table/ tray. Put all the rejected items in the bin. For example: sound of the week is ‘t’ – table, torch, tie, ticket, teddy, towel
Rejected items (bin) – car, book, dog, mouse, cheese, etc…
I Spy
Initially put two or three items on a tray, each starting with a different sound. For example: dinosaur, cow, pig, horse. Then play I spy… I spy something that starts with the sound ‘d’ (dinosaur).
On a car journey play I spy (using the initial sound of the word). I spy something beginning with “k” = car; “r” = road; “s” = sign; etc….
Fly Swat
Give each child a fly swat. Choose four pictures of items starting with a different sound. For example: ball, shoe, coat, hat. Spread them out on the floor or table. Then say a sound, e.g. ‘b’. Who can swat the picture first? (ball)
Go Fish
Make up a pack of cards (approximately 40 to 52 cards). The cards to contain set of four cards starting with the same sound. For example: Families p, b, t, d, m, n, h, k, g, f, s, w, sh, ch, j, l
F – fish, fork, fire, fox
B – book, ball, bird, bath
M – mouse, money, milk, man
Give each player 7 cards. The rest are put face down on the table. They then have to try and make as many sets as possible by asking other players for a card which starts with the same sound as one of their cards. If the player has a card with that sound they give it to them. If not they say “go fish” and the player picks up one of the cards in the middle. The player with the most sets at the end is the winner.
I went to the shops
Choose a sound and then play the game I went to the shops and I bought…. How many things can you think of starting with a given sound. For example: (k/ c is the chosen sound) I went to the shops and I bought a car, coat, cookie, camel, cow, kite, caravan, cake….
Bean Bag/ Ball Game
Sit or stand opposite each other or in a circle if lots of people playing. Choose a sound, e.g. ‘g’. The ball or bean bag can only be passed once you have thought of a word starting with the given sound. For example: goat, gate, garden, granny, grandad, go, grow, game, gas,
Four Corners
Find four pictures/ objects that start with a different sound. Talk about what sound each item starts with. Put the items in the four corners. Say a sound and the child has to run to the object that starts with that sound, e.g. ‘sh’ = shoe
Try and keep it FUN
By Sarah Winstanley, SaLT
Communication Lincs Ltd. ……because Speech Therapy Matters