Beginning Sounds Detective

Today you are a Sound Detective! Detectives look for clues. Your clue is the very first sound in a word. Hearing beginning sounds is a super skill. It helps you guess words when you read and choose letters when you write.

How to find the beginning sound

Follow these three steps:

1. Say the word out loud.
2. Say it again, but stop after the first sound.
3. Ask: which letter makes that sound?

Example

Let’s try rabbit. Say rabbit. Now say just the start: /r/. Which letter says /r/? The letter r! So rabbit begins with r.

Same sound, different words

Lots of words share the same beginning sound. Words that start with the same sound are fun to say together.

• Big brown bears bounce. (all start with /b/)
• Silly snakes sing songs. (all start with /s/)
• Many mice munch muffins. (all start with /m/)

Make your own silly sentence

Choose a letter. Think of three or four words that start with its sound. Put them together in a silly sentence. For example, with /p/: Purple pigs paint pictures.

Sound sorting game

A great detective game is sorting. Take some toys or pictures and sort them into groups by their beginning sound.

Tricky clues

Be careful! Listen to the sound, not just the letter you think of. Kite and cat both start with /k/, even though they use different letters. That is okay. Right now, the sound is what matters most.

Key takeaways

• The beginning sound is the very first sound in a word.
• Say the word, stop after the first sound, then find the letter.
• Many words share the same beginning sound.
• Sorting objects by sound is a fun way to practise.

Practice

Which word does not start with the same sound as the others?

1. map, moon, sock, milk
2. top, ten, bag, tiger
3. fish, fan, fox, hat

Answers: 1 sock (the others start with /m/), 2 bag (the others start with /t/), 3 hat (the others start with /f/).