I'm Thinking of a Sound

Purpose:  Many young children do not yet hear the individual sounds in words. This activity, in which you play with the sounds of words, helps to isolate the sounds so that children can begin to hear them within words.  The ability to distinguish individual sounds is critical to future reading success.

Materials/Advance Preparation: None

Directions:

1. Say to the children, "I'm thinking of the sound sssss as in the beginning of the word 'sat': sssssat.  Can you tell me another word that begins with sssss?" 

2. A child names one word.  Repeat the word and use it in a sentence that will be meaningful to the children.

3. "Can you tell me another word that begins with sssss?"  Again, use the word in a sentence.  Repeat as needed or switch to another sound.

4. Do this with other sounds.  As children get better at this activity, you can increase the difficulty by using sounds that are more difficult to distinguish  (e.g., v is harder to hear than t, and the vowels more difficult than the consonants).

 

Eric Gidseg

 

 

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