Lesson

Welcome to Letter Sounds & Recognition!

This lesson will help you begin your reading journey by learning about the sounds letters make and how to recognize them. We'll focus on both uppercase (big) and lowercase (small) letters. Get ready to unlock the secrets of reading!

What are Letter Sounds?

Each letter of the alphabet has a sound associated with it. These sounds are called phonics. Learning these sounds is crucial for sounding out words and becoming a confident reader. We will start with some basic letter sounds.

Let's Start with Vowels

Vowels are special letters! They are a, e, i, o, and u. They often make different sounds than other letters. For now, let's focus on their short sounds.

• A says /ă/ as in apple.
• E says /ĕ/ as in elephant.
• I says /ĭ/ as in igloo.
• O says /ŏ/ as in octopus.
• U says /ŭ/ as in umbrella.

Meet the Consonants

Consonants are all the other letters besides a, e, i, o, and u. They usually make one main sound. Let's look at a few:

• B says /b/ as in ball.
• C says /k/ as in cat.
• D says /d/ as in dog.
• F says /f/ as in fish.
• G says /g/ as in goat.

Letter Recognition: Uppercase and Lowercase

Each letter has two forms: uppercase (A, B, C) and lowercase (a, b, c). It's important to recognize both forms. Uppercase letters are often used at the beginning of sentences and for names. Lowercase letters are used more often within words.

Matching Uppercase and Lowercase

Can you match the uppercase letter to its lowercase partner? For example:

• A matches with a
• B matches with b
• C matches with c

Try it with these: D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

Simple Word Building

Now that you know some letter sounds, let's try to build some simple words. We'll start with words that only use the sounds we've learned so far.

Word Example: cat

Let's look at the word "cat."

• The first letter is 'c', which says /k/.
• The second letter is 'a', which says /ă/.
• The third letter is 't', which says /t/.

Put them together: /k/ /ă/ /t/ - cat!

Word Example: dog

Now let's look at the word "dog."

• The first letter is 'd', which says /d/.
• The second letter is 'o', which says /ŏ/.
• The third letter is 'g', which says /g/.

Put them together: /d/ /ŏ/ /g/ - dog!

Word Example: bag

Let's try one more: "bag."

• 'b' says /b/.
• 'a' says /ă/.
• 'g' says /g/.

Put them together: /b/ /ă/ /g/ - bag!

Identifying Letters in Words

Let's practice identifying letters in words. Can you find the letter 'a' in the word "apple"? How about the letter 'e' in "elephant"?

Activity: Find the Vowels

Look at these words and circle all the vowels (a, e, i, o, u):

• bed
• sun
• cat
• pig
• top

Activity: Match the Sound

Match the letter to its sound:

1. A - /d/
2. D - /f/
3. F - /ă/

Practice Makes Perfect!

The more you practice, the better you'll become at recognizing letters and their sounds. Keep practicing reading simple words and asking questions. Keep practicing!

Great Job!

You have completed the Letter Sounds & Recognition lesson. Keep practicing and you will be reading in no time!