Level 1: What’s My Sound?

Rhythm & Rhyme

Level 1 Activities help a child develop an “ear” for the spoken language. When surrounded with oral talk, the hearing, identifying , and matching similar word patterns flourishes. This is the foundational building block for reading.

Early Literacy Foundational Skills

• Sound (Phoneme) Matching

  • listen & detect similar sounds at the beginning (onset) of a word

  • listen & detect similar sounds at the ending (rime) of a word

• Syllable Counting

  • listen, detect, & count syllables (beats) within a word

• Word Counting

  • listen, detect, & count words in a sentence or phrase

What's My Sound?

GOAL: sound matching

Materials:

• Picture Cards - have an assortment of visual pictures that a child is familiar with. GOAL: each alphabet letter sound is represented with 2 to 3 pictures beginning with the same alphabet sound.

Directions for New Players:

1. Select a Focus Sound to target such as beginning /c/ sound.

2. Lay out 2 Picture Cards with the same beginning sound. Add in 1 additional Picture Card beginning with a different sounds.

3. While pointing to each Picture Card, say the name of each picture for the child.

4. Have the child repeat the names of the Picture Cards.

5. Ask the child if they are able to find the 2 Picture Cards that beginning with the same Focus Sound.

Directions for Established Players:

1. Select a Focus Sound to target such as beginning /c/ sound.

2. Lay out 3 Picture Cards with the same beginning sound. Add in 3 to 5 additional Picture Cards beginning with a different sound.

3. While pointing to each Picture Card, say the name of each picture for the child.

4. Have the child repeat the names of the Picture Cards.

5. Ask the child if they are able to find the 3 Picture Cards that beginning with the same Focus Sound.

HELPFUL TIPS:

• Always model first until the child is comfortable with this activity.

• Begin with one-syllable words.