Hearing Sounds Pre-Reading Activity

Hearing Sounds is a huge skill on the road to reading… how do you teach it?

The road to reading doesn’t start with words. It starts with sounds. Hearing sounds in words is a crucial (and often rushed over) step as kids learn to read.

But how do we help kids develop this skill?

Make this easy Hearing Sounds activity

Before a child can learn to read words on paper, they first need to understand that sounds come together and build words.

The way that sounds work together to build words is the first step to a child learning to read. It’s called “phonemic awareness” and it’s one of the most crucial parts of early childhood.

Not only does phonemic awareness impact a child’s ability to read, it also has implications later in childhood when learning to write and spell. Without skills in breaking words into sounds, a child will have a difficult time putting letters onto paper.

RELATED: Here’s another pre-reading activity.

How do you teach phonemic awareness?

Here are some easy ways to teach phonemic awareness:

• Play rhyming games
• Read aloud to children
• Use games like this “Hearing Sounds” activity

RELATED: Here’s another great phonemic awareness game.

And it’s an easy activity to put together.

Let’s play Hearing Sounds

I grabbed a couple of craft trays as the base.

On index cards, I wrote letters of the alphabet and taped them to the tray.

Next, I went toy bin diving and looked for objects that started with the letter sounds on the cards.

I set those toys in a pile for my daughter (4.5 years old) to sort through.

Here’s why this activity is important

This activity is asking my daughter to identify the initial sound in a word.

She’s having to isolate that first sound, identify it, and then match that sound to the correct letter.

It’s an important step in understanding that sounds are linked to letters and letters build words.

Remember not to rush into reading

Reading is a HUGE skill and it takes YEARS to develop.

Years before a child is ready to read, they need to be learning these phonemic awareness skills. It’s crucial to their reading, spelling, and writing.

Build a “Hearing Sounds” activity to help your child on their road to reading. It’s an important activity as kids start on their path to being readers.

Make a hearing sounds pre-reading activity