Today is rung 4 of 14 on this topic
Hearing the first sound in a word
Can do: Can tell you what sound a spoken word starts with — /m/ in milk — without seeing it written.
Why it matters
This is the single strongest predictor of how easily reading starts. Letters are useless until a child can hear that words are made of separate sounds.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
They repeat the whole word back instead of the sound, or give you the letter name ("em") rather than the sound ("mmm").
⏱️ Two-minute check
Say: "Mmmilk. What sound does milk start with?" Then try sock and ball.
Solid looks like: They make the sound — /m/, /s/, /b/ — not the letter name, and get at least two of the three.
The full activity for this topic · 5 minutes
Sound Hunt
- 1Pick one sound for the day, e.g. /s/. Say it, don't name the letter.
- 2Say: "I spy something that starts with sssss." Look at a sock while you say it.
- 3Let them find it. Celebrate loudly.
- 4Swap: they pick the thing, you guess. Getting it wrong on purpose is the best part.
- 5Stop after four or five rounds, while they still want more.
If it's too hard
Stretch the sound out and hold your object up: "Ssssssock. Sssss." Give the answer, then ask them to say the sound after you.
If it's too easy
Ask for the last sound instead of the first — "what does cat end with?" That is a five-year-old skill and a nice stretch.
Say this
"Listen to the very start of the word. Mmmmm-ilk. Can you make that sound with me?"