In this activity, you will help your child practice putting sounds together to form words. This is a pre-reading activity. It is important to only say the sounds of the letters. Learning to hear each different sound in a word is an important skill your child will use as he learns that letters represent sounds.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- Objects around the home or pictures of objects from magazines
LET'S PLAY
Choose objects around the home or pictures in a magazine that each represent a short, three-letter word (for example: cat, mop, pig, bug, net). Do not show your child the item or picture. Tell your child, “I’ll tell you the sounds of a secret word. Then, you will put the sounds together and say the secret word.”
Ask, “Can you say the secret word for these sounds: /c/ – /a/ – /t/?” Say the individual sounds with a short pause between each one.
If your child can say the word, show or point to the item in the home or in a book that represents the word. Say the sounds again if your child says the wrong word or cannot figure out the word. If your child still cannot figure out the word, you can say, “Say the sounds with me, /c/ – /a/ – /t/. The word is cat. Can you say the word? “ Allow your child time to respond.
Try this with several words. You can also have your child give YOU a secret word! Have them say a word sound by sound, like /s/-/o/-/f/-/a/, and you blend the sounds together to say the secret word.
TIPS
- Remember, this is a listening and speaking activity. Do not write or discuss letter names.
- As your child is in the early stages of developing this skill, it may help to have the child look at your mouth when you say the sounds of the secret word. This will help him focus on and recall the sounds you are making.
- Having the real object or a picture of the object the secret word represents helps your child connect meaning to the word after he says it. It is not always necessary to have a picture or the real object with you if your child is familiar with the word.