Matching letters to sounds

Alphabet Matching | Classroom Strategies

Very young learners are developing their understanding of the alphabetic principle — the understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Teachers can help students develop this understanding through lots of fun activities that help students explore the alphabet letters and sounds.

More phonics strategies

Why teach about the alphabet?

• Letter naming is a strong predictor of later reading success
• Learning letter names helps a child learn letter sounds
• It helps students develop their understanding of the alphabetic principle

Watch: Alphabet In My Mouth!

Students practice each letter-name, sound, and corresponding action to help solidify letter-sound correspondences in an active and engaging way — with a song. See the lesson plan.

This video is published with permission from the Balanced Literacy Diet. See many more related how-to videos with lesson plans in the Letter-Sounds and Phonics section.

Collect resources

Matching upper-case and lower-case

Teachers can use the following activity to ask students to help the "Mama animals" (uppercase letters) find their "babies" (lowercase letters). This game includes matching the uppercase mothers with their lowercase babies. See example >

This link provides a template for a printable "Superhero" upper- and lowercase letter match game. See example >

This file includes uppercase and lowercase letters in a matching game that parents can use with their child at home. See example >

This link provides templates for printing cards to use for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. See example >

Letter formation: using sand, play dough, or flour

This link provides teachers with downloadable mats with the alphabet letters for helping children use play dough for learning letter formation. See example >

Letter bingo

Bingo is a simple game that children enjoy and can be used to help them learn about the upper- and lowercase letters. This link allows teachers to print the letters and board needed to play letter bingo. See example >

Letter stamps

Stamps are an excellent "hands-on" activity for helping students learn about the alphabet. The activity described in the link below provides teachers with some creative ideas for making letter stamps out of sponges. Teachers can use sponges and paint in a variety of ways to help children understand the shape and function of upper- and lowercase letters. See example >

Letter recognition fluency

This online document contains several activities that are helpful for building letter recognition fluency. Teachers can download materials needed and follow the instructions for each activity. There are also some ideas included for extending and adapting each activity to further enhance learning. Some examples are provided below. Download activities >

Speedy Alphabet Arc: Teachers can download and print a copy of the alphabet "arc" and have students use letters to match the ones on the arc. Parents could use this idea at home with magnetic letters by placing the arc on the refrigerator and have the child match the letters. Using a timer and seeing how quickly the child can match the letters is optional.

Glow Go: This activity includes the use of glow in the dark chalk and black construction paper. Students can work together taking turns using a flashlight and naming the letters.

Hungry Letter Mouse: Teachers can utilize this activity for students to work on letter recognition in pairs using an eraser and dry erase marker. One student can use the eraser to be the mouse and the other student names the letter before the "mouse" eats it (i.e., erases it).

Letter books

Teachers can use the downloadable materials form this website to create letter books in which each page contains one letter. The kids draw or cut pictures from magazines that start with the particular letter and glue them into their "book." See example >

Downloadable letter and alphabet cards

Flash cards

The link listed below provides teachers with downloadable ESL flashcards. These are free and printable for use within the classroom. There are large sets for use with teaching letters and vocabulary, and smaller sets for language learning games. See example >

This website provides printable color flashcards that are great for teaching upper- and lowercase letters. These cards are free and use the Zaner Bloser font which is very simplistic — ideal for teaching young children.

See example >

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Alphabet cards

The downloadable alphabet cards available from this link have various fonts to choose from, color picture cards to accompany the letters, and creative ideas for activities. See example >

Race track alphabet

The website below offers teachers the ability to download letters of the alphabet in race-track format. Children can use toy cars to trace around the letters to help learn the formation. See example >

Differentiated instruction

for Second Language Learners, students of varying reading skill, and for younger learners

• Begin with a very simple, plain alphabet font like Zaner Bloser. As children become more familiar with letter shapes, progress to different fonts that may present letters slightly differently. For example, consider how the letters /a/, /g/, /t/ appear in different fonts.
• Decide how many letters a child or group should work with at one time. Very emergent learners should begin with fewer letters; other students can manage working with more letters at one time.
• Just for fun! Serve alphabet soup or use Alpha-bits cereal as an extra reinforcement of letters.

See the research that supports this strategy

Adams, M. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Snow, C., Burns, M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Texas Education Agency. (2002). The Alphabetic Principle.

Children's books to use with this strategy

Farm Alphabet Book

By: Jane Miller

Genre: Nonfiction

Age Level: 0-3

Reading Level: Pre-Reader

The alphabet is presented in upper and lower case letters accompanied by full color photographs that introduce farms and things associated.

Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure

By: Nick Inkpen

Age Level: 0-3

Reading Level: Pre-Reader

Upper and lower case letters, clearly printed, are introduced by Kipper and Arnold in a playful, imaginative tale plainly intended as an alphabet book.

Eating the Alphabet

By: Lois Ehlert

Genre: Fiction

Age Level: 0-3

Reading Level: Pre-Reader

Clean lines of both upper and lower case letters combine with colorful fruits and vegetables for a unique way to think about - and even eat through the alphabet.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

By: Bill Martin Jr, John Archambault

Genre: Fiction

Age Level: 0-3

Reading Level: Pre-Reader

Naughty lowercase letters climb the coconut tree but when little Z gets to the top, they all go BOOM to the bottom. After a rescue by grown-up letters (all uppercase), it all seems to start again. Humor, crisp illustration and rhythm make this alphabetic adventure a classic.

ABC: A Child's First Alphabet

By: Allison Jay

Age Level: 0-3

Reading Level: Pre-Reader

Upper and lower case letters introduce familiar objects (e.g., apple) while full page illustrations depict both obvious (and less so) objects that begin with the same letter.

Comments

Beginning Sounds Letter Match-Up Mats Printable

Are you needing a simple-to-use, hands-on alphabet activity for your students to work on beginning sounds? These beginning sounds letter match-up mats are for you!

Beginning Sounds Letter Matching Mats

These beginning sounds letter match-up mats are perfect for your students as they learn letter sounds and beginning sounds. This activity would be a great addition to literacy centers, guided reading groups, or individual practice.

This beginning sounds activity can be used with preschool and kindergarten students and can even be adapted to meet the needs of some first graders.

Print and Go!

These beginning sounds letter mats are incredibly easy to prep! Just print, laminate, and go! Instead of laminating, you can also slide the mats into a write and wipe pocket for durability.

There are 3 different beginning sound mats with 9 pictures each, so every letter in the alphabet is represented.

These mats come in color AND black and white, so you can use them even if you don’t have access to color printing. Want to add a fun spin to this activity? You can print black and white mats and let your students color them.

You may print the letter cards found in the activity or use your own letter manipulative, such as letter tiles, magnetic letters, letter beads, etc.

For easy storage, put the letter cards in a small baggie and store the entire activity in a large baggie, file folder, or storage tray.

Differentiate With Letter Match-Up Mats

There are several ways to differentiate with these beginning sounds alphabet mats. Since there are 3 different mats, you can assign your students 1 mat, 2 mats, or all 3 mats. They can start with 1 and work their way up to completing all 3.

If they are struggling with a particular beginning sound, assign the letter match-up mat that includes that letter sound.

Since the directions do not change depending on the mat used, your students will be successful completing this activity independently. These mats can be used in a variety of instructional settings, including:

• Morning work
• Independent practice
• Bell ringer
• Exit ticket
• Early finisher activity
• Small group
• Partner work
• Literacy center
• Guided reading station
• Assessment

Setting Up the Beginning Sounds Mats

Supplies needed:

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• Beginning sound picture card mats
• Letter tiles OR other letter manipulative
• Write and wipe pocket (optional)

1. Print the beginning sound picture card mats.
2. Laminate or slide into write and wipe pockets.
3. Print, laminate, and cut out the letter cards if using.
4. Store the letter cards in a baggie if using.

Using the Beginning Sounds Alphabet Mats

To use the beginning sounds letter match-up mats, students will look at each picture on the mat and determine what letter sound is at the beginning of the word.

They will identify the letter that makes that sound and cover the picture with the corresponding letter tile, magnet, bead, etc.

To take it a step further, you can have your students tell you the word, the beginning sound, and which letter matches out loud. This will give them a little more practice.

If the students are using all 3 mats, they can switch it up by drawing a letter, making the beginning sound, and finding the picture that begins with that sound.

This beginning sounds activity is an effective, yet simple to understand activity that will give your students meaningful practice with this literacy skill. Incorporate it into your day in many ways and watch your students’ skills grow!

Click the button below to get the Beginning Sounds Alphabet Mats and start using them with your students!

Here are some more alphabet activities for you!

Paperless Alphabet Matching Mats

Paperless Alphabet Clip Cards

Pencil Alphabet Puzzles

Totally Awesome Alphabet Activities

Beginning Sounds Clip Cards

Alphabet Printables for Preschool and Kindergarten

Alphabet Play Dough Mats

Vowel sounds and letters. How many are there in Russian?

Free introductory lesson in Russian

Enroll

Correct pronunciation of words is one of the components of beautiful and literate speech. To achieve this, you will first have to study the sounds themselves. In this article, we will figure out together what vowel sounds are, how many vowels are in the alphabet of the Russian language, and what sounds they can represent.

What are vowels and sounds

Vowel sounds are those sounds that we freely convey with our voice. Hence their name comes from: voice means "voice". When pronouncing, air exits through the mouth and does not create noise, and the position of the tongue and lips determines which vowel sound we will pronounce.

There are much fewer vowels in Russian than consonants. There are 6 of them in total: [a], [o], [i], [s], [y] and [e]. To understand whether a vowel sound is in front of you or not, try to sing it. For example:

• a-a-a ,

• woo

• s-s-s .

If it works, then the sound is a vowel. You can't do that with consonants.

There are more vowels than sounds - there are 10 of them: a, i, u, u, o, e, e, e, i, s . This difference is due to the fact that some of these letters can represent two sounds and are pronounced using a combination of a vowel and a consonant [y']. For example, in the word spruce the letter e two sounds are expressed - [y '] and [e]. Let's look at the table all the vowel sounds and the letters that represent them.

Demo lesson in Russian

Take the test at the introductory lesson and find out what topics separate you from the "five" in Russian.

How vowel sounds are related to syllables

Vowel sounds form syllables - sound segments of words that we pronounce with one breath. One syllable can be either a vowel with one or more consonants, or a vowel alone. There is even a rule by which syllables can be counted: how many vowels in a word - so many syllables.

For example, in the word journey there are 5 vowels: [u], [i], [e], [i] and [e]. This means that it has 5 syllables: p-te-she-stv-e .

Test yourself!

Count the number of syllables in the words: try on, tanner, well-groomed, care, prefix, capital, wet, invitation, orange .

Vowel sounds and stress

Now let's see what groups vowel sounds are divided into. Sometimes their pronunciation depends on whether the stress falls on them, that is, whether we single them out with our voice. So vowel sounds are divided into stressed and unstressed. Here are some examples:

Stress in Russian can fall on any of the existing vowel sounds. However, only 4 of them can be unstressed - these are [a], [i], [y] and [s]. In this position, we pronounce sounds weaker than under stress, because of which they can change qualities and sound differently.

Interestingly, the vowels [o] and [e] can only be stressed. There are only a couple of exceptions to this rule: for example, in words cocoa and canoe sounds [o] and [e] in an unstressed position.

How unstressed vowels are related to consonants

How an unstressed vowel sounds depends on the consonant that precedes it. Or rather, from its hardness or softness. If it is a hard consonant, it can be followed by unstressed vowels [y], [a] and [s]. When we talk about a soft consonant, it is followed by unstressed vowels [y] and [and].

Free English lessons with a native speaker

Practice 15 minutes a day. Learn English grammar and vocabulary. Make language a part of life.

Test yourself

It's time to find out if you now understand well what vowel sounds are in Russian. To do this, we have prepared tasks for self-examination.

Task 1

List all the vowel sounds in these words:

• screech,

• fair,

• rejoice,

• doll,

• distant,

• buddy,

• voting,

• mirror,

• story,

• OK,

• captivate.