Matching Beginning Sounds

Purpose/Skills

• To provide the experience of listening to and matching initial sounds in words
• To perceive sounds and initial phonemes
• To begin associating sounds and words

Materials
Self-adhesive notes and marker

Literature Suggestion
Read Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg, or any book featuring animals that children can name.

• Review Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg.
• Help children say the name and beginning sound of the name of each animal that Arnold wanted to keep (dog /d/, kitten /k/, python /p/).
• Invite children to think of a first name for each animal that starts with the same sound as the animal name. Examples: Dixie Dog, Kenny Kitten (also accept Cuddly Kitten), and Patty Python.

Procedure

• Explain that you are going to play a listening and matching game.
• Tell children that they will point to things in the room that start with the same sound as the beginning sound in their names.
• Go through the following sequence:
• Ask a volunteer to say his or her first name. (Example: Lisa)
• Repeat the child's name and the first sound. (Lisa; The first sound in Lisa's name is /l/.)
• Ask the child to look around the room for something that begins with /l/. Write the word for the object the child selects on a sticky note and ask the child to put the note on the object.
• After the child places the note, repeat the child's name and the name of the object with the same initial sound.
• Repeat the game with other children.

Enrichment
Pick an initial sound (such as /p/) and invite the children to find as many objects as possible in the room that start with that sound. (Examples: paper, puppets, picture) Have children repeat the initial sound aloud as they search.

Observation Assessment

• Proficient - Child says the initial sound clearly and finds an object that has the same initial sound as his/her name.
• In Process - Child has difficulty saying the initial sound and finding an object that has the same initial sound, but can do so with some help.
• Not Yet Ready - Child does not yet say the initial sound of his/her name or find an object with the same initial sound.