First Sound Sort is a game that you can play with one child or a group of children to help them practice listening for the first sound of different words. In this activity, children learn to listen for and isolate the first sound of a word, and also learn that a letter sound can appear in many different words.

This activity is a ready to read activity, for children who have mastered many of the skills needed to learn to read and write. 

This activity is a linguistic awareness activity. Linguistic awareness refers to a child's understanding of how language works, including the understanding of how sounds come together to make words.

My child is having trouble doing this activity. How can I help?
If a child is having difficulty with this activity, start with two letter sounds and bins or containers instead of three. Pick two sounds that are easy to say and hear, such as the sounds of the letters "m" and "p." Have several objects for each sound, and do the activity along with the child, helping him or her say each object name and emphasize the first sound.

Here are some ideas for sounds and objects:

Sound of the letter “m”:  mitten, marble, marker, mask, magnet, monkey, mail, mug, mouse

Sound of the letter “p”: pen, pencil, pail, peas, pan, pizza, pot, penny, pig, puzzle, popcorn

How can I make this activity more challenging?
By adding some additional letter sounds and containers or bins, you give the children more sounds to be aware of and choose from.

Where can I find this activity? (The links below are PDF files that will open in a new window.)

First Sound Sort for one adult with one child, in English

First Sound Sort for one adult with a group of children, in English

First Sound Sort for one adult with a group of children, in Spanish