Every word has a beginning and an end
Words are like trains. They have a front, a middle and an end. When we listen closely, we can hear the sound at the front of the word and the sound at the end.
Say sun. The beginning sound is /s/. The ending sound is /n/.
Say dog. The beginning sound is /d/. The ending sound is /g/.
Learning to hear these sounds is a big step toward reading and spelling. Each small sound in a word is called a phoneme. Sun has three phonemes: /s/ /u/ /n/.
Why it matters
When you can hear the first sound in a word, you know which letter to write first. When you can hear the last sound, you know how the word ends. That is how spelling begins.
Hearing sounds also helps you read. If you see m, you know the word starts with /m/. That gives you a clue about what the word might be.
How to find the beginning sound
- Say the word slowly. Try fish.
- Stretch the first sound. /fff/ … ish.
- Say just that first sound. /f/.
- Think of the letter. /f/ is the letter f.
Pulling out one sound like this is called being able to isolate a sound. It means you can hold one sound by itself.
Tip: Look in a mirror while you say the first sound. Your mouth shows you what it is doing. For /b/, your lips pop open. For /s/, your teeth are close together and air hisses out.
How to find the ending sound
Ending sounds can be harder to hear because the word is almost finished. Here is a trick.
- Say the word slowly. Try cat.
- Stretch it out: /c/ … /a/ … /t/.
- Stop and listen to the very last bit. /t/.
- Say just that sound. /t/ is the letter t.
Another trick is to say the word and then “freeze” your mouth at the end. Where is your tongue? For cat, it is tapping behind your top teeth, saying /t/.
The middle sound
Short words like cat, pig and hot also have a middle sound. It is usually a vowel. In cat, it is /a/. In pig, it is /i/. In hot, it is /o/. The middle sound is often the hardest to hear, so take your time and stretch the word.
Let’s try some examples
Example 1: What is the beginning sound in moon?
Stretch it: /mmm/ … oon. The beginning sound is /m/.
Example 2: What is the ending sound in bus?
Stretch it: /b/ /u/ /sss/. The ending sound is /s/.
Example 3: Do bat and ball have the same beginning sound?
Bat starts with /b/. Ball starts with /b/. Yes!
Example 4: Do hat and hop have the same ending sound?
Hat ends with /t/. Hop ends with /p/. No, they are different.
Example 5: Which word ends with /g/? pig, pin, pit
Stretch each one. Pi-g ends with /g/. The answer is pig.
Some tricky sounds
Some sounds are made with two letters together:
- sh as in ship and fish
- ch as in chip and lunch
- th as in thumb and bath
These still make one sound. In ship, the beginning sound is /sh/, not /s/.
Some letters look different from the sound they make:
- Phone begins with the /f/ sound, even though it starts with ph.
- Knee begins with the /n/ sound, because the k is silent.
When you are just starting, listen for the sound. You will learn these special spellings later.
Common mistakes
- Saying the letter name instead of the sound. The beginning sound of dog is /d/, not “dee.”
- Adding “uh”. Say /p/, not “puh.” Keep it clean.
- Mixing up the beginning and the end. Point to the left side of your hand for “beginning” and the right side for “end” while you say the word.
- Rushing. Stretch the word so you can hear every sound.
Games to play
- I spy. “I spy something that begins with /t/.” (A table? A toy?)
- Sound sort. Put toys into piles by their first sound: ball, bear, bus in one pile; car, cup, cat in another.
- Tail game. One person says a word. The next person must say a word that starts with the ending sound of that word: dog … goat … top … pig…
- Sound hop. Lay three paper plates on the floor for beginning, middle and end. Hop on each one as you say each sound in a word.
Try it yourself
- What is the beginning sound in zebra? In leaf?
- What is the ending sound in sun? In cup?
- Which two words start with the same sound? mop, man, cat
- What is the middle sound in bed?
Answers: 1. /z/ and /l/. 2. /n/ and /p/. 3. mop and man. 4. /e/.
Grown-up tip
Play sound games during everyday routines. At dinner, ask, “What sound does pasta start with?” On a walk, look for things that end with /t/ (cat, hat, gate). Stretch words slowly and let your child say the sound before you do. Praise careful listening, even when the answer is not quite right yet.
Quick recap
- The beginning sound is the first sound in a word.
- The ending sound is the last sound in a word.
- Short words also have a middle sound, often a vowel.
- Stretch words slowly to hear every sound.
- Say the sound, not the letter name.
- Each small sound in a word is a phoneme.