Grade: Kindergarten Subject: English Language Arts Unit: Phonemic Awareness SAT: Information+Ideas ACT: Reading

Listening Practice

Train your ears to hear every sound in words! Good listeners become great readers.

📖 Learning to Listen Closely

Every Word Has Sounds

Words are made up of small sounds put together. When we listen carefully, we can hear each sound in a word!

👂

Close your eyes and listen!

When a grown-up says a word slowly, you can hear all the sounds.

Super Listener Tip! Put your hand on your chin when you say a word. Each time your chin drops, that's a new sound or syllable!

💡 Breaking Words Into Sounds

Let's practice hearing each sound in short words!

👂 Listen to "cat"

Say it slowly: c - a - t

/k/ first
/a/ middle
/t/ last

🐱 "Cat" has 3 sounds!

👂 Listen to "dog"

Say it slowly: d - o - g

/d/ first
/o/ middle
/g/ last

🐕 "Dog" has 3 sounds!

👂 Listen to "sun"

Say it slowly: s - u - n

/s/ first
/u/ middle
/n/ last

☀️ "Sun" has 3 sounds!

✏️ Practice Time!

Listen carefully and answer the questions about sounds in words!

Problem 1: How many sounds are in "hat"?

🎩 Hat

Say it slowly: h - a - t

Problem 2: What is the FIRST sound in "mouse"?

🐭 Mouse

Problem 3: What is the LAST sound in "bed"?

🛏️ Bed

Problem 4: What is the MIDDLE sound in "pig"?

🐷 Pig

Problem 5: How many sounds are in "go"?

🏃 Go

Say it slowly: g - o

Problem 6: What is the FIRST sound in "fish"?

🐟 Fish

Problem 7: What is the LAST sound in "cup"?

Cup

Problem 8: How many sounds are in "jump"?

🦘 Jump

Say it slowly: j - u - m - p

🎮 Listening Activities

🔢 Sound Counting Game

Say each word slowly and count the sounds on your fingers!

  • me = 2 sounds (m-e)
  • top = 3 sounds (t-o-p)
  • stop = 4 sounds (s-t-o-p)

Try these: run, big, hand, it, frog

👂 Robot Talk

Pretend to be a robot! Robots say each sound separately.

  1. Pick a simple word (like "cat")
  2. Say it like a robot: "c - a - t"
  3. Have a friend guess your word!
  4. Take turns being the robot

🎯 Same Sound Sorting

Sort words by their sounds!

  1. Listen to two words
  2. Do they start with the same sound?
  3. Do they end with the same sound?
  4. Group words that share sounds together!

Try: cat/cup (same start!), dog/frog (same end!)

🎤 Stretch and Blend

Practice stretching words and putting them back together!

  1. Stretch: Say "sssss - uuuuu - nnnnn"
  2. Blend: Put it together - "sun!"
  3. Try with: map, red, sit, hop

✅ Check Your Understanding

Which word has MORE sounds: "it" or "sit"?

The word "map" has the same LAST sound as which word?

📝 What We Learned

👂

Listen Closely

Every word is made of small sounds we can hear.

🐢

Go Slow

Say words slowly to hear each sound.

🔢

Count Sounds

Use your fingers to count sounds in words.

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First, Middle, Last

Sounds can be at the start, middle, or end of a word.

🚀 Next Steps

  • Practice counting sounds in words you see around you
  • Play robot talk with your family
  • Listen for sounds in your favorite stories
  • Try the Sound Writing lesson to connect sounds to letters!