Hard and Soft 'g' Sounds Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet teaches children ages 3-5 that the letter 'g' can make two different sounds — a hard /g/ as in 'goat' and a soft /j/ as in 'giraffe' — and asks them to sort words by color to show which sound applies. Understanding that one letter can represent more than one sound is an important step beyond basic phonics, preparing children for the many spelling irregularities they'll encounter as readers.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Read through the list of 'g' words together, saying each one aloud and listening carefully to how the 'g' sounds. Have your child circle the words with the soft /j/ sound in blue, like 'giant' or 'gem', and the words with the hard /g/ sound in pink, like 'gate' or 'goose'. Once finished, go back through both color groups and reread every word aloud to reinforce the pattern.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Blue crayon
- Pink crayon
Extension activities
- •Sort toy animals or objects by whether their name has a hard or soft 'g' sound.
- •Think of new hard 'g' and soft 'g' words together and add them to each color group.
- •Play a listening game where you say a 'g' word and your child gives a thumbs up for hard g or thumbs down for soft g.
- •Draw a small picture next to a few words on the worksheet to reinforce meaning.
Tips for parents and teachers
This is a genuinely tricky phonics rule, so don't expect mastery in one sitting — the goal is simply exposure and early pattern recognition. If your child struggles to hear the difference, exaggerate the two sounds side by side (goat, giant, goat, giant) so the contrast is obvious. Praise attentive listening over correct color choices, since the listening skill is what matters most at this stage.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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