Phonics Fun: Circle the Beginning Sound Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet builds phonemic awareness by asking children to listen for a picture's beginning sound and circle the letter that matches it, a core early-reading skill that connects spoken sounds to written letters. For ages 4-5, this kind of sound-to-letter matching is one of the clearest predictors of later reading success, since it requires isolating individual sounds within a spoken word.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Look at the first picture together and ask your child to say its name slowly and clearly, emphasizing the very first sound they hear. Show your child the letter choices in that box and ask them to think about which letter makes the sound they just said. Have your child circle the letter that matches the beginning sound of the picture's name. Continue through each remaining picture the same way, sounding out each word slowly before circling the matching letter.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Crayons
Extension activities
- •Play an 'I spy' game around the house, finding objects that start with a specific sound your child names.
- •Sort picture cards into piles based on their beginning sounds, one pile per letter.
- •Draw a new picture of something that starts with the same sound as one from the worksheet.
- •Practice with a mirror, watching mouth shapes as you both say different beginning sounds together.
- •Make up a silly sentence using several words that all start with the same sound, like 'Sally sees six silly snakes.'
Tips for parents and teachers
Say each word slowly and clearly, stretching out the very first sound, since young children often need to hear a sound isolated before they can identify it confidently. Some beginning sounds, especially blends or less common consonants, are harder to isolate than others, so expect a few pictures to take longer than the rest. Celebrating attempts, even incorrect ones, keeps children willing to guess and try, which is essential for building phonemic awareness confidence.
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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