How to teach - Beginning Sounds - Activity with miniature objects

Miniature objects are fantastic  tools to be used to help teach a child the sounds of each letter of the alphabet in a hands-on and fun way.

The teacher/ parent  would have a box for each letter of the alphabet that contains small objects that represent that letter sound. 

Find for Me : Randomly place all of the objects from 2 or 3 boxes onto the mat and ask the child to find an object that begins with  a letter sounds. After she identifies an object correctly, she can line it up under the appropriate letter and continue the game until all objects are with their respective letter.

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( This activity can only be done once the child knows the letter sounds of the letters that are taught) 

Bring Me! Place objects from two boxes around the room or anywhere else. . Ask the child  to bring you something that begins with one of the letter sounds you’re practicing. When she brings back the correct object, ask her to name it. Confirm the name and make note of the sound. Example: “Yes, that’s a cat . Can you hear the ‘c’ sound in the word ‘cat’?”

I Spy with my little eye : Put several objects from various containers on a mat or tray  and say “I spy with my little eye, something that begins with ‘ c’ .” The child then finds the object and names it and places it under the correct letter card. 

Matching Activity : Place the sandpaper letters out, spaced apart. Have your child trace the letter and make the sound. Mix the objects from 2-3 boxes, and allow the child to sort them by sound, placing the objects on the correct sandpaper letter.


Story Telling: Use the small objects from one box to tell a story. This will reinforce  the particular letter sound. As your child grows, you can incorporate more boxes at a time, and cue your child to which object she will need to include in her story next by holding up the sandpaper letter of which the next object should have the sound of.

Memory Game: Place all objects from one box on the tray. Have your child close her eyes and pick an object. Have her open her eyes and identify which object you removed or is missing from the tray. If she gets it right, give her a token. Take turns doing this until all of the objects are gone. Whomever has the most tokens, wins.