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Letter sounds
Knowing the sound each letter makes: /s/, not "ess". Little Roos has 2 free games that practise it, for ages 3-6.
Where it fits
In the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2), with the official wording:
- AC9EFLY11 (Australian Curriculum v9: English, Foundation): recognise and name all upper- and lower-case letters (graphs) and know the most common sound that each letter represents.
- EYLF 5.4 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0): Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work.
Games that practise it
- Dingo's Echo: Letter sounds, by hearing a sound and finding the letter that makes it. Ages 3-6.
- Blend It, Bandicoot: Blending sounds into words: hear s … u … n, and find the sun. Ages 4-6.
Away from the screen
About two minutes each, with things most homes have.
I spy, with sounds (from Dingo's Echo)
- Play I spy with sounds, not letter names: "I spy something beginning with /s/."
- Say the sound on its own, without an "uh" after it.
- Take turns.
Robot talk (from Blend It, Bandicoot)
- Talk like a robot, one sound at a time: "Get your h … a … t."
- Your child works out the word and fetches it.
- Swap: they robot-talk, you guess.
Things to ask while they play
- Can you make that sound too?
- Which letter makes that sound?
- Can you say the sounds faster, and push them together?
- What word do those sounds make?
More skills in Letters and sounds, or every skill.
Updated