These worksheets work on understanding the sounds that certain letters make.

A flagship principle of the alphabet is that each letter has a related or connected sound that is unique to it. These sounds occur in a very predictable manner. This helps students progress towards being able to say and understand words. This is first step in the process. After students understand the sounds that are produced, they learn how to arrange those letters and sounds to create their own words. In some parts of these worksheets you have multiple letters that can be used to make word, but pay attention to the pictures that are provided. There is much debate as to how many letter sounds there are. It is commonly accept that there are 40-45 distinct sounds. The fact that there is debate over this, when you spell a tough word incorrectly should make you feel better. An interesting fact is that the letters "Y" and "W" can and many times serve as vowel sounds. But there are 16 consonants that have consistent sounds they are called constant consonants.



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Print Letters and Sounds Worksheets

Click the buttons to print each worksheet and associated answer key.

Picture Worksheet

Work Off Of Pictures

Look at the pictures and fill in the missing letter to complete each word.

at Family Worksheet

The "at" Family

Look at the pictures and fill in what is missing to complete each word.

Verbalize Worksheet

Say it Aloud

Say the name of each picture. Write the first letter on the line.

Beginning Sounds Worksheet

The Beginning

Draw a line matching each picture with the letter that makes its beginning sound.

Tt Worksheet

The Sounds of the Letter Tt

"T" is one of the most commonly used consonants in the English language. Trace the "t". Practice writing it on the line. Then write it under each picture that begins with the t sound.

Match the Pitch Worksheet

Match the Pitch

Draw a line matching each picture with the letter that makes its beginning sound.

In the Zoo Worksheet

Who’s Who in the Zoo?

Say the name of each picture. What will complete the word? Draw a line connecting the symbols to the name of each picture. Finish it off by filling in the blank.

F Sounds Worksheet

The “F” Sound

Look at the pictures and fill in the missing symbol to complete each word.

Missing Mark Worksheet

Fill in the Missing Mark

Say the name of each picture aloud. Use the letters above to fill in the missing parts. This will help you transition to words.

/b/ Worksheet

Find the Tone of: /b/

Say the name of each picture. Circle each picture that has the /b/ sound somewhere in its name.

/w/ Sound Worksheet

Find the /w/ Sound

Read and say the name of each picture aloud. Then identify each picture that has the /w/ sound somewhere in its name.

/Rr/ Sound Worksheet

Rr - That Rascal!

This symbol appears in just over seven and a half percent of all words in the English language. Trace the r and practice writing iton the line. Then write the r under each picture that begins with the r sound.

Who Is In There Worksheet

Who Is In There?

Say the name of each picture. Write the letter whose sound you hear at the beginning of the word.

Beginnings Worksheet

Circle the Beginnings

Circle the correct beginning sound for each picture. You may need to say each of these out loud.

Starter Sound Worksheet

Starter Sounds

Look at the pictures and fill in the missing symbol to complete each word.

Letters and the Sounds that They Make

The English language has forty-four unique sounds called phonemes, yet there are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet. This is because the English alphabet was rooted in Latin. The Latin alphabet lacked a full vowel spectrum and also lacked the sounds for Ch, Dj, Ng, Sh, and Th. We make these sounds up by chunking letters together to produce these sounds.

The traditional method of teaching letters and their sounds involves teaching children about the letter names. It is important to note that not all letters of the alphabet represent their true sounds.

The 26 letters of the English language have 44 sounds (phonemes) with many letters and spelling patterns (graphemes) to represent those sounds. Here, we have listed all 26 letters and their 44 sounds, spelling patterns, and examples.

1. Letter A, a

What You Hear: ā -ee (long a to long e, also spell "ay")

Other Acceptable Tones: æ, ā, ah, ā-uh, uh

Examples: cat, late, ball, and, around

2. Letter B, b

What You Hear: Bee

Other Acceptable Tones: buh

Examples: bike

3. Letter C, c

What You Hear: See

Other Acceptable Tones: kuh, suh

Examples: cake, city

4. Letter D, d

What You Hear: Dee

Other Acceptable Tones: duh

Examples: do

5. Letter E,e

What You Hear: Ee

Other Acceptable Tones: eh, ee, silent

Examples: bread, tree, bake

6. Letter F,f

What You Hear: Ef

Other Acceptable Tones: fuh

Examples: feed

7. Letter G,g

What You Hear: Jee

Other Acceptable Tones: guh, juh

Examples: gate, large

8. Letter H,h

What You Hear: ā-ch

Other Acceptable Tones:

huh, silent

Examples: what, hotel

9. Letter I, i

What You Hear: ah-ee

Other Acceptable Tones: ah-ee, ĭ

Examples: Ice, bit

10. Letter J,j

What You Hear: Jay

Other Acceptable Tones: juh

Examples: jacket

11. Letter K,k

What You Hear: Kay

Other Acceptable Tones: kuh

Examples: kite

12. Letter L,l

What You Hear: El

Other Acceptable Tones: luh, ul

Examples: lit, fill

13. Letter M,m

What You Hear: Em

Other Acceptable Tones: muh

Examples: monitor

14. Letter N,n

What You Hear: En

Other Acceptable Tones: nuh

Examples: night

15. Letter O,o

What You Hear: ō (oh)

Other Acceptable Tones: ah, ō, uh, oo, ů

Examples: not, grow, computer, cool, book

16. Letter P,p

What You Hear: Pee

Other Acceptable Tones: puh

Examples: put

17. Letter Q,q

What You Hear: Kyoo (kyū)

Other Acceptable Tones: kwuh

Examples: quickly

18. Letter R,r

What You Hear: Ah-r

Other Acceptable Tones: ruh, ur

Examples: rat, dirt

19. Letter S,s

What You Hear: Es

Other Acceptable Tones: suh, zuh

Examples: stick, is

20. Letter T,t

What You Hear: Tee

Other Acceptable Tones: tuh, duh, N, silent, stopped tuh

Examples: turnip, better, fountain, interview, got

21. Letter U,u

What You Hear: Yoo (yū)

Other Acceptable Tones: uh, yoo, oo, ů

Examples: up, usually, fluke, full

22. Letter V,v

What You Hear: Vee

Other Acceptable Tones: vuh

Examples: very

23. Letter W,w

What You Hear: Dubōyoo

Other Acceptable Tones: wuh, silent

Examples: well, slow

24. Letter X,x

What You Hear: Eks

Other Acceptable Tones: ks, zuh

Examples: box, xylophone

25. Letter Y,y

What You Hear: Wah-ee

Other Acceptable Tones: yuh, ee, ah-ee (i), ĭ

Examples: yes, nappy, try, cylinder

26. Letter Z,z

What You Hear: Zee (English US), Zed (English UK)

Other Acceptable Tones: zuh

Examples: zebra

Final Consideration

The letter name approach can confuse the children when they are learning to pronounce words using these letters. To counter this, educationists have developed a modern idea known as letter-sound correspondence, or a grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC).

This is a systematic approach that teaches children how to read using phonics. Many schools have adopted this methodology and have split it into six phases. These phases are spread over 3 to 4 years and help the students become fluent readers around the time when they start their 2nd grade.