Recognizing letters and the sounds they make is the first step in creating positive associations with reading. 

And the first place to start is with beginning letter sounds! 

In our beginning sound dominoes game, students will identify each letter sound and connect the matching letter and picture.

Practice Pairing Letters & Sounds with Our Beginning Sounds Game

This resource can be used as a reading center activity, with your guided reading group, or as a full class activity to practice applying letter-sound correspondence and beginning sounds.

There are 2 versions of this activity included with your download:

• Matching the letter with the picture that has that beginning sound 
• Matching pictures that have the same beginning sound, e.g., dog = dinosaur

To play, choose either version of the game, depending on your students’ proficiency. Shuffle the cards, and divide them equally among players. One player lays a domino down the middle of the playing area. Students take turns matching the letter with its picture (or pictures with matching beginning sounds).

For example, if a player were to lay down the “🐝” domino. The next player would then play the domino with “Bb,” laying it adjacent to the picture. Gameplay continues in this way until someone lays down their last domino, making them the winner.

Turn This Activity into Even More Beginning Sounds Games

We’ve got lots of ideas for turning this set of dominoes into fun reading activities for your whole class and fast finishers!

Letter Clips 

This version is especially helpful for those students who are struggling to match the letters of the alphabet with their sounds. Gather 52 clothespins and write a letter of the alphabet on each so that you have 2 sets of each letter. Using the picture version of the game, have students identify the word and choose the clothespin that matches the first letter of each card. Because there is one card for each letter of the alphabet, you will be easily able to check their work and help with any cards giving the student trouble. 

Beginning Sounds Human Chain (Scoot Activity)

Provide each student in your class with a domino. Challenge the students to find both of their other halves, creating one long chain of dominoes. For an extra challenge ask the students to complete the task in silence!

Bell Ringer Activity

Project a letter/picture card for your students to see as soon as they enter the classroom. On a piece of paper, have students write one word that starts with the letter, and write the first letter of the word in the picture. 

Initial Sounds Scaffolding & Extension Tips

Once students have combined all the words, have them put the letter side of the dominoes in alphabetical order. Then, have them put the picture side in alphabetical order. 

Invite students to use a visual reminder such as an beginning sounds anchor chart or an alphabet chart to sound out words they may struggle with. 

Check out 10 helpful scaffolding strategies here! 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Print the task cards on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all game parts in a folder or large envelope. 

Before You Download

Use the drop-down icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

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This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

 

We’ve got more beginning, middle, and end sounds activities in the reading area, but our members and their students especially like these: