Letter-sound practice does not need to happen on a screen. A letter tile, a few picture cards, or a familiar object can give a child something real to look at, touch, and talk about.
What matters is helping children connect a letter they can see with a sound they can hear and say. The Institute of Education Sciences' practice guide for foundational reading skills gives strong-evidence recommendations for developing children's awareness of sounds in speech and linking those sounds to letters.
A short, repeatable routine can make that connection clear:
Place a letter. Hear the sound. Say it out loud. Try again.
Start with the sound and the print together
Children benefit from hearing and playing with spoken sounds. They also need explicit practice connecting those sounds to letters. These activities work well together: briefly draw attention to a sound, then show how it connects to print.
For example, say, "Listen: moon starts with /m/." Show the letter m, say its sound, and invite the child to repeat it. Then find another word that begins with /m/.
This is different from asking children to memorize a long list of letter names or sounds without using them. The goal is to help them notice a sound, connect it to a written letter, and use that knowledge in a meaningful way.
When you model a sound, keep it crisp. Say /m/, not "muh." That makes it easier for children to hear the sound clearly when they begin blending it with others.
A four-step routine for letter sounds
Choose a letter or a small set of letters your child is ready to practice. Use correspondences that fit with what they are learning in class. Then follow the same steps each time.
1. Place a letter
Show one letter at a time. Ask the child to place, point to, or pick it up. Name it if that is part of the practice.
Keep the choice simple at first. One letter is enough for a new learner; two or three can work for a child who knows some already. You might use letter cards, magnetic letters, tiles, or letters printed on small pieces of paper.
2. Hear the sound
Say the sound clearly and connect it to the letter: "This is s. It says /s/." Invite the child to listen and repeat. You can also say a word that begins with the sound, such as sun, and draw attention to its first sound.
If the child gives the letter name instead of the sound, model the difference without making it a big deal: "That's the letter name. Its sound is /s/. Say /s/ with me."
3. Say it out loud
Give the child a chance to say the sound independently. Saying it helps make the practice active. It also gives you a chance to hear what they know.
If a child is unsure, say the sound again and invite them to echo you. Then offer another try after a little more practice. There is no need to turn every response into a test.
4. Try again
Repeat the same letter or mix it in with letters the child already knows. Repetition helps children get more chances to listen, say the sound, and make the connection again.
Keep the pace relaxed. A successful round might be a few turns with the same letter, followed by one quick review of a familiar letter. When attention starts to drift, pause and come back later.
Add a little practice with words
Once children have practiced a sound with its letter, use it in a simple word. For example, after practicing m, say map and ask, "What sound do you hear at the beginning?" Show the m and connect it to /m/.
Children who are ready can try blending sounds they have already learned. Place the letters m, a, and t in order. Say each sound, then slowly blend them: /m/ /a/ /t/, mat. Keep the activity within the child's taught sounds. There is no need to introduce a harder word just to make the activity longer.
Some sound activities can begin with spoken words alone. But when the goal is teaching letter sounds, bring in the printed letter too. That visible link between speech and print is an important part of practice.
Make it work in a small group
A brief routine can fit into a reading intervention group or a short practice session at home. To make sure every child gets a turn:
- Use a small set of target letters. Pick letters the group is learning or reviewing rather than presenting many new ones at once.
- Give each child something to do. Children can each hold a letter, point to a card, or take turns placing a tile.
- Listen for individual responses. Group echoing can be useful, but it does not always show what each child knows. Build in a moment for every child to say a sound.
- Respond calmly to errors. Say the correct sound, have the child repeat it, and offer another chance.
- Notice what to practice next. A quick note about which letters a child recognizes and which sounds they can say can help you plan the next session.
For younger children, a handful of focused turns may be enough. For a child who is ready, you can extend the routine with a simple word or a quick sound hunt. Let the child's response guide the pace.
Use materials that invite another turn
Screen-free activities can be simple: letter cards, magnetic letters, paper tiles, or objects around the room. Point to a b and find a ball. Hold up t and listen for the first sound in top. The material matters less than the clear connection between the letter and its sound.
For a hands-on option, Dash follows the same four steps. Children place physical letters on pathways, hear immediate audio feedback, say the sound, and try again. It offers one way to structure repeat practice without a screen. An adult can still model the sound, invite children to respond, and guide the next turn.
Dash was created by educator Angela Martinez, drawing on classroom experience. You can read more about the routine on the Dash learning approach page.
Keep practice steady and low-pressure
Children learn at different paces. Some may need more time with letter recognition before saying sounds on their own. Others may be ready to connect a sound to a word. Use a small number of letters, give clear models, and return to the same routine often.
The point is not to get through the alphabet in one sitting. It is to give children repeated, useful chances to see a letter, hear its sound, say it, and try again. Over time, those small moments can help make letter-sound practice feel familiar, and give children a foundation to use as they learn to read and write.
For more detail on foundational reading instruction, explore the IES practice guide. For a closer look at Dash, visit Dash the Dino.
