50 Hands-On Ways to Practise Letter–Sound Relationships | Phonics Foundations™

Fi Lang
22 hours ago
2 min read

Here are 50 hands-on ways to practise letter–sound relationships with young children. Most use simple materials you probably already have at home.

1–10: Magnetic Letters

Match magnetic letters to picture cards.
Find the letter that makes the first sound in a word.
Build simple CVC words (sat, pin, mat).
Sort letters into vowels and consonants.
Hide letters and identify them by touch.
Match uppercase and lowercase letters.
Make a letter and say its sound.
Build a word you say aloud.
Replace one letter to make a new word.
Stick letters on the fridge and hunt for a target sound.

11–20: Sensory Play

Trace letters in sand.
Write letters in shaving foam.
Form letters with playdough.
Trace letters in salt trays.
Paint letters with water outside.
Make letters with sticks.
Build letters using pipe cleaners.
Write letters in kinetic sand.
Use finger paint to form letters.
Create letters with loose parts (buttons, stones).

21–30: Movement Activities

Jump onto the correct letter card.
Hop to letters that make a target sound.
Throw a beanbag onto a letter and say its sound.
Run and collect objects beginning with a target sound.
Form letters with your body.
Letter scavenger hunt around the house.
Letter obstacle course.
Walk along chalk letters while saying sounds.
Toss balls into buckets labelled with letters.
Letter relay races.

31–40: Craft Activities

Make letter collages.
Glue pictures onto matching letter posters.
Create alphabet crowns.
Decorate one focus letter each week.
Cut letters from magazines.
Make an alphabet scrapbook.
Build letters from craft sticks.
Create letter puppets.
Make sound books featuring one letter.
Create a sound sorting poster.

41–50: Games

Letter-sound bingo.
Memory matching with letters and pictures.
Fishing game with magnetic letters.
Letter treasure hunt.
Sound I Spy ("I spy something beginning with /s/").
Roll a dice and find that many letters.
Spin and say the sound.
Letter matching puzzles.
Feed the puppet letters that make a target sound.
Mystery bag—pull out an object and match it to its beginning sound.

A Professional Note

When teaching letter–sound relationships, focus on the sound, not the letter name, particularly in the early stages. Keep activities short, playful and repetitive. Children learn best when they can see, hear, say and physically manipulate letters while connecting them to spoken sounds.

A Simple Way to Get Started

If you’re unsure where to start or what order to teach sounds in, that’s completely normal.

That’s exactly why we created a parent-led phonics program—so you can support your child at home with clear, simple steps, without needing a teaching background.

👉 Start here: Parent-Led Phonics Program

About the Author

Fi Lang is an Early Years Education Consultant (Early Phonics Specialist). She is the creator of the Phonics Foundations™ program, designed to help parents confidently teach their children to read from the very beginning.