Beginning Sounds

What Are Beginning Sounds?

• A beginning sound is the very first sound you hear when you say a word.
• It is the "start" of the word that opens your mouth to speak.
• Most beginning sounds are made by Consonants (like the B in Ball).

How to Hear the Beginning Sound To find the beginning sound, we use the "Stretch and Stop" method:

1. Say the word very slowly (Example: S-S-S-U-N).
2. Stop at the very first letter you hear.
3. The sound you made at the start is the Beginning Sound.
4. In SUN, the beginning sound is /s/.

Matching Sounds to Words Different words can start with the same beginning sound. Look at these groups:

• The /B/ Sound: Bat, Bus, Bear, Ball.
• The /C/ Sound: Cat, Cup, Car, Cake.
• The /M/ Sound: Moon, Milk, Mouse, Mat.

Why Do Beginning Sounds Matter? Sometimes, changing just the initial sound creates a brand-new word!

• Start with _AT.
• Add C = CAT.
• Change to H = HAT.
• Change to M = MAT.
• The beginning sound tells us exactly what the word is.

Why Do We Learn This?

• It is the first step in learning how to Read and Write.
• It helps us "decode" a word by looking at the first letter for a clue.
• It helps us with Spelling because we learn to write the sound we hear first.

Lesson Summary

• The beginning sound is the "head" of the word.
• We can hear it by saying the word slowly.
• Changing the beginning sound changes the entire word.