How to Introduce a New Sound
A Simple Four Step Guide
Step 1 - Capital and lower case
- Introduce the capital and lower case letters at the same time. It's important for children to be able to identify both capital and lower case letters. Explain that we use lower case letters most of the time, but we use capital letters at the start of a sentence and for names of people and places. Our Phonics Flashcards - Phase 2 and Phase 3 showcase both the lowercase and capital forms of each letter and are the perfect resource to demonstrate the letters to your child.
Step 2 - Letter name and sound
- Say the name of the letter and the sound it makes. It's important for children to know both the letter name and the sound. Letter names are often used in shop names, addresses and in the ABC song.
Step 3 - Writing the letter
- Practise writing the letter in the air with your finger before using a pencil. The larger muscles in our arm and hand are easier to control and will help your child learn the shape of the letter. Once you have written it in the air a few times have a go with a pencil. Ensure your child forms the letter in the correct way. Providing your child with lines to write on will also help to aid correct letter formation.
Step 4 - Sound hunt
- Go on a hunt around the house to find objects that begin with the sound. Making learning fun and active will help children to remember the information. For more simple phonics games to introduce letters and sounds take a look at the Phase 2 Phonics Activity Cards which are bursting with over 40 fun phonics ideas.