Using a 'Letter Sounds' Poster

A Very Useful Prop to Help Your Child Learn the 'Letter Sounds'

T o help you teach the Letter Sounds (normally known as 'Synthetic Phonics') to your child you will need a Letter Sound poster or Letter Sound frieze. You'll be using the item a lot with your child !

You won't need much wall space for the Letter Sound Poster.

This frieze works well in a childs room if have large wall space.

You can also print the EasyStreetLearning Letter Sound sheets here, they are perfect as a handy reference. They are in PDF format, if you don't have a PDF viewer then you can install it FREE from here.

Once you have a Letter Sounds sheet or wall frieze you can use, simply pick the first group and talk about what is shown in the pictures each day. Don't talk about the letters or Letter Sounds just yet. Ask your child questions about the pictures to keep them engaged. What you are doing is ensuring your child knows the words used in each picture. Repeat this each day until your child is confident about the objects in each picture for the first group of Letter Sounds.

Next, teach your child the Letter Sounds, show them by example. Start simply with the first group and it's first Letter Sound, 's'.

Trace over the Letter Sound 's' with your finger the and say "This is the Letter Sound for 's'. The word s-nake begins with the Letter Sound 's', s-nake". When you make the sound 's' emphasise the way your mouth moves to help your child.

Add video example here.

Do this for a few days, when your child is ready, they will want to join in with you. Then let them do it themselves, point to the Letter Sound for 's' and ask your child which Letter Sound it is. If they can't tell you, ask them to get a clue from the picture and then simply tell them, "This is the Letter Sound 's'".

Once your child is confident move onto the next sound in the group. Eventually, with enough practice they will run through the first group themselves !

Move at your child's pace. Keep it fun, talk about the pictures that go with the letter sound.

After you have covered the first group, and your child can confidently tell you the Letter Sounds they are ready to use those sounds in here to be shown how to read words made up from the letters sounds in the group ! Refer to the next step "Reading First Steps... Sounding-Out Words", for this.

Once your child learns a group of Letter Sounds, move onto the next group. Repeat this until your child is confident with all the Letter Sounds.

Each day review the Letters Sounds you have covered to help your child remember them.

To keep your child engaged, one parent used a long stick which they called a "teaching stick". They allowed their child to point to the Letter Sound as they said the sound for it.

Don't forget continue to read to your child daily !

The 'Synthetic Phonics' Method is not Difficult!

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