When I started teaching my son to read, he was 2. Before any books, before any sight words, we started with one thing: letter sounds.
Not the letter names (“ay, bee, see”), but the sounds the letters make in words: “a” as in apple, “b” as in ball. That is what a child actually needs to read cat, sun and pig.
The tricky part? Many of us grown-ups were never taught the sounds clearly ourselves. So I made a short video you can watch with your child.
Watch: how to say the letter sounds
Each sound is said twice, then in a word. Pause after each one and let your child say it back.
Why this order: s, a, t, i, p, n
The video goes in the same order as my book, Ready to Read. It starts with s, a, t, i, p and n because those six sounds alone make lots of real words: sat, pat, tap, pin, nap, sit, tip. Your child gets to read real words within the first week, and that early win matters.
All 26 letter sounds
| Letter | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| s | “s” as in sun |
| a | “a” as in apple |
| t | “t” as in top |
| i | “i” as in ink |
| p | “p” as in pig |
| n | “n” as in nest |
| c | “c” as in cat |
| k | “k” as in kite |
| e | “e” as in egg |
| h | “h” as in hat |
| r | “r” as in rain |
| m | “m” as in moon |
| d | “d” as in dog |
| g | “g” as in goat |
| o | “o” as in octopus |
| u | “u” as in up |
| l | “l” as in lion |
| f | “f” as in fish |
| b | “b” as in ball |
| j | “j” as in jam |
| z | “z” as in zebra |
| w | “w” as in whale |
| v | “v” as in van |
| y | “y” as in yam |
| x | “ks” as in fox |
| q | “kw” as in queen |
Two to notice: x usually sounds like “ks” at the end of a word (fox, box), and q almost always comes with u and says “kw” (queen).
4 tips that make the biggest difference
- Keep it short and clean. Say “t”, not “tuh”. If you add “uh” to every sound, c-a-t becomes “cuh-a-tuh”, and blending gets so much harder.
- Stretch the sounds you can stretch. s, m, n, f, l, r, v and z can be held: sss, mmm, nnn. This helps later when your child blends sounds into words.
- A little every day beats a lot once a week. Even 2 minutes of listening to the sounds in the car or before bed adds up fast.
- Make it a ritual before screen time. Before my son watched anything, we played the letter sounds video first. It became part of our routine, and I noticed how quickly he started remembering the sounds. A few minutes, every time the screen goes on, adds up fast.
How we practised at home
- Play the video and pause after each sound so your child can say it back.
- Pick 3 sounds for the week and hunt for them around the house: “What starts with mmm? Moon, milk, mummy!”
- Once s, a, t, i, p and n feel easy, try blending: point to s-a-t and say the sounds slowly, then faster, until they hear “sat”.
Save this for later: pin the image below so you can find the video again.
Want the full plan?
Ready to Read is the 60-day plan I used with my son, from first letter sounds to reading little books on his own, about 10 minutes a day. It comes out on Amazon on November 24. See the book and free printables here.
New here? Start here for the posts that take you step by step from letter sounds to blending to first books.
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