5 ways to help kids sound out words - the art of phonics
Educational and Fun Activities
Written by Gregg Payne
18 September 2024
🕓 3
10 min
Helping children learn to sound out words is one of the most rewarding parts of early education. Phonics—the understanding of the relationship between letters and their sounds—is a critical foundation for strong reading skills. As we move into 2025 and beyond, phonics-based learning remains essential for building confident, fluent readers. Yet learning to sound out words doesn’t have to be dull! With the right strategies, it can be playful, interactive, and full of joyful moments. At Science of Sound, we believe that combining fun with foundational skills creates the best learning experiences. Whether you’re a parent supporting early readers at home or an educator looking for fresh ideas, these five simple and effective phonics techniques will help foster a love of language while boosting reading confidence. Let’s explore how to make sounding out words a fun adventure rather than a chore!
1. Use Phonics Games to Make Learning Fun
Making phonics playful is one of the most effective ways to help children build reading skills without feeling pressured. Turning learning into a game captures their imagination and motivates them to practise without even realising it!
✅ Try phonics bingo. Create bingo boards featuring letters, blends, or word families. Call out sounds or simple words, and have children mark the matching sound. It’s an exciting way to build sound recognition and listening skills.
✅ Use interactive apps. There are many well-designed phonics apps available that turn learning into an engaging adventure, offering challenges, rewards, and colourful visuals to reinforce new sounds.
✅ Board games and flashcards. Classic phonics board games and DIY flashcard games can also reinforce letter-sound knowledge while promoting friendly competition.
✅ Mix in physical movement. Games like "phonics scavenger hunts" or "sound hopscotch" get children moving while connecting sounds to actions, boosting memory retention.
Using phonics games transforms learning into a joyful, low-pressure experience where confidence grows naturally alongside skill!
2. Break Words Into Sounds (Segmenting)
Segmenting—breaking words down into their individual sounds—is a core phonics skill that helps children decode unfamiliar words with confidence. Teaching them to listen carefully to each part of a word builds a strong foundation for spelling and reading fluency.
✅ Say it slowly. Encourage your child to say each word slowly, stretching it out so they can hear each distinct sound. For example, "cat" becomes /k/ — /a/ — /t/.
✅ Use tapping or clapping. Tap a finger for each sound or clap hands once for each sound they hear. This adds a physical rhythm to the activity and reinforces auditory memory.
✅ Play sound counting games. Ask children how many sounds they hear in a word. Simple activities like this help them build sound awareness and strengthen blending skills.
✅ Blend back together. After segmenting the word, have them say the sounds quickly to "blend" it back into a full word.
Practising segmenting regularly makes sounding out longer or more challenging words feel much less overwhelming for young readers!
3. Play “I Spy” with Sounds
Turning classic games into phonics activities makes practising sound recognition fun and effortless. “I Spy” with sounds is a brilliant way to sharpen children's listening skills and help them connect sounds to words.
✅ Focus on initial sounds. Begin by saying, "I spy something that starts with the /b/ sound," and let your child guess objects like "book" or "ball." Focusing on initial sounds builds early decoding skills.
✅ Introduce middle and ending sounds. As your child becomes more confident, challenge them by spying things based on middle or final sounds, such as /a/ in "hat" or /t/ at the end of "cat."
✅ Use a familiar environment. Play around the house, at the park, or even in the car. Familiar objects make it easier for young learners to succeed and stay engaged.
✅ Celebrate correct guesses. Enthusiastic praise reinforces correct answers and boosts their confidence.
“I Spy” with sounds is an easy, portable way to turn any moment into a valuable phonics lesson, helping children tune their ears to the building blocks of language!
4. Create Sound Jars or Boxes
Sound jars or boxes make phonics a tangible, hands-on experience that children love. They help young readers physically explore and group objects based on their beginning sounds.
✅ Pick a target sound. Choose a letter sound you want to practise, like /m/, /s/, or /t/.
✅ Gather matching objects. Fill a jar or small box with household items that start with the same sound. For example, for /m/ you could collect a marble, marker, and magnet.
✅ Explore and discuss. Let your child take out each item, name it aloud, and emphasise the starting sound. Ask, "What sound do you hear at the beginning of 'marble'?"
✅ Mix it up with mystery sounds. Occasionally add an item that doesn't match the target sound and let your child spot the "sound intruder" for an extra challenge.
✅ Make it themed. Create themed jars like "kitchen sounds" or "toy sounds" to add variety and keep interest high.
Sound jars transform phonics practice into a playful exploration, helping children internalise the connection between objects, words, and sounds!
5. Sing Phonics Songs
Music is a powerful tool for learning, and singing phonics songs makes mastering sounds joyful, memorable, and interactive. It naturally reinforces letter-sound relationships through rhythm and repetition.
✅ Start with familiar tunes. Classic songs like "The Alphabet Song" can be adapted to include not just letter names but also the sounds each letter makes.
✅ Use phonics-specific songs. Many educational programmes offer catchy tunes designed to teach letter sounds, blends, and even word families. These songs often pair movement with sound, strengthening memory.
✅ Make up your own songs. Encourage children to create silly phonics songs using their names, favourite animals, or daily activities. Personalising songs makes learning more meaningful and fun.
✅ Incorporate actions. Add hand movements or dance steps linked to specific sounds—for example, making a buzzing movement for the /z/ sound—to engage more senses and enhance retention.
✅ Sing regularly. Building a "phonics song time" into your daily routine keeps practice light, lively, and consistent.
Singing embeds phonics knowledge in a natural, joyful way, helping children internalise essential reading skills with a smile!
Final Thoughts
Helping children master the art of sounding out words doesn’t have to be complicated or tedious. By using games, songs, hands-on activities, and everyday moments, phonics learning can become a fun, exciting part of a child's daily life. These five techniques offer simple, powerful ways to build strong early reading skills while fostering confidence, creativity, and a love for language.
If your child enjoys playful and interactive learning, they’ll love our Science of Sound holiday camps, after-school clubs, and workshops. We design every experience to make learning joyful and memorable, combining science, language, and creativity to help young learners thrive. Explore our upcoming programmes and discover how we can help your child grow their skills, curiosity, and love for learning!
Phonics is just the beginning of an amazing journey into the world of words, ideas, and discovery — and it all starts with a little fun!
