Letter sounds, A to Z
Every letter has a name and a sound, and kids learn them best together. The alphabet song only teaches the names, in order. It never says what a letter does.
Tap any letter below to hear Cap say its name, its sound and a word that starts with it. It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and it works on a phone.
Tap a letter to hear it
On a computer, press the letter on your keyboard. Same letter, same skill.
How to say the sounds
- Keep the short ones short. Say "b", not "buh". Sounds like b, t and k can't be held, and teachers are told not to add an "uh" to them [12], because "buh-a-tuh" is harder to blend into "bat". Cap says b, c, d, g, k, p and t with a small "uh" so they are easy to hear on a phone speaker. When you say them, keep them short.
- The stretchy ones can be held. M, s, f, l, n, r, v and z can go on as long as you like: "mmm", "sss". Teachers start blending with words that begin with these [12].
- Vowels use their short sound here. A as in apple, e as in egg, i as in igloo, o as in octopus, u as in umbrella. The long sounds, like the a in cake, come later.
- C and G use their hard sounds. C as in cat and g as in goat. X says "ks", like the end of box, since very few words start with it.
Letters and sounds at home
You don't need an app for any of this. A few minutes a day, a crayon and a grown-up go a long way.
- Start with their name. Young children learn the letters of their own name first [9]. Point them out on signs, cereal boxes and books.
- Say the name and the sound together. "This is M. M says mmm, like moon." Preschoolers taught both at once learned more than with the usual approach [10][11].
- Ask more than you tell. "Can you find the one that says sss?" Being asked to remember helps young children more than hearing it again [20].
- A little, on lots of days. Short practice spread over several days beats one long sitting [19]. Ten minutes is plenty.
- Write them too. In the one study that compared them, writing letters by hand helped preschoolers recognize them better than typing did [13]. Tapping letters adds to drawing them. It doesn't replace it.
Where this goes in Typing Melody
Typing Melody is a free typing game that starts with letters. In Sprout, for ages 3 and 4, Cap asks for a letter, and when your child taps it, Cap says its name, its sound and its word, just like the board above. Later stages put the same letters under their fingers on a real keyboard.
Our take: reading and typing start in the same place, knowing your letters. So we teach the letter first and the key second. Here is why.
Questions parents ask
Should I teach letter names or letter sounds first?
Both, together. Preschoolers taught a letter's name and its sound at the same time learned more than with the usual approach. Say it like Cap does: M. M says mmm, like moon.
How do you say the letter sounds without the uh?
Keep the short sounds short and crisp: b, not buh, and t, not tuh. The stretchy sounds like m, s and f can be held as long as you like.
Which letter sounds should we start with?
Start with the letters in your child's name, then the stretchy sounds like m, s and f, which teachers use first for blending into words.
More for little learners
Pick Sprout for ages 3 and 4. No ads and no account.