How to practise letter sounds at home

Start with your child's current learning

Ask which sounds your child is meeting in class or look at their current reading lesson. Use its examples and sequence at home. Choose a useful next step without covering every letter at once.

For example, if m, a as in apple, and t have already been introduced, you could revisit them and build am or mat. This is an example, not a universal teaching order. A sequence can bring in a few sounds and use them in words before introducing the rest.

Be clear about the sound you mean

Letter names help us talk about letters. Sounds help us work out words. Say, 'This letter is called em. Listen to its sound in mat.' Show m as you make the sound.

English letters can represent different sounds in different words. Begin with the sound being taught in the current lesson rather than presenting every possibility at once. Use a familiar example word so your child can hear which sound you mean.

Reading behind this guidance: Institute of Education Sciences

An activity with letters you already have

For this activity, write m and a on paper cards. Match the letter forms in your child's lessons, and make them large enough to point to comfortably.

1. Show and listen

   Point to m, model its sound and let your child watch your mouth. Offer a turn. Then revisit a, using its sound in apple.

2. Let your child choose

   Place both cards on the table. Say one sound and invite your child to hand you its card. Swap roles so your child can choose a card and you can say the sound.

3. Build something meaningful

   Arrange a and m to make am. Model joining the sounds, then say the word together. Use it in a spoken sentence: 'I am happy.' Your child can choose another feeling and act it out.

4. Leave room for choice

   Your child might like to trace a letter, draw it in the air or write it on paper. They can also keep pointing and moving the cards. You do not need to add a handwriting task to every sound activity.

Use a sound model you can both follow

Try to avoid a strong extra 'uh' after consonants. For m, close your lips and hum the sound rather than saying 'muh'. A clear model helps when sounds are joined into a word. Listen to the programme's pronunciation example if you are unsure.

Keep any explanation brief. You can say, 'Let's listen again,' replay the model, and take a turn alongside your child. Ask their teacher which example to use if home practice and classroom examples seem different.

Reading behind this guidance: Department for Education, England

Keep words and stories in the picture

After revisiting a sound, look for a chance to use it in a familiar word. Talk about what the word means. Later, share a book with you reading aloud and your child joining the conversation. Home literacy can include listening, talking, word practice and the pleasure of a story.

Reading behind this guidance: Florida Center for Reading Research