📖 Reading & talking · Ages 5–6 · about 3 weeks

Change One Sound

Goal: Change the first, middle or last sound in a familiar three-sound word and read the new word.

For parents: Start with words your child can already read. In these examples, each letter represents one sound. Say the sounds and blend them together before and after a change. Use real words and explain their meanings.

Do together

  1. Change the last sound

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Write map in large letters. Say its three sounds together and blend them into map. Write mat below it. Ask which letter changed, say the new last sound and read mat. Point to a map and a mat, or draw them, to show that the meaning changed too.

  2. Change the first sound

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Write mat and read it together. Write sat underneath, pointing out the new first letter. Sound out and read sat. Say a short sentence such as Sara sat on the mat. Try sit and hit another day, helping with any unfamiliar sound.

  3. Listen to the middle

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Write sat and sit side by side. Say each word slowly, then normally. Point to the middle letters and listen to the changed sounds. Read a pair such as pat and pit next time. Explain an unfamiliar word and let your child choose one to draw.

Talk about it

  • Which sound changed in map and mat?
  • What stayed the same when mat became sat?
  • Can you show the middle letters in sat and sit?

Words to use

  • sound
  • first
  • middle
  • last
  • change
  • word
  • read

Play

  • Sound Hunt
    Phonics
  • Word Builder
    Syllables & word building
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