1. Home
  2. Phonological Awareness
  3. G: Beginning Sounds
  4. G2: Picture Piles

G2: Picture Piles

  1. Overview
  2. Materials
  3. Activity
  4. Confidence Builder
  1. Extension
  2. Variation
  3. Small Groups
  4. Questions and Answers

1. Overview

Sort picture cards into piles by their beginning sounds. Now that your child has learned some of the starting sounds, she will practice differentiating between multiple beginning sounds.
picture piles
G2: Picture Piles
↑ Top

2. Materials

Print out the picture cards and sound cards, preferably on sturdy card-stock paper, and cut them apart. The word index is for the adult’s reference only. Select the four starting sounds you will cover in the game. Take those four sound cards, and tape each one to the end of one of the boxes. Take the picture cards that begin with those four sounds, shuffle them, and put them in a face-down stack. ↑ Top

3. Activity

Video: How to play Picture Piles
Before you start the game, have your child identify the sound card on the end of each box by saying its sound. To start the game, tell your child to pick a picture card from the stack. Tell her the name of the picture. Then have her repeat the name, emphasizing its beginning sound. She must then give only the beginning sound for the picture and decide which box to put the card in.
Adult: Okay, pick a card from the stack. It’s a rug! What is it a picture of? Child: A rug! Adult: What sound is at the beginning of rug? Listen: rrrug. Child: /rrr/ Adult: Good. Rrrug begins with /rrr/. Which box should we put it in? Which box has /rrr/ on the front? Child: Um…that one? Adult: No, that card says /sss/. Which one says /rrr/? Child: That one. Adult: That’s right. That card says /rrr/. Rrrug starts with /rrr/, so we put it in the /rrr/ box.
Continue this procedure with the remaining picture cards. ↑ Top

4. Confidence Builder

If the child struggles with four different starting sounds, use just three or even two starting sounds. ↑ Top

5. Extension

Once the child has a firm grasp of this activity, she can complete the game independently. ↑ Top

6. Variation

Use pictures from magazines or have the child look around the room and name objects that match one of the beginning sound cards on the boxes. ↑ Top

7. Small Groups (2-5 children)

Lesson Objective: Using pictures and four consonant letter cards, children will identify the first phoneme in the name of each pictured item and sort the pictures into four piles by their beginning sounds. GELDS (Georgia Early Learning & Development Standards): CLL6.4a Georgia Standards of Excellence: ELAGSEKRF3.a Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A Adaptation: Read the main activity, watch the video, and follow the instructions above, with the following changes: Have the children orally identify the four consonant sound cards. Then place the stack of picture cards face-down on the table. Line the four boxes up so that the children can see them. The children will take turns selecting a card, saying the picture name and the beginning sound, then placing the card in the corresponding box. Reinforcement: Place the boxes in a center for the children to practice independently. Have them tell you when they have finished sorting the pictures. Check their work for understanding. Use this Reinforcement at Home form to tell parents and guardians how they can reinforce lessons outside the classroom. ↑ Top

Leave a Reply