Letter Sounds Are the Keys

Every letter has a job: it stands for a sound. The letter B stands for the sound you hear at the start of "ball". The letter S stands for the sound you hear at the start of "sun". When you know the sound a letter makes, you hold a key that unlocks words.

Some letters are shy and quiet, and some letters are loud. Vowels - A, E, I, O, U - can sing more than one sound. The A in "apple" sounds different from the A in "acorn". That is normal, and your ears get better at hearing the difference every time you practice.

Reading starts right here: hear a sound, find its letter, see a letter, say its sound. Grown-ups reading with you can point at a letter and make its sound together. It feels like a small thing, but it is the whole foundation of reading.