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Sound sorting box

This activity will help your child recognise and practise the different starting sounds of words.

There is very little preparation required. All you need is objects from around your house and a container to put them in.

The game can be played in lots of different ways to suit your child's ability. Watch the video below to see how our families used this activity to help their child's language skills.

What are the benefits of the sound sorting box activity?

  • This activity helps your child notice the different letter sounds at the start of words.
  • Grouping the objects by their starting sound will boost their speech and reading skills.
  • It also helps them understand how to listen to and break down words.
  • Sorting and ordering are important early numeracy skills, which will help your child when they start school.
  • The more they get right, the more they will build their confidence and lead the play.
A mother and daughter sit on the floor and play the sound sorting box game. The little girl is holding a ball.
Ask them to say the sounds and encourage them to lead the game.

How to play the sound sorting box activity

There are lots of ways you can make the most of this game, depending on your child's ability. The basic instructions are below.

You will need:

  • A number of items from around your house, which begin with the same letter sound. For example, a cup, candle and card. Make sure they have the same sound not just the same letter. Although celery starts with a ‘c’ it sounds like a ‘s’ not a ‘c’. Say the words aloud to yourself just to check.
  • A second group of items, which start with a different letter sound. For example, a ball, a bowl and a baby toy.
  • A container to put them in.

How many different sets of items you include in the game depends on their ability.

If your child is just getting to grips with letter sounds, it might be best to stick to two different groups of objects. As their confidence and understanding grow, you can introduce more letters into your sound box.

What to do:

Pull out an item in the box and ask them what sound it begins with. Once they've identified the starting sound, create a pile for objects that begin with that letter.

Pull out another item and ask the same question. Can they work out whether the new item starts with the same sound as the first object?

If it does, they should put it in the same pile, but if it doesn't it needs to go in a new pile.

You could even deliberately put an item in the wrong pile and let them correct you. This will give them a confidence boost.

Keep going and asking them questions until the box is empty.

At the end of the game, all the objects should be sorted into piles based on their starting sounds.

A mother and daughter sit on the floor and play the sound sorting box game. The little girl is holding a ball.
Ask them to say the sounds and encourage them to lead the game.

Find out more about phonics around our site

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