One of the challenges kindergarten teachers face is how to teach five year olds who have short attention spans. Educators are responsible for teaching their students initial consonants but will need a variety of activities and methods if they hope to retain the kids' interest. Reading Rockets is a teacher website that has many suggestions for enjoyable activities that are engaging but brief enough not to bore children. Some examples are letter substitution to make new words and phoneme segmentation in which children learn to separate the individual sounds in words.
Flash cards are an ideal learning tool for students. Teachers use them to introduce and review letters, and children can use them to review independently or with a partner. These cards can be purchased at teacher supply and dollar stores. Free flash cards are also available on line. Kelly's Kindergarten and Printable Flash Cards have alphabet and picture flash cards ready to print. The picture cards will help students learn to associate consonants with objects that begin with the targeted letter.
Many kindergarten students learn best through hands-on activities. Because of this, most teachers utilize small group literacy centers. These are areas in the classroom, at tables or on rugs, that are set up to accommodate three to five children. These centers contain an activity with manipulatives that reinforce phonics skills. One group may sort plastic letter tiles while saying each one's sound. Another group may use art supplies to draw pictures of objects that begin with specific sounds. Little Giraffes.com has photos of several literacy centers which show children engaged in projects that allow them to learn beginning sounds in a variety of ways.
Most young children enjoy games, so teachers should try to incorporate them into the learning process. Many Internet sites have interactive games that are easy for kindergartners to navigate. Soft School has games in which children click on pictures that begin with the targeted sound. Starfall has games and animated tutorials. Children can choose a letter and watch as the computer shows them how to write the letter, say its sound and identify objects that begin with that sound.