Mystery bag is a great beginning tool for teaching isolated letter sounds. Place a number of objects that begin with the same letter sound in a bag; for example, place a rose, rat and ring. Have learners pull out an object one at a time, and identify it by saying its name out loud. When all the objects have been taken out of the mystery bag, the students identify the letter that corresponds with the objects' initial letter sounds. Start with more frequently used letters than less frequently used letters.
The matching game combines the popular childhood game of memory and the concept of learning letter sounds. Choose a few letters to study and write a single letter on each card; draw a picture of an object that starts with each letter on the cards. Make sure there's an object that goes with each letter. Mix up the cards and turn them upside down. Children take turns flipping over two cards at a time, the goal being to match the correct letter with the object that begins with the same letter sound. At each turn, children must say the sound that the letter makes or that the object begins with.
Sound cups is a game that allows children to use multisensory techniques to master letter sounds. Gather a number of objects and place them in one large pile. Create letter cups for the matching letter sounds of the objects gathered. For example, if using buttons, cards and pencils, make letter cups for B, C and P. Direct students to put objects from the pile into the correct matching letter cup. By incorporating tactile and visual elements, students have the option to rely on different areas of strength to help them learn letter sounds.
Erase the sound is a more advanced game that allows students to recognize letters and associated sounds and match them with appropriate words. Draw a picture of an object with multiple parts, such as a dog. Ask children to erase a part of the picture that begins with a certain letter sound. For example, if you make the sound of the letter N, students should erase the dog's nose. This game is also a good way to increase a student's vocabulary.