Alphabet Detectives – I Spy Alphabet Sounds Mats

Use this set of I Spy Alphabet Mats in the classroom to explore each letter of the alphabet including the sound it makes at the beginning of words. These bright and fun mats have been designed by an experienced teacher to engage students in their phonics knowledge. Each student can pick a mat and grab a handful of counters or dry erase markers if you choose to laminate the mats.

Here’s how to use this phonics resource in the classroom:

• Students choose a letter mat.
• Identify the target letter.
• Use counters or a dry erase market to locate the corresponding letters.
• And corresponding sounds (pictures).
• Once they’ve completed this they share the words with a partner or the class.

I Spy Beginning Sounds Activities

These alphabet mats are incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. Here are some suggestions from our resident teachers:

1. Set a timer and challenge students to find all the images on the mat that begin with the target letter as quickly as they can. Once time is up, have them share their findings with a partner.
2. Divide the class into teams. Each team member takes turns running to a mat, identifying one image with the target letter sound, and returning to share it with their team. Continue until all images are found.
3. After completing the mat, students select one image and draw something else that starts with the same letter sound. For example, if the mat has “cat,” they might draw “car.”

Download and Explore Letter-Sound Correspondence Today!

Use the dropdown menu to choose between the easy to print PDF version of this resource or the editable Google Slide version of this resource.

It’s strongly advised that you laminate these mats to ensure the durability of the resource.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher and a Teach Starter Collaborator.

More Beginning Sounds Activities

Looking for more beginning sounds activities to use in the classroom? We have you covered…

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Beginning Sounds Worksheets

Use these beginning sounds worksheets to explore each letter of the alphabet and their matching phoneme by searching and finding images.

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Beginning Sounds Match Dominoes

Explore letter-sound correspondence and beginning word sounds with this set of 52 letter and picture dominoes.

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Beginning Sounds Mystery Task Cards

Help students apply letter-sound correspondence with this set of 20 task cards.