“S” is for strike, spare, and split! 

Set up your students to master matching beginning sounds to letters in this hands-on bowling activity! 

🎳 Our Beginning Letter Sounds Game Is Right Up Your Alley

Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondence through this activity by producing the sound at the beginning of a word. 

Students will choose a card and produce the letter sound. If correct they remove the matching bowling pin from their set if they have it. 

Scaffolding + Extension Tips 

Challenge fast finishers who already understand the concept to put the cards in alphabetical order.

Support students who need help understanding the concepts by referring them to a visual reminder, such as a classroom poster (see below) or anchor chart. 

Get our 10 Best Scaffolding Strategies here! 

More Ways To Master Beginning Letter Sounds

We created this resource for your reading center as an independent practice activity. You can also use it for small group and full-class instruction through scoot activities, lesson reviews, formative assessments, and more! 

We suggest these: 

👍 True or False Scoot

You will need a set of cards you can number and match the students’ answer sheets with the cards. Hang sets of matching and unmatching beginning letters and words cards around the room. Working either alone or in pairs, assign each to a starting point. Students will rotate through the cards on your signal, recording whether the sets match(True) or not (False).

👟 Beginning Sounds Relay

Divide students into two lines and show a picture card to the players at the front of each line. The student that produces the correct letter that matches the beginning sound wins the flashcard.  The team with the most flashcards at the end of the game wins!

👯 Match Me If You Can

Print a second set of bowling pins you can cut into playing cards. In your guided reading group, divide the letter pins evenly among players. Show students a picture card and have them identify the word as a group. The student who has the matching letter sound pin lays it down face up. The first person to have all their pins face up wins.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

Before You Download

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

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

Hold the phoneme! We have plenty more beginning sounds activities and teaching resources for you to download right here: 

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