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Letter Names and Sounds Skill Explainer

Listening Game Demo: Punching Out the /b/ Sound

Phonemic awareness is a critical foundation for reading and spelling. And listening games provide a simple routine that strengthens students' ability to hear sounds in words before connecting them to letters. In this video, literacy coach Ashlea Edwards, M.Ed. demonstrates how to lead a listening game that helps students isolate and identify the /b/ sound using only keyword pictures.

Learn more with our free skill explainer on teaching letter names and sounds.

Video thumbnail for Listening Game Demo: Punching Out the /b/ Sound — Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book

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[music]

So for our next listening game, we are going to ask students to pull the first sound or the beginning sound off of words. We're going to use pictures to support meaning, and we're also going to use a motion to emphasize that we are doing the first sound in the word.

Bird, /b/.

Ball, /b/.

Bathtub, /b/.

Bear, /b/.

Beads, /b/.

Banana, /b/.

[music]

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Support Materials

Introducing the Letter 'Bb'

This lesson plan includes warm-up phonemic awareness activities and all the steps needed to introduce a new letter. A good resource for kindergarten teachers or anyone working on new sounds with early readers.

Download Lesson Plan

Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (opens in new window); the AFT (opens in new window); the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (opens in new window); and several anonymous donors.

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