Early sounds p b m t d n h w worksheets
Printable kindergarten speech sound practice for p, b, m, t, d, n, h and w: an early sounds chart, picture word pages for each sound, a sound hunt and a say-it board game.
The worksheets
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Early Sounds Chart
The p, b, m, t, d, n, h and w sounds at a glance, each with a mouth picture, how to make it, voice on or off and three picture words.
P Sound Words
Picture words like pig, apple and cup with the p sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
B Sound Words
Picture words like ball, rabbit and web with the b sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
M Sound Words
Picture words like moon, lemon and drum with the m sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
T Sound Words
Picture words like top, kitten and hat with the t sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
D Sound Words
Picture words like dog, ladder and bed with the d sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
N Sound Words
Picture words like nose, banana and sun with the n sound at the start, middle and end, to say five times each.
H Sound Words
Picture words like hat, horse and house with the h sound at the start, to say five times each.
W Sound Words
Picture words like web, whale and worm with the w sound at the start, to say five times each.
Sound Hunt
Rows of pictures to say out loud and circle the ones that have the sound.
Say-It Board Game
A board game path of picture words with all eight early sounds.
Print the whole packet
One copy of every sheet above, in order. Tap + for more copies (up to 10).
For the parent or teacher
What it is
These are the first speech sounds most children learn, usually by about age 3: p (as in pig), b (ball), m (moon), t (top), d (dog), n (nose), h (hat) and w (web). They are made with the lips, the tongue tip or a puff of breath. Kindergartners who are still working on them might say d for t, b for p, or leave sounds off the ends of words (ca for cat). Common Core doesn't cover speech sounds, so these sheets have no Common Core code.
What comes next
Following one- and two-step directions.
How to teach it
- Show how the sound is made. P, b and m use the lips, t, d and n use the tongue tip behind the top teeth, h is a puff of breath, and w uses round lips.
- Practice the sound by itself first, then in words, then in short sentences like "I see a pig."
- Keep it short and playful. Five minutes a day works better than a long session once a week.
- Praise effort, not just correct sounds. "I heard that strong p!" helps more than "No, say it again."
- If your child is working with a speech-language pathologist, use these sheets for the sounds and word positions they are practicing.
Common mistakes
- Leaving off the last sound, like ca for cat. Stretch the end of the word together.
- Mixing up voice on and voice off pairs, like p and b or t and d. Feel the throat buzz.
- Practicing too fast. Slow, clear tries teach the mouth better than quick ones.
- If your child is hard to understand or gets frustrated when talking, ask your pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist for a check.