# Ladders to Literacy

## A Kindergarten Activity Book

### SECOND EDITION

by **Rollanda E. O’Connor, Ph.D.** University of California at Riverside  
**Angela Notari-Syverson, Ph.D.** Washington Research Institute Seattle  
**Patricia F. Vadasy, Ph.D.** Washington Research Institute Seattle

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**First Sound and Last Sound Bingo**

Main Purpose: To identify first and last sounds and match sounds and letters.

The child gains practice in recognizing the first sound in words and in making sound–symbol correspondences.

### Materials
- Bingo cards with 16 randomly arranged pictures
- Letter cards or chips (see pp. 181–182) with s, t, p, and m (four of each, shuffled), or any set of four letters and sounds to be practiced.  
(This game is designed as a practice activity for children who already know the first sounds of a few words and the sounds of the four letters: s, t, p, and m, or the combination to be used that day.)

### Description of the Activity
Let each child select a bingo card, with pictures of the following randomly arranged in a 4x4 array: pie, tree, moon, snail, mouth, star, pencil, tooth, truck, man, sun, mouse, snake, puppy, train, and pen. Shuffle the letter chips and place them face down. In turn, have each child draw one letter and look for a picture of an object that starts with the letter. Have the child place the letter on the picture, and then let the next child take a turn.  
(Note: Children can also use blank markers to cover a picture that starts with the letter drawn. Increase the variety of pictures and first sounds as children learn more letter sounds.)

### This activity develops the following behaviors and concepts related to early literacy:
- Print Awareness
- Print: letter identification
- Letter–sound correspondence: Single sounds and letters

### ADULT–CHILD INTERACTIVE BEHAVIORS

**Phonological Awareness**  
Children will play the game independently.

### Providing feedback
Confirm correct choices as a model for other children.  
“Yes, telephone starts with /t/, so you put the t on the telephone.”

### Task regulation
Use only letter sounds that children know thoroughly.

### Instructing
Tell children the sound of the letter, and ask them to repeat it along with words that begin with that sound.

### Medium Demand/Medium Support
Children may need assistance with the sound–symbol correspondences for the letters they draw. They will play the game with limited numbers of letters.

### Open-ended questioning
Ask children who cover their pictures appropriately to explain their choice.  
“Why did you put the s on the snake?”

### Providing feedback
Praise children who correctly cover their pictures.  
“Yes, you put the s on the snake because snake starts with /sss/.”

### Task regulation
Use only the four letters that children know most thoroughly and the same 16 pictures, arranged in random order, so that all children can place a letter on a picture with each new letter drawn.

### Low Demand/High Support
If some children do not know letter sounds or how to identify the first sound in words, then adults can use this game as a teaching tool.  
Children will learn one letter–sound correspondence and select pictures of words that begin with that sound.

### Instructing
After providing feedback, allow children who have difficulty to take another turn with the same letter sound.  
“John put his s on the star. Sssstar starts with /sss/. Where would you like to put your s?”

## Ideas and Adaptations
**Comments:** Toward the last half of kindergarten, play the game with last and medial sounds.

## Home Link
**Parent Activity:** Encourage parents to make a First Sound booklet with one of the letters targeted by the game board.

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### First Sound Bingo—Demonstration page

|        |        |
|--------|--------|
|        |        |
|        |        |
|        |        |
| pie    | mouth  |

|        | 货车 | 蛇 |
| ---    | ---    | --- |
|        | 戴太阳镜的人 | 狗 |
|        | 太阳 | 火车 |
|        | 老鼠 | 笔 |

*mouth, star, pencil, tooth*

*pie, tree, moon, snail*

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*Ladders to Literacy: A Kindergarten Activity Book, Second Edition* by Rollanda E. O’Connor, Angela Notari-Syverson, and Patricia F. Vadasy © 2005 Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved.