It’s the start of the school year and everything is exciting and feeling fresh! So why not start this year off with a teacher’s favorite thing: F-R-E-E-B-I-E-S!! You know we love giving you goodies here at A Dab of Glue Will Do, and that will never change! (Pssst, if you haven’t checked out our ENTIRE TAB dedicated to zero cost printables, you definitely should!)
With little learners arriving brand new to school, we know you’re teaching all things letters and letter-sound related. So we wanted to bring you a little something specifically for beginning sounds – the foundation blocks for reading! Teaching initial sounds with clip cards is an engaging way for your students to learn without realizing they’re learning.
These Initial Sounds Clip Cards are the perfect addition to your ELA centers rotation as your students can independently complete them on their own. Students will identify the pictures and then determine which letter that word begins with. This great beginning sounds activity will heighten your students phonemic awareness and strengthen their critical thinking skills by correlating sounds with written letters.
To get this FREE printable, use the ‘click here to download’ button at the bottom of this page.
Looking for more initial sounds activities and games? We’ve got you covered from alphabet crafts, to ABC puzzles, to Alphabet Emergent Readers.
Want even more options for ELA and Math centers? Check out our Dollar Teachers Club! Each month you’ll receive NEW center materials in digital AND printable format! Additionally you get monthly credits to spend in our resource library AND a thriving online community that supports and uplifts each other.

Getting Initial Sounds Clip Cards Ready
We highly recommend printing these Initial Sounds Clip Cards onto cardstock for maximum durability. We want you to be able to reuse these for as long as possible! With scissors (or our highly recommended paper cutter), cut each card out and laminate. You’ll be done in minutes!

Supply List
- paper or card stock
- laminating pouches
- laminator
- paper cutter
- clothespins
- Initial Sounds Clip Cards (DOWNLOAD BELOW!)
Keeping things organized and together is key, so I highly recommend using rubber bands or Ziploc baggies for these beginning sounds clip cards. This will keep all of the cards in one place, while also keeping them from getting mixed up.

Using Initial Sounds Clip Cards
In these clip cards for teaching letters sounds, you will receive 26 different cards with an image on each. Have students start by first identifying the image on the card.

Once the picture is recognized, have your little learner isolate the beginning sound and identify what letter corresponds with that sound. Once your learner has found the initial sound, they can circle the letter with a dry erase marker or mark it with a clothespin for an added fine motor twist! Have students continue, completing one card at a time

Looking For More Initial Sounds Activities?
Initial Sounds can be a challenging concept for little learners as it takes intentional listening. Looking for other great resources and activities for building students’ phonemic awareness? We’ve got you! Check out our Popcorn Initial Sounds Match-Up, Playdough Initial Sounds Match-Up, or our Ice Cream Initial Sounds Match-Up. You can also get ALL of our Initial Sounds Match-Ups, including our holiday themed ones, in our MEGA Initial Sounds Match-Up Bundle!

Download Your Initial Sounds Clip Cards Printable Below!
Click the button below to download. You will immediately receive this printable via email.

Your class will have a ton of fun learning beginning sounds with these adorable clip cards.
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