My child knows all the beginning sounds. What next?

The ending sounds sheet, then middle sounds, which is the vowel and the hardest of the three. After that, the CVC picture words sheet asks for the whole word.

1st grade beginning sounds

1st grade beginning sounds worksheets

First graders isolate the first sound in a word quickly and write its letter without help. This sheet keeps the practice honest: the picture gives the word, the missing letter is the first sound, and every sheet draws a fresh set of pictures with different first sounds.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RF.1.2.c.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of pictures you'll get

Say the picture's name. Write the letter that makes its first sound.

Each print draws a fresh set of pictures. Under every picture the word is spelled out with one letter missing, and a box to write it in; the key gives the letter and the word.

Every print pulls a new set of pictures at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 1st grade sheet

1st grade sheets draw from 92 pictures, 12 to a page. Pre-K to 1st grade print from the same 92 pictures. What changes is the standard (RF.1.2.c here) and the teaching notes below.

Some of the words:

panbathentinroddotmomhogjogpup

Picture sounds. Say the picture's name. Write the letter that makes its first sound. 12 pictures per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Have the child say each word aloud before writing anything, even when the picture is obvious. Then read the finished words back as a list. Any word read wrongly is a sound the child heard wrongly, and that is the one to practice.

Watch for: Saying the letter name instead of the sound. A child who says 'see' for c is naming the letter; the sheet asks for the sound at the front of the word. Say the word, not the alphabet. Naming the picture with a different word. If the child says 'kitty' for the cat, the first sound changes. Agree the picture's name first, then listen for its sound.

Common questions about 1st grade beginning sounds

My child knows all the beginning sounds. What next?: The ending sounds sheet, then middle sounds, which is the vowel and the hardest of the three. After that, the CVC picture words sheet asks for the whole word.

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Aligned to Common Core RF.1.2.c. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated September 2026.

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