What are Elkonin boxes?

Boxes drawn under a picture, one for each sound in its name, named after the Russian psychologist who used them to teach hearing sounds in words. The child touches a box per sound, then writes the letters.

Why do all the words have three boxes?

This sheet uses short-vowel words where every letter is one sound, so three sounds is three boxes and three letters. Words with digraphs, where two letters make one sound, come later. So do words with x, like fox, where one letter makes two sounds, /k/ and /s/.

Kindergarten sound boxes

Kindergarten sound boxes worksheets

Sound boxes, sometimes called Elkonin boxes, split a word into its sounds: one box for each. Each picture on this sheet is a short-vowel word with three sounds, and the child says it slowly, touches a box for every sound, then writes one letter in each box.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RF.K.2.d.

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 slowly. Write one sound in each box.

Each print draws a fresh set of three-sound words. Beside every picture are three boxes with a dot under each to touch while saying the word; the key spells each word with its letters spaced.

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 kindergarten sheet

Kindergarten sheets draw from 73 pictures, 8 to a page. Kindergarten and 1st grade print from the same 73 pictures. What changes is the standard (RF.K.2.d here) and the teaching notes below.

Some of the words:

jamwagbedvetbindogtopnodhognut

Sound boxes. Say the picture's name slowly. Write one sound in each box. 8 pictures per page.

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

How to teach this

Model one word first. Say it slowly, and as each sound comes, touch the next box with a finger: s (touch) u (touch) n (touch). Then write. The dots under the boxes are for touching. Do not rush to the letters; the touching is the skill.

Watch for: Putting two letters in one box or leaving a box empty. Every word on this sheet has exactly one letter per sound, so a box with two letters or none means a sound was skipped or doubled. Say the word again, touching each box. Counting letters instead of sounds. Boxes count sounds, and x is the letter that breaks the match: fox has three letters but four sounds, f-o-k-s, so x words do not belong in three boxes. Writing the word first and boxing it after. The boxes are the point: touch a box as you say each sound, then write. Sound first, letter second.

Common questions about kindergarten sound boxes

What are Elkonin boxes?: Boxes drawn under a picture, one for each sound in its name, named after the Russian psychologist who used them to teach hearing sounds in words. The child touches a box per sound, then writes the letters.
Why do all the words have three boxes?: This sheet uses short-vowel words where every letter is one sound, so three sounds is three boxes and three letters. Words with digraphs, where two letters make one sound, come later. So do words with x, like fox, where one letter makes two sounds, /k/ and /s/.

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Aligned to Common Core RF.K.2.d. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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